Comment from Van Loon, Chloe

To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to submit my public comment regarding the draft Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Green Diamond Resource Company. As an environmental educator and naturalist, I work daily to teach the public about biodiversity and the vital importance of protecting vulnerable species. It is extremely concerning to me that this HCP and the associated permit, if approved, would explicitly authorize the injury or death of the federally threatened marbled murrelet during timber harvest operations. While I acknowledge that the plan provides specified protections, allowing the "incidental take" of a species already suffering from severe habitat fragmentation, low reproductive rates, and rising nest predation is a risk we cannot afford to take. The marbled murrelet's survival depends entirely on the integrity of our remaining mature and old-growth coastal forests. Because these birds are highly sensitive to canopy disruptions, even minor habitat loss or disturbance during harvest operations can have devastating, long-term impacts on local populations. From an educational and ecological standpoint, our priority must be the total recovery of this threatened species, not the management of its decline. I strongly urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce the most stringent, precautionary protections possible, minimize authorized take to the absolute baseline, and mandate independent, third-party monitoring to ensure that specified protections are flawlessly executed. Thank you for considering the perspective of the educational and naturalist community. Sincerely, Chloe Van Loon Environmental Educator & Naturalist across California, most recently in Humboldt County