SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the Notice of Availability for public comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Green Diamond Company Forest Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The applicant has requested a 50-year incidental take permit and submitted a Forest HCP to the Service, proposing strategies to avoid, minimize, and offset potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of activities associated with commercial forest management within the plan area on four species—including the northern spotted owl which is federally listed as threatened.
The conservation strategy in the Forest HCP is intended to improve forest conditions throughout the life of the plan by: recruiting and retaining important habitat elements such as snags and downed trees, minimizing harm to individual covered species, implementing important barred owl research, and compliance and effectiveness monitoring. The applicant’s proposed Forest HCP area encompasses 357,412 acres of commercial timberland in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, California.
HCPs are required to minimize and mitigate the effects non-federal activities have on threatened and endangered species, as required under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act. The Service regularly engages conservation partners, the public, landowners, government agencies, and other stakeholders in our ongoing effort to identify innovative strategies for conserving and recovering species at risk. HCPs provide a roadmap for species conservation that is essential to protecting ecosystems that benefit society as a whole.
The Service and Green Diamond also invite the public to an informational open house at the Humboldt Aquatic Center at 921 Waterfront Drive in Eureka, California on August 28, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The open house will provide an opportunity to meet with Service and Green Diamond personnel, learn about the HCP and NEPA processes, and provide input.
The Notice of Availability announcement opened a 45-day comment period on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed HCP, which will close September 6, 2018. The Federal Register notice, Green Diamond Forest HCP and draft environmental impact statement are available at www.fws.gov/arcata/es/HCP.html.
The public may submit written comments by one of the following methods.
- Email: FW8GreenDiamondEISHCP@fws.gov
- U.S. Mail: Jennifer L. Norris, Assistant Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521–4573.
- Fax: 707.822.8411
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information about our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov/arcata/ or connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.
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