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Fourth Quarter FY2004
The Tract Record
Forest Service Scores an FLP Review Hat Trick
NA Forest Service officials reviewed the Forest Legacy Programs
of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Vermont in the fourth quarter of
FY2004. The purpose of a program review is to cooperatively review
a State’s program and develop recommendations to improve program
implementation by both the State and Federal partners.
Senate Marks Up Interior Appropriations Bill—Proposes
Increase Over FY2004
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version of the
2005 Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act on September 17, 2004, in which funding for the Forest Legacy
Program is identified. The Senate Forest Legacy Program mark of $76,725,000
represents an increase of $12,195,000 over the FY2004 amount; but
falls $23,294,000 short of the amount proposed by the President for
2005 ($100,019,000). The bill stipulates that $5,000,000 of the budget
be covered with prior year funds. The full Senate has yet to vote
on the committee’s recommendation. The conference committee
schedule has not been released.
Committees, Priorities, and FLIS, Oh My!
Forest Stewardship Coordinators for the Northeastern Area States
report that States held their Forest Legacy or Forest Stewardship
Committee meetings throughout the month of September to review applications
from landowners and prioritize projects for fiscal year 2005 funding
consideration. The projects are then entered into the Forest Legacy
Information System (FLIS) and reviewed for the national project prioritization
that will occur in January 2005.
Recently Completed FLP Projects Add Pieces of the Puzzle to Land
Protection Efforts
Vermont Extends Protection of a Wildlife Corridor
A continuing effort to connect the two units of the Green Mountain
National Forest with a conserved corridor for wildlife, specifically
bears, was supplemented with 425 acres on August 2, 2004. The second
phase of the Mt. Holly Wildlife Corridor Forest Legacy project was
protected with a conservation easement. The Ninevah Foundation was
paid $747,000 in Forest Legacy funds. The cost-share for the project
was the purchase of a nearby 273-acre tract that used no Federal
funds. Other Forest Legacy tracts in the corridor include the 2,086-acre
Wilderness Corporation Tract, the 560-acre Snow Tract, and the 391-acre
Mt. Holly Wildlife Corridor Garrow tract.
Maine Protects Even More Land Around a Beloved Park
The Tumbledown Mountain/Mt. Blue State Park area has long been
prized for its scenic beauty, recreation opportunities, wildlife
habitat, and productive forest. In response to large-scale changes
in ownership and management practices in the region, the Maine Department
of Conservation, the Trust for Public Land, and the Tumbledown Conservation
Alliance have been working together for 5 years with the help of
the FLP to conserve high-priority conservation land. The acquisition
of a 6,705-acre property from MeadWestvaco on August 31, 2004, that
includes over 6 miles of the ridgeline of the Tumbledown Range brings
the total of protected land to nearly 26,000 acres. The landowner
provided a bargain sale, selling the easement appraised at $2,650,000
to the State for $2,430,000. The FLP contributed $1,470,000 to the
transaction.
Minnesota Completes Final Rice County Big Woods Tracts
Protection of the final two tracts of the Big Woods Project in
the Rice County Big Woods Forest Legacy Area in southern Minnesota
capped off an effort to protect a total of 1,171 acres. The conservation
easements on the two tracts, totaling 125 acres, are valued at $470,900—the
Forest Legacy Program provided $353,450; landowner donations through
bargain sales worth $117,450 provided the non-Federal cost-share.
The protection of these two properties—Nerstrand Woods #5 on
July 29, 2004, and Cannon River Big Woods #3 on September 27, 2004,
close out a 3-year effort for Minnesota’s Forest Legacy Program.
The project consists of a total of 15 properties purchased using
FLP funds, as well as two cost-share properties. The projects were
valued at $3,437,000; the FLP contribution was $2,180,000.
Illinois Protects Other Side of Forest Legacy Area
Illinois purchased a conservation easement on a vital tract on
the western portion of the Mississippi River Bluffs near Pere Marquette
State Park and the village of Grafton, Illinois. On September 15,
2004, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources purchased a conservation
easement on the 79-acre Rattlesnake Ridge property from the Great
Rivers Land Trust. Owing to its close proximity to Pere Marquette
State Park, the acquisition of this tract is considered a crucial
first step to the protection of the forest land on the western end
of the Mississippi River Bluffs in the Great Rivers Bluffs Forest
Legacy Area. Land protection efforts on the east side have been ongoing.
The Rattlesnake Ridge conservation easement was valued at $102,350;
the Forest Legacy Program provided $76,763.
Indiana Big Spring Farm and Forest Free From Conversion
On September 23, 2004, the 183-acre Big Spring Farm project was
completed by the combined efforts of landowners Billy and Peggy Smith,
the Indiana Division of Forestry, the Forest Legacy Program, and
The Nature Conservancy. Indiana acquired a conservation easement
on 140 forested acres for an appraised value of $175,000. This acreage
includes large diameter hardwood forests, cave and karst features,
extensive river frontage, and the entire length of the Big Spring
stream. Cost-share for the FLP portion was through a State acquisition
of 48 acres to be added to Clark State Forest. The remaining 43 acres
of the conservation easement project, valued at $90,000, was acquired
through a $20,000 donation from The Nature Conservancy and a $70,000
value donation from the landowners. This additional acreage, although
not the cost-share portion, complements the Forest Legacy project
and consists primarily of pasture, cropland, and significant forest
riparian frontage along the Little Blue River. |
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These protection efforts are the culmination of over 10
years of a community-wide effort to protect and restore Minnesota’s
Big Woods.
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