There is a short and vital list of ways that the GPT project can be denied. The Aquatic Lands HCP is on that list. Bring your questions and find out more about this important way that our lands and waters and the life they sustain can be protected from GPT and other threatening projects. Comment deadline is December 4th. From the event information page: 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 DNRs 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. 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. This HCP will ensure that activities authorized by DNR, such as leasing for marinas, aquaculture, overwater structures like the coal terminal are in compliance with legal restrictions to prevent harm 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.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 02:49:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015