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.
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.
The actual HCP document, associated Environmental Impact Statement, Service Coorespondence, Letters of Support, and various press articles can be found at these links: