Under California’s Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991, local governments have developed and implemented ecosystem-based conservation plans (NCCPs) that build upon aspects of the federal government’s Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) model. An HCP sets aside and manages natural lands for certain plant and/or wildlife species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and allows for “incidental take” of the species by the landowner. An NCCP expands upon this concept, setting aside large, well-connected tracts of land and managing them for multiple species of listed and otherwise declining species. In Bird Versus Bulldozer, Audrey Mayer evaluates the effectiveness of the NCCP approach to conserving the California Gnatcatcher and other taxa reliant on coastal sage scrub in southern California.