The NBHCP, adopted in November 1997 and revised in 2003, was designed to promote biological conservation along with economic development and continuation of agriculture in the 53,341-acre Natomas Basin, located in portions of northern Sacramento and southern Sutter Counties.  The NBHCP was also prepared to satisfy a condition of an U.S. Army Corp of Engineers permit, with the program implementation under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and the City of Sacramento.

The NBHCP established a multi-species conservation program to mitigate the expected loss of habitat values and incidental take of protected species that would result from urban development, operation of irrigation and drainage systems, and rice farming.  To meet the mitigation goals of the NBHCP, a mitigation fee is paid to the Conservancy by developers of projects when they apply for building permits. The Conservancy then uses the mitigation fees to acquire, restore, and manage mitigation lands to provide habitat for protected species and maintain agriculture in the Basin. Since the program inception, the Conservancy has acquired approximately 30 mitigation properties totaling over 4,500 acres.