UCI has been a Participating Landowner in the County of Orange Central & Coastal Subregion Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) program since 1996, which provides a planning framework for development projects within the program’s planning area in order to avoid, minimize, and compensate for impacts to wildlife. The purpose of natural community conservation planning is to sustain and restore species and their habitat identified by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as necessary to maintain the continued viability of biological communities impacted by growth and development. As a Participating Landowner, UCI has preserved and managed designated open space areas throughout the campus as a part of the approximately 37,000-acre multi-habitat subregional NCCP reserve system.