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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2001
(Revised from original 2000 version)
Plum Creek Timber (A)
by
Max H. Bazerman, Hannah Bowles, Dov Brachfeld and Jack Troast
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Abstract
Plum Creek Timber Co., the nation's sixth largest private timberland owner and forest products company, must decide whether to enter negotiations with the U.S. government to establish a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) on its Pacific Northwest properties for a threatened fish species, the bull trout. Under the Endangered Species Act, Plum Creek could voluntarily create an HCP in exchange for long-term regulatory assurances from the U.S. government. The company has to weigh several factors in its decision to proceed with the negotiations: whether it can replicate the success of a recent HCP for spotted owls, the likelihood of government or third-party lawsuits against the company, the costs of coordinating with multiple state and federal environmental agencies, and the value of regulatory predictability.
Citation:
Bazerman, Max H., Hannah Bowles, Dov Brachfeld, and Jack Troast. "Plum Creek Timber (A)." Harvard Business School Case 801-131, February 2001. (Revised from original August 2000 version.)