California
Maintaining Essential Habitat
The health of forests cannot be measured by trees alone, but must take into account the wildlife that inhabits them.
The North Coast of California offers some unique wildlife habitats, which require special attention.
In 1990, we hired a wildlife biologist to study the impact of timber operations on wildlife in our forests -- particularly the Northern Spotted Owl. This groundbreaking scientific research and monitoring program led to the development of an effective means to sustain populations of spotted owls during timber operations.
As a result of this pioneering research, our California timberlands were the first privately owned timberlands in the nation to be awarded a Habitat Conservation Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An HCP is a voluntary forest management plan developed in cooperation with the landowner and numerous governmental agencies. HCPs provide habitat protection beyond that required by current state forest practices regulations. In June of 2007, we successfully completed an Aquatic HCP covering several aquatic species on our lands in California.
These ground-breaking Habitat Conservation Plans, which incorporate the best of science and resource management techniques, are the foundation for our approach to manage our lands on a landscape scale. We want to look across our landscape and employ rigorous standards and practices to enhance and protect habitats for numerous species, protect water quality, mitigate the impacts of harvesting, and grow healthy and productive forests.