Arcata, Calif.—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Green Diamond Resource Company Forest Habitat Conservation Plan. The plan area encompasses 357,412 acres of commercial timberland in Humboldt and Del Norte counties in California.
The habitat conservation plan provides continued protection for the federally listed northern spotted owl, as well as the unlisted Pacific fisher, and red tree and Sonoma voles, while enabling Green Diamond Resource Company to conduct their forest management work.
The conservation strategy in the plan will improve forest conditions by increasing the number of large trees, recruiting and retaining important habitat elements such as snags and downed trees, minimizing harm to individual covered species and implementing important barred owl research. The habitat conservation plan and environmental statement were informed by feedback the Service received during the public comment period.
This Notice of Availability opens a 30-day review period of the final environmental impact statement and final HCP, which will close June 3, 2019. The Federal Register notice, Green Diamond Forest HCP and final environmental impact statement are available at https://www.fws.gov/arcata/es/HCP.htm
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.
-FWS-
