LAKE COUNTY, Calif.— Environmental groups reached an agreement today to conserve more than 3,700 acres of wildlife habitat and implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for a Lake County development.

The agreement between the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and developers of the Guenoc Valley project also secures $2 million for additional off-site conservation.

“A large swath of open space will be permanently protected with this agreement, allowing wildlife to roam and benefiting the entire community,” said Peter Broderick, a senior attorney at the Center. “As temperatures rise and wildfires become more destructive, developers need to focus on projects that minimize climate risks and keep communities safe. The common-sense measures in this agreement are a big improvement from what was proposed five years ago.”

Today’s agreement will permanently preserve 3,717 acres of the project site, which includes oak woodlands habitat for golden eagles, foothill yellow-legged frogs and western pond turtles and serves as an important wildlife corridor for the region. Other terms of the agreement include funding for local projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, groundwater monitoring, increased development setback for perennial streams and wetlands, and additional protections for sensitive plants.

“In addition to permanently protecting a large area of sensitive serpentine habitat, today’s settlement also ensures better monitoring of rare plant mitigation efforts and adds more buffer zones to protect riparian and aquatic habitats from development,” said Nick Jensen, CNPS conservation director. “These changes mark major improvements to the project, made possible by years of advocacy and negotiation.”

These terms in the agreement are in addition to others previously reached between the developer and California’s attorney general. Those include measures to reduce wildfire ignition risks and reduce the number of dead-end roads originally planned for the project. The separate agreement also calls for solar panels and electric vehicle charging equipment in all residential and commercial buildings.

The agreement comes after the Center and the California Native Plant Society sued the county for approving the development in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act. The California attorney general later filed his own legal challenge. In the intervening years, courts repeatedly rejected the residential and luxury resort, citing public safety and wildfire evacuation concerns. As part of today’s agreement, the Center and the California Native Plant Society agreed to not challenge a revised version of the development currently pending before the Lake County Planning Commission.