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Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)
Overview: |
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A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is a long-term management plan that seeks to conserve endangered species habitat while allowing sustainable management of natural resources.
By providing an alternative pathway to meeting state and federal environmental regulations, an HCP allows a landowner to create a management plan that protects him from regulatory changes for
the lifetime of the plan while providing habitat for species listed in the plan.
Download the Family Forest Habitat Conservation Plan Documents
HCP
 FFHCP Summary.pdf
FFHCP Table of Contents, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Chapters 1,2,3, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Chapter 4, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Chapter 5, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Chapters 6 through 15, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Appendix A Title Page, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Appendix B, C, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Appendix D, E, F, G, August 2007 1A.pdf
FFHCP Appendix H, I, August 2007 1A.pdf
EIS
Draft Family Forest Foundation HCP EIS (PDF 3,279K)
Services Correspondence
BOCC Letter of Record Janruay 12, 2008 (PDF 412K)
Services Response to Application June 2, 2009 (PDF 169K)
BOCC FFF Berg Michaels June 7, 2010 Response (PDF 51k)
Services Response to NOI Request June 7, 2010 (PDF 45K)
BOCC FFF Stelle July 8, 2010 (PDF 291K)
Letters of Support
BOCC FFHCP Support January 3, 2007 (PDF 66K)
Murray, Cantwell, Dicks & Baird HCP Letter April 11, 2007 (PDF 500K)
Murray & Cantwell HCP Letter May 2, 2007 (PDF 447K)
Dr Jerry Franklin FFHCP March 10, 2008 (PDF 456K)
Dr Jerry Franklin Testimony on HB 1655-SB 5690 February 13, 2009 (PDF 92K)
Articles
The Chronicle September 6, 2007 (PDF 315K)
Capital Press September 21, 2007 (PDF 1,887K)
Seattle P-I September 30, 2007 (PDF 24K)
Western Roundup January 21, 2008 (PDF 34K)
Business to Business May 25, 2008 (PDF 12K)
The East County Journal February 11, 2009 (PDF 11K)
Seattle Times Op Ed February 25, 2009 (PDF 17K)
Capital Press May 10, 2009 (PDF 807K)
Capital Press August 21, 2009 (PDF 13K)
The Family Forest Foundation is developing the first HCP in the nation for family forest landowners. When completed, the Family Forest Habitat Conservation Plan (FFHCP)
will give family forest landowners in Lewis County long-term regulatory certainty and the incentive to develop and conserve habitat for endangered species on their property.
Introduction to the Lewis County
Family Forest Habitat Conservation Plan:
Western Washington provides some of the most productive forests in the world. Washington's family forest landowners own approximately 20%, (4.2 million acres) of this
forestland. In Lewis County, family forest landowners represent approximately 15% (136,000 acres) of the forestland.
Across the nation, family forest landowners represent 59% of the available forestland. It is estimated that approximately 90% of currently endangered species depend on
family forest land for some of their habitat needs (National Academy of Sciences 1998). While this acreage is significant, family forests have an importance to communities and ecosystems
that extends beyond their acreage alone.
In many cases, these forests constitute the majority of buffers between local communities and large tracts of public and industrial forestlands, minimizing conflicts
between urban uses and industrial forestland uses. Many of these families represent multigenerational residents of the community. They perform an integral function for the region's culture.
These families support local schools and civic organizations. The revenue from tree farming families represents real income; i.e., goods are produced from a renewable natural resource to
provide a value-added commodity - and these profits stay in the community, providing for long-term economic viability and community health.
In western Washington, family forests tend to be located on the highly productive forest areas that are often the interface between urbanizing population centers and
middle and higher elevations where federal, state and industrial forestland is found. The Puget Trough, as it extends into Lewis County, encompasses most of the family forest land in the
county and is an example of such an area. Since the enactment of state forest practice rules, Washingtons forestland owners have seen 19 changes forest practice regulation. Changing
regulatory constraints often result in economic hardships for family forest landowners due to their small scale and the broad brush approach of current regulation.. Such impacts, along
with regulatory uncertainty in the face of skyrocketing western Washington real estate values, has caused many family forest landowners to question keeping their lands in forest use.
Over the last ten years 36,500 acres/year of family forest land in Washington State have been converted to residential and commercial use (WA Department of Natural Resources 1998). Today
policy makers must balance important environmental issues, such as protection of anadromous fish and water quality, with the land use pressures brought on by rising population demands for
development. Unless a mechanism is found to give family forest landowners a stable planning environment and relief from the economic impacts of regulatory constraints, large areas of forestland
will likely be lost to development in the future. The Family Forest Foundation believes that the Habitat Conservation Planning process provides such a mechanism. The implementation of the
FFHCP will provide landowners and incentive to keep their lands in forestry and continue to contribute the public values provided by sustainable forest management.
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