Draft Habitat Conservation Plan Informational Meeting

When:
November 18, 2014 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
2014-11-18T18:00:00-08:00
2014-11-18T20:00:00-08:00
Where:
Re-Sources 2nd floor
2309 Meridian Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
USA
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Matt Petryni
In Bellingham:
Tuesday, November 18th, 6 pm- 8pm
2309 Meridian St., 2nd floor;
In Anacortes:
Wednesday, November 19th, 6 pm-8 pm
Salvation Army, 3001 R Ave #100, 2nd floor

A draft Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for aquatic lands is out for review, and comments are due by December 4. Learn the specifics of the HCP from DNR’s Lalena Amiotte, HCP Supervisor, and learn how the HCP will affect practices around your favorite water body, including the Cherry Point and Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve and Bellingham Bay.  COME AND LEARN HOW TO READ THE DOCUMENT AND COMMENT.

An HCP is an agreement between the federal government (US Fish and Wildlife and NOAA Fisheries) and an entity that outlines a habitat conservation plan that must be followed in order to allow certain actions which may result in the harming or “incidental take” of an endangered (or at risk) species. Often, these occur on a permit by permit basis.

According to DNR: This HCP will “ensure that activities authorized by DNR, such as leasing for marinas and aquaculture, can continue while avoiding and minimizing impacts to endangered species. By committing to the conservation strategies in the aquatic HCP, DNR and entities that lease state-owned aquatic lands will receive federal assurances of compliance with the ESA.”

The proposed HCP details a number of activities that WDNR (or individuals, businesses, and other governmental agencies authorized by WDNR) plans to undertake during the next 50 years to avoid and minimize harmful effects to vulnerable species and their habitats. The HCP proposes to protect 29 species, including the federally listed Chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, steelhead trout, bull trout, Eulachon, canary rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and several unlisted fish and wildlife species.

A link to the draft plan is HERE

 

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