U.S. Forest Service Spends $40.6 Million for Lands in 15 States
WASHINGTON, DC, April 16, 2012 (ENS) - The U.S. Forest Service is
investing $40.6 million to acquire 27 pieces of land in 15 states that
the agency says will help safeguard clean water, provide recreational
access, preserve wildlife habitat, enhance scenic vistas and protect
historic and wilderness areas.
Funded projects would protect what Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
calls "nationally significant" lands in: Alaska, California, Colorado,
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
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View of Alaska's Kootznoowoo Wilderness
(Photo by
Jon Williams)
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"In keeping with the Obama administration's America's Great Outdoors
conservation initiative, USDA is committed to conserving and restoring
our forests and bringing jobs to rural America," said Vilsack. "Through
our partnerships with states, communities, tribes and others, it is
vital that we step up our efforts to safeguard our country's natural
resources."
The money is made available through the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, created by Congress in 1964 to provide funding to federal, state
and local governments to purchase land, water and wetlands. The fund
receives most of its money through royalty payments from offshore oil
and gas revenues to mitigate the environmental impacts of those
activities.
Lands are purchased from willing sellers at fair-market value or
through partial or outright donations of property. Landowners may also
sell or donate easements on their property that restrict commercial
development while keeping the land in private ownership.
"The pristine wildernesses, flowing waters and majestic vistas help
define what makes this country great," said U.S. Forest Service Chief
Tom Tidwell. "These projects will help ensure a long future of quality
open space for those hunters and anglers, hikers, campers and other
nature lovers who enjoy America's great outdoors. The funding will also
reduce administrative costs and provide us increased flexibility in how
we restore lands across the country."
The fund supports goals set out in President Obama's America's Great
Outdoors initiative, including the need to support locally-led efforts
to protect and renew rivers and other waters; conserve and restore
national parks, wildlife refuges and other federal lands and waters; and
enhance recreational access and opportunities.
The projects were selected through a competitive process based on
ability to safeguard watersheds, provide recreational access, restore
healthy forests, mitigate climate change, defend communities from
wildfire, create management efficiency, and reconnect fragmented
landscapes and ecosystems.
These new projects are approved for funding in 2012.
Alaska:
Cube Cove /Admiralty National Monument, Tongass National Forest:
With the exception of limited shoreline on Cube Cove, the land is
entirely surrounded by Admiralty National Monument/Kootznoowoo
Wilderness. Three main watersheds are within the parcel and the
acquisition will result in preservation or restoration of the unique
coastal island ecosystem in perpetuity. $500,000
Misty Fiords National Monument, Tongass National Forest: The
monument is a national showcase of pristine lands and waters where the
scenery, wildlife and recreation opportunities are abundant. The
acquisition will reduce private land ownership within the wilderness and
avoid private development that would conflict with wilderness values.
$500,000
California:
Hurdygurdy, Six Rivers National Forest: The land on the Smith River
National Recreation Area covers portions of three streams, including the
Hurdygurdy, a designated as Wild and Scenic River that serves as refuge
and vital spawning habitat for Coho and Chinook salmon and steelhead and
coastal cutthroat trout. The acquisition will help restore and improve
fish and wildlife habitats and development of public recreational access
and dispersed recreation sites. $1 million
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Deer Creek, Lassen National Forest, California
(Photo by
David Welch)
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Deer and Mill Creek, Lassen National Forest: The parcel of land will
help complete a continuous protected fish and wildlife habitat area
along about 30 miles of Deer Creek, one of the most productive
salmon-producing streams in the Sacramento River system. As a dam-free
stream with little development, Deer Creek has abundant fish and
wildlife. $1.5 million
Eldorado Meadows, Eldorado National Forest: This project is part of
the Sierra Nevada Checkerboard Initiative, a large ongoing effort to
address land ownership patterns intermingled with private and public
land. $1.5 million
Stony Creek Consolidation; Shasta-Trinity National Forest: This
parcel, within the congressionally designated Shasta-Trinity National
Recreation Area, is a donut hole in the midst of Forest Service
recreation facilities on the shore of Lake Shasta and is threatened with
incompatible subdivision and development. Acquisition will preserve the
