Northeastern Area Forest Legacy Program (FLP)
The Tract Record
First Quarter FY 2008

FY 2008 Forest Legacy Appropriations Passed
President Bush signed the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008” into law on December 26, 2007. The law includes funding for 35 Forest Legacy projects in 32 States. These projects are funded to promote the traditional forest uses on important forest land that otherwise could convert to non-forest uses. Along with administration funds, the total FY2008 budget for FLP is $59,817,000. This total includes $52,317,000 of fiscal year 2008 appropriations and the use of $7,500,000 in prior year funds. The Northeastern Area share of the project funds for FY2008 is $23,277,000 for 14 projects in 12 States.

Enchanted with Hosts in Albuquerque
In an effort to integrate Cooperative Forestry Programs a joint meeting of Federal and State specialists from the Forest Legacy Program and the Forest Stewardship Program was carried out this year in Albuquerque, New Mexico (state motto: Land of Enchantment) October 30 through November 1, 2007. Overarching topics of “State & Private Forestry Redