Public, Private Group Buys 300,000 Acres of New York, Vermont Forest
http://forests.org/-- Forest Conservation Archives
12/11/98
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Title: Public, Private Group Buys 300,000 Acres of New York, Vermont
Forest
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 12/11/98
Byline: Tony Munroe
BOSTON - New York and Vermont on Wednesday said they will join the
non-profit Conservation Fund to buy 300,000 acres of forest land in
those states, plus New Hampshire, from Champion International Corp. for $76.2
million.
About 70 percent of the land will be used for traditional forestry,
while 30 percent is considered environmentally sensitive and will be set aside
for public use, said the Arlington, Virginia,-based Conservation Fund,
which seeks to balance the interests of economic growth and
conservation.
"Our goal is to retain the forests so that they remain open for their
traditional uses for outdoor recreation, for wildlife habitat, and,
ultimately, for the production of high-quality timber," said Patrick F.
Noonan, chairman of the Conservation Fund, which called the deal "the
largest public-private, multi-state conservation project in U.S.
history."
The complex deal, involving partnerships between private investors,
public agencies, foundations and non-profit groups, is slated to close
sometime next year, the Conservation Fund said. Financing for the
programme is not yet complete.
The plan includes 143,000 acres in and around New York state's
Adirondack Park. The Forestland Group LLC of Chapel Hill, N.C., a timberland
investment management firm, will buy 114,000 acres of that land. The
state of New York will pay $24.9 million for 29,000 acres of
ecologically sensitive and recreational land, plus conservation easements on
110,000
acres of the Forestland Group property.
In Vermont, the 133,000-acre tract will cost $26.5 million in public and
private money. Between 39,000 and 48,000 acres near existing public
lands are slated for state and federal ownership, while the rest will be re-
sold to private forestry interests, the Conservation Fund said.
The state of Vermont will pay $4 million in cash, a spokeswoman for
Vermont Governor Howard Dean said.
The 18,000 acres in New Hampshire will be earmarked as timber lands for
private ownership, the group said.
Dean said the plan helps the forest products industry, maintains public
access, and protects land for recreation and wildlife.
New York Governor George Pataki said, "by opening up thousands of acres
of spectacular lands and waterways, we are fuelling the twin engines of
the Adirondack economy - nature-based tourism and the forest products
industry."
Stamford, Conn.,-based Champion International is one of the nation's
largest forest products firms.
(C) Reuters Limited 1998.