Plum Creek's HCP Just Plum Bad News for Bull Trout

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking a “something is better than nothing” attitude by signing the new habitat conservation plan (HCP) proposed by the Plum Creek Timber Co. While the plan is better than the woefully inadequate forest practice rules in Idaho and Montana, Plum Creek’s plan falls short of the benchmark it must meet.

“Plum Creek’s plan doesn’t meet the standards of the Endangered Species Act,” says David Bayles, conservation director for the Pacific Rivers Council, “and it won’t save the bull trout or other threatened species on Plum Creek’s land. The federal agencies may have negotiated the best deal they could, but the deal does not protect endangered species -- as the law requires.”

Plum Creek’s HCP covers 1.6 million acres, 17 species of salmon and trout, and 5,100 miles of stream, primarily in western Montana, with additional lands in Idaho and Washington. While Plum Creek’s plan identifies key bull trout habitat, it doesn’t adequately protect that habitat.

“Plum Creek’s HCP still allows logging and road building in irreplaceable bull trout habitat in Montana’s Swan Valley,” says Chris Frissell, staff scientist at Pacific Rivers Council and former assistant research professor at the Flathead Research Station, University of Montana.

Daniel Hall of American Lands adds, "Plum Creek's permit doesn't even require the company to adopt longer rotations and other more sustainable forestry practices that could reduce impacts to salmon, wildlife, and long term timber productivity.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt sing Plum Creek’s praises for their “conservation leadership.”  “Plum Creek’s so called leadership is ironic” says Bayles, “While Plum Creek’s plan really is significantly better than current practices, it nevertheless is significantly less than what the fish need. We may asks the courts to reexamine the Department of Interior’s failure to insist on sound endangered species protection.”