Elliott State Research Forest Habitat Conservation Plan
Summary
NOAA Fisheries has issued an Endangered Species Act incidental take permit to the Oregon Department of State Lands for the Elliott State Research Forest Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The permit covers incidental take of threatened Oregon Coast coho salmon associated with implementation of the HCP over 80 years.
The Oregon Department of State Lands created the HCP to promote innovative forest research and timber production compatible with the conservation of Endangered Species Act protected Oregon Coast coho salmon and their habitat in the Elliott State Research Forest in Coos and Douglas County, Oregon. The incidental take permit provides consistency and management certainty for the landowner and the public and facilitates extended studies essential to understanding working forests.
NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife worked together toward the shared goal of an operational and public research forest for conservation of at-risk species and timber management. The HCP is intended to be financially self-sufficient, using revenue generated from the sale of forest products harvested on the Elliott State Research Forest in a manner consistent with the plan’s research framework and conservation measures.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also issued incidental take permits for the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet. Both agencies worked collaboratively for many years to ensure the HCP worked for all at-risk species and for working forests.
Habitat conservation plans are one of the many tools under the Endangered Species Act that promote strong partnerships with non-federal landowners on behalf of conserving listed species on private and non-federal lands. Habitat conservation plans are voluntary and accommodate economic development by providing long-term regulatory certainty and authorizing the limited and unintentional take of listed species when it occurs incidental to otherwise lawful activities.