Federal and state biologists have spent literally thousands of hours crafting the Habitat Conservation Plan. The end result is a strong plan on which all of us will have to work closely together to implement satisfactorily. I also want to thank the Department of Commerce, particularly Secretary William Daley, Terry Garcia, and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Department of Justice, where a number of attorneys worked long and hard to make sure this agreement went through. I additionally wish to thank President Clinton, who steadfastly stood by this agreement, his Chief of Staff John Podesta, along with the President's Council on Environmental Quality. Also, Governor Davis, Secretary of Resources Mary Nichols and Cabinet Secretary Susan Kennedy deserve thanks for their extremely constructive involvement in the final days of this process.
Challenges still lie ahead.
It is up to all of us to ensure that implementation of the Habitat Conservation Plan proceeds smoothly, so that Pacific Lumber may continue its logging operations while also being a responsible steward of the environment. I know there will be some who will say that this agreement is not enough, but throughout the last ten years, during which time we have looked for a solution, no one has come forward with either the dollars to buy Headwaters Forest or a successful methodology to save the forest until this purchase agreement and Habitat Conservation Plan were developed. This agreement was truly the last, best chance to save Headwaters. I could not be happier that we were able to take advantage of that chance.