In November 1997, President Clinton signed legislation providing $250 million as the federal share for acquisition of the 7,500-acre Headwaters old-growth forest in Humboldt County. In May 1998, Governor Wilson included the state’s $130 million share of the funding in his 1998-1999 state budget proposal. Negotiations are continuing with the Legislature on appropriating those funds. Meanwhile, work is nearing completion on the draft Habitat Conservation Plan and Sustained Yield Plan for the remaining 200,000 acres of timber land held by Pacific Lumber Co., which owns Headwaters. A draft Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report on these plans and the acquisition will soon be released to the public for comment and a number of public hearings are scheduled.
Monterey Oceans Conference
On June 11-12, President Clinton and Vice President Gore joined the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Navy in hosting a national summit on ocean and coastal issues, in recognition of the designation of 1998 as “International Year of the Ocean” by the United Nations, and “Year of the Ocean” by President Clinton. The event, held at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, provided policymakers, scientists, industry and environmental leaders an opportunity to help shape a comprehensive national oceans policy.
CALFED
In mid-May, after several weeks of public hearings, Governor Wilson and Secretary for the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced an extension of the public comment period for 30 days and a revision of the overall CALFED schedule for developing the long-term plan. Under the revised schedule, CALFED will select a preferred alternative and prepare a final draft Environmental Impact Report/Environ- mental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) by the end of 1998. The public will be given an additional opportunity for public comment on the CALFED plan during Spring 1999. The final EIR/EIS will be released in mid-1999.