Development of one or more Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) addressing forestry, mining, and water resource development in the Cumberland Plateau and Mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee began in earnest in 2005 and continues today.  The Cumberland HCP project area contains at least 22 federally listed taxa, most of which are aquatic species.  A Science Advisory Committee (SAC) of approximately 40 members was established to provide technical and scientific support to HCP development.  The SAC selected six focal species (two mussels, two fishes, one bird, one bat) deemed most likely to be covered by a HCP.  Detailed information on these species, including threats, threat sources, likelihood of take, strategies to minimize take and mitigate for take, and monitoring approaches, was collected through surveys administered electronically to SAC members (n = 32) and ad-hoc specialists (n = 40).  The surveys (1) allowed participants to evaluate difficult questions in an office setting with access to their files, the Internet, and other sources of information, and (2) produced results that could be analyzed and summarized quantitatively.  However, the survey-based approach has certain limitations and has not been used to replace face-to-face SAC meetings.