Habitat Conservation Plans

The Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) process allows state and private parties to request a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for incidental take of listed species, provided they submit a plan that limits take and meets other specific protective criteria.  Once the party has obtained the permit, NMFS and FWS cannot prosecute the party for a take (e.g. killing or harassing a listed species) if the take is covered by the permit.  While Pacific Rivers Council is committed to working with the government agencies on improving the HCP and its adaptive management program, in the end Pacific Rivers Council believes the laws that protect fish and wildlife need to be enforced.  That means that NMFS and FWS must not approve HCPs unless they, in fact, meet the legal standards of the ESA.  NMFS and FWS must not bless practices that are actually hindering the recovery of listed species. 

Pacific Rivers Council assesses habitat conservation plans (HCPs) with three fundamental tenets in mind. First, all HCPs must minimize harmful risks and impacts, and then mitigate for any remaining harmful risks and impacts. Second, scientifically defensible and legally enforceable aquatic standards must be part of all state and private forestland planning. Third, none of these plans can be permitted to undermine the recovery of aquatic ecosystems.

Learn more about our work on the Elliott State Forest HCP.

Learn more about our efforts to improve the Washington Forests and Fish HCP.

Learn more about  our involvement with Plum Creek Timber Company's Native Fish HCP and the Green Diamond Resource Company (formerly Simpson Resource Company) HCP.

Read our comments on Montana's forested state trust lands HCP.

Learn about a proposed agreement for a permit on Idaho's State and Private Timberlands in the Clearwater and Salmon River Basins, which should be developed using the HCP process.