Saving the Forest for the Trees—and You

This summer, we’re celebrating a big win in Minnesota. With our partners, we’ve saved more than 187,000 acres of forests, wetlands and shoreline in the magnificent Northwoods – the state’s largest conservation deal ever.

The win comes at a tough time for our forests. Across America, private forests are losing ground to housing subdivisions, retail stores, vineyards and other developments.  Minnesota, for instance, has lost over a third of its industrial forestland in the last 20 years. And the trend is accelerating: the U.S. Forest Service estimates that some 26 million acres of private forestland nationwide will be converted to other use in the next two decades. The loss stems, in part, from the shrinking forest products industry, which is forcing forest owners to sell off their lands to investors, developers and others.

"From the remote backwoods to groves near small towns, forests are shrinking," says Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund. "You wake up one morning, and the forest you took for granted down the road is occupied by bulldozers tearing up the trees."

To fight this trend, The Conservation Fund has worked with state, community and corporate partners to save over 1.5 million acres of forestland nationwide. These projects include conservation easements, community-owned forests, and other projects that ensure this key natural infrastructure is protected in ways that benefit our environment and also local economies, through forestry jobs and products, as well as recreation.

In Minnesota, we worked with public and private partners to help the Department of Natural Resources purchase a conservation easement on working forestland owned by Blandin Paper Company (UPM). The new easement conserves over 60,000 acres of wetlands, 280 miles of stream, lake and river frontage and stitches together over 4,000 square miles of public and private forests. By keeping this land protected and open to the public, the state provides access to prime hunting, fishing, birdwatching, hiking, snowmobiling and other recreational activity. For more, see our website.

CONSERVATION SUCCESS

Extra Credit: Conservation Banking

For one hot week in July, a smart and diverse crowd shared strategies for a cool tool: conservation banking. Just as a bank account holds dollars, a conservation bank collects and protects high value habitat. Project proponents – such as road builders, developers or expanding military bases – can buy credits from the banks to compensate for their project’s impact on critical habitat.

At our pilot Conservation Banking Training Course, developed by our Conservation Leadership Network team and held at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, 65 people learned how to improve species protection using conservation banking.  Our course partners included the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USDA Office of Ecosystem Markets and the National Mitigation Banking Association.

“This was the first time that conservation banking regulators, the regulated agencies, and the private banking industry all participated in a course together,” says Kris Hoellen, who heads the Conservation Leadership Network. “Together, they jointly developed the training course for their constituencies, with the idea that if we all hear the same message and learn together, we can create networks, strengthen relationships and facilitate conservation banking on the ground.

Ultimately, Hoellen says, in addition to holding additional national courses, the Fund and its partners hope to tailor the course to regional locales, working with local sponsors who invite partners to attend. Click here for more on the event and conservation banking.

ACROSS AMERICA

A Moment for the Manatee

Each winter, more than 150 manatees migrate to Three Sisters Springs on Florida’s Gulf Coast, to rest, feed and calve in the turquoise waters. Visitors from all over the world travel to see the manatees, boosting the local economy. Now, this treasured resource is protected.

Now, we’ve protected this magical spot.  With our partners, we’ve ensured that nearly 58 acres of critical habitat for the endangered West Indian (Florida) manatee are now preserved from development and will be managed as a wildlife refuge. The project took two years, a supportive community and plenty of planning. Find out more about the project.

Think you know the manatee?Take our quiz!