high quality visual character of this key recreation area while
preventing lakeshore degradation and habitat fragmentation. $800,000
Fleming Ranch, San Bernardino National Forest: Will conserve and
enhance resources in the San Jacinto Mountains in part by implementing
fire and biofuels management that would prevent emissions release,
maintain sequestration in forests, and through restoration practices
advance carbon migration. $1.5 million
Sierra Nevada Inholdings, Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests: Will
leverage a large land donation to purchase vital areas threatened by
incompatible development. This acquisition will preserve an ancient
petroglyph, as well as conserve meadows, wetlands and riparian areas at
the headwaters of the American and Yoba rivers. $2 million
California/Oregon/Washington:
Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, multiple national forests: The
area was one of first two congressionally designated national scenic
trials. The acquisition will help protect critical portions of the 2,650
mile trail system that stretches from Mexico into Canada. The land will
help protect key wildlife corridors that support the migration of the
grey wolf, grizzly bear, elk, deer, coyote and moose as well as
protecting the trail from encroaching development. $1 million
Colorado:
Little Echo Lake, Arapaho National Forest: The acquisition will
forever preserve a spectacular mountain lake and surrounding land
adjacent to the 17,000-acre James Peak Wilderness Area and concurrently
protect Denver's water supply. Adding the parcel to the national forest
also will enhance recreational opportunities by providing legal access
into the wilderness area and nearby Continental Divide Trail. The area
is home to the federally threatened Canada lynx as well as the Boreal
toad and wolverine which are designated by the Forest Service as
sensitive species. $950,000
Ophir Valley, Uncompahgre National Forest: The acquisition will
protect breathtaking mountain vistas, including a portion of the Howards
Fork drainage, a narrow steep valley roughly 2,500 feet below the top of
Ophir Pass, and areas that link Telluride to Silverthorne. Recreational
access for hunting and four-wheel drives, fishing rock climbing,
sightseeing, camping, hiking and horseback riding will be significantly
enhanced. $1.5 million
Georgia:
Georgia Mountains and Rivers, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest:
Georgia's national forests are near population centers numbering in the
millions, creating tremendous pressures for clean water and recreation
on the nearby public lands. These acquisitions focus on providing
recreation opportunities and protecting watershed and wetlands in an
area where the viability and availability of clean, abundant water is
critical. $2 million
Idaho:
Salmon-Selway Initiative Area, Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth National
Forests: The Morgan Ranch is an old homestead that lies upstream from
the Middle Fork of the Salmon River within the Frank Church River of No
Return Wilderness Area. The 18 miles of Sulphur Creek, a tributary of
the Middle Fork, provides significant spawning and rearing habitat for
three species of fish listed under the Endangered Species Act: Chinook
salmon, steelhead trout and bull trout. $3.5 million
Upper Lochsa, Clearwater National Forest: The parcel includes
habitat for threatened steelhead and bull trout, denning and foraging
habitat for Canada lynx, critical elk winter range and portions of the
Nez Perce National Historic Trail. The Nez Perce Tribe has contributed
more than $7 million in non-federal monies toward aquatic habitat
restoration in the Upper Lochsa drainage area and proposes to continue
funding of roughly $1 million per year. $1 million
Indiana:
Hoosier National Forest: This project is focused on the protection
of the Lost River, a subterranean river that is associated with the
second largest cave system in the State. The river supports a unique
ecosystem that has been found to contain at least 15 globally-imperiled
subterranean species. Acquisition of this parcel will protect several
sinkhole entrances to the Lost River cave system. $466,000
Michigan:
Great Lakes/Great Lands, Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests: This
acquisition will directly support the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
by protecting watershed health and integrity in the Great Lakes region.
The project will also help ensure the conservation of the Sturgeon Wild
& Scenic River and associated wetlands. These parcels provide travel
connectivity for the endangered Eastern Gray Wolf and the threatened
Canadian Lynx as well as habitat for other sensitive and endangered
species. $640,000
Missouri:
Missouri Ozarks, Mark Twain National Forest: The land, which include
prime riparian river frontage on the Current River, will help connect
existing national forest lands to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
Consolidating the lands will help protect watershed quality and provide
maximum benefit for both resident and migratory wildlife species.
