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“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.” This case “highlights the complexity of negotiating in a changing political environment” and is “useful for applying basic negotiation principles in a complex context characterized by multiple politically energized stakeholders, regulatory uncertainty, and public-private sector innovation.” It is recommended for use as a “capstone for a negotiations course, or as a negotiation case within an environmental management course.” (Also see case supplements B and C.)