On March 1, 1999, PALCO signed an agreement with the State of California and the federal government to sell the Headwaters Forest to the public. As part of this historic agreement, our company developed a multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that provides long-term protection for 17 species on our land, while ensuring that we can continue to grow and harvest trees.

Habitat Conservation Plans are an important part of the federal Endangered Species Act that allow landowners and government wildlife agencies to develop protection plans for threatened and endangered species. These plans provide specific habitat protections designed to address the specific needs of fish and wildlife, while at the same time allowing private landowners to manage their lands.

The PALCO HCP contains the most stringent environmental protections implemented by any private timberland owner in the state. The result is that more than half of the Company's lands are off limits to harvest under the strict interim measures to protect fish, wildlife and water quality. These protections may only be modified when state and federal agencies determine that site-specific scientific information indicates changes are appropriate.

The Habitat Conservation Plan (PDF 2.9 MB)