Mission
The San Diego Management and Monitoring Program’s (SDMMP) mission is to coordinate science-based, biological management and monitoring of lands in San Diego County that have been conserved through various conservation planning and mitigation efforts.
Vision
An interconnected and resilient Southern California ecosystem with diverse native flora and fauna.
About
The SDMMP, established in 2008, facilitates and assists the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), local jurisdictions, wildlife agencies, and other regional stakeholders and land managers in the implementation of conservation management and monitoring within San Diego County.
The SDMMP’s goal is to assist with the alignment of regional efforts to implement activities identified in the strategic plans prepared by the SDMMP and conservation partners to the available local, state, and federal funding, which includes SANDAG’s Environmental Mitigation Program funding totaling $4 million a year. The SDMMP utilizes the requirements of the existing regional conservation plans in the region along with currently available research and best available land management practices to develop and implement regional strategies to conserve rare and sensitive plant and animal species and their habitats.
The SDMMP is responsible for updating and implementing the Management and Monitoring Strategic Plan (MSP Roadmap); facilitating discussions among SANDAG, local jurisdictions, wildlife agencies, land managers, and other stakeholders; coordinating and providing science support to land managers to facilitate best land management practices; managing and promoting uniformity in data gathering, analysis, and archiving; and prioritizing specific monitoring activities based on available budget and specific needs of individual species and habitats.
SDMMP recently compiled a document to track all our ongoing and completed activities over the past 5 years. With our partners, we have been able to accomplish management and monitoring on our priority species, vegetation communities, and threats. Click here to read about everything SDMMP has done from 2015-2019.
In 1987, San Diego County residents approved the 20-year TransNet program, a half-cent sales tax to fund a variety of transportation projects throughout San Diego County. In November 2004, voters approved an extension ordinance and expenditure plan (Proposition A) that extends the TransNet program to 2048. This extension included an Environmental Mitigation Program (EMP) which provides funds through TransNet to protect, preserve, and restore native habitats as offsets to disturbance caused by the construction of regional and local transportation projects. Over the past decade, the $850 million program has helped acquire and/or restore more than 8,600 acres around the region with a total value of about $150 million, in part by leveraging $27 million from conservation partners.
To assure the biological health and success of lands conserved as open space throughout the region, land management and biological monitoring is required as part of the existing conservation plan agreements. Managing and monitoring natural habitats and sensitive species reduces the likelihood that the system will degrade and prevents the need for state or federal listing of new species as threatened or endangered. In 2008, the SANDAG Board of Directors, through the TransNet EMP, set aside $40 million for the regional management and monitoring of natural habitats and sensitive plant and animal species over a ten year period.
The SDMMP was established to provide a coordinated, scientific approach to management and biological monitoring of conserved lands in San Diego County. As of May 2015, SANDAG has expended more than $21 million to manage and monitor the regional habitat preserve system. This is accomplished through a competitive land management grant program, funding of regional biological monitoring efforts, and directly assisting land managers with the necessary tools and resources to aid in their efforts.