$990,000
Montana:
Legacy Completion, Lolo and Flathead National Forests: The project
will enhance resource management within and adjacent to the Crown of the
Continent by protecting healthy watersheds, diverse habitats for
threatened and endangered species, and open space on a landscape-scale
and public access to high quality recreation opportunities. This parcel
is a part of the Montana Legacy project, one of the most ambitious
conservation projects in modern Forest Service history and includes a
111,740 acre donation from conservation partners. $2 million
Tenderfoot Part I, Lewis and Clark National Forest: The Tenderfoot
watershed in Central Montana is remarkably diverse spanning areas from
3,200 feet elevations sub-alpine mountains to grass meadows and riparian
areas. The acquisition parcels will provide high quality water and
fisheries habitat for west slope cutthroat trout, and habitat for elk,
moose, deer and many other wildlife species. The land offers incredible
scenic views and extraordinary recreation opportunities, especially for
anglers and hunters. $2 million
New Mexico:
Miranda Canyon Phase I, Carson National Forest: The land offers
breathtaking views from its numerous ridges and peaks of the Rio Grande
Gorge to the west and Wheeler Peak to the north. Historical features
include the Camino Real Trail, unique geologic features such as a small
volcano and 1.7 billion-year-old rock outcrops that rival the age of
rocks found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Hunting, sightseeing,
camping, hiking, interpretation and horseback riding will be enhanced.
$3,442,000
North Carolina:
North Carolina Threatened Treasures, National Forests in North
Carolina: Nationally, land managed by the National Forests in North
Carolina rank second in recreation visits but are among the most
vulnerable to adjacent commercial and residential development. Forest
fragmentation is a major issue and the acquisition will help to ensure
recreation access, ecological integrity and watershed values on adjacent
federal lands and for downstream resources. $1 million
Oregon:
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest: One of America's most treasured landscapes, Hell's Canyon is
renowned for its natural, historical, archaeological and recreational
values. The properties will serve as public gateways to thousands of
acres of public lands and are home to 14 key fish and wildlife species,
including Oregon's largest Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep herd. The land
also contains habitat for rare plants and at-risk bird species including
the yellow breasted chat, mountain quail, Lewis' woodpecker and willow
flycatcher. $1,417,500
Oregon/Washington:
Pacific North West Streams, multiple national forests: Lands
selected for acquisition include key habitat for at-risk fish stocks.
Immediate public benefits will be secured public access, increased
recreation opportunities and more efficient long-term management and
restoration of key stream, riparian areas, tidal marsh and estuary
needed for bird and wildlife recovery. $1.1 million
Tennessee:
Rocky Fork, Cherokee National Forest: This acquisition will provide
protection for what was recently one of the largest contiguous tracts of
private forest land in the East. The Forest Service identified Rocky
Fork as a "national priority" because of its high natural resource
values and recreational opportunities including a portion of the
Appalachian Trail, blue-ribbon trout fishing, and a variety of
recreational activities such as wildlife watching, rock climbing and
hunting. $5 million
Utah:
Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest:
This parcel is becoming one of the last undeveloped areas on the Wasatch
Front for traditional summer/winter range for deer and elk. Several
parcels have historical nesting habitats for peregrine falcon, a
sensitive species. Unique features, such as waterfalls and montane
riparian areas add to the biological and recreational value of the land.
$600,000
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest: The land
has historic significance because it once supported construction of the
Trans-Continental Railroad as well as the early fur trapping and logging
industries. The acquisition offers a rare opportunity to enhance public
access and sustain recreational opportunities, protect wildlife and fish
habitat and limit the spread of development. $1.2 million
Washington:
Washington Cascade Ecosystem, Wenatchee National Forest: The
acquisition is part of a larger, landscape-scale effort to resolve the
fragmented land ownership pattern across Washington's Central Cascades.
Threading through the area are several north-south wildlife corridors
that need to be protected and restored to preserve healthy wildlife
populations. $1.5 million
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Environment News Service (ENS) 2012. All rights reserved.
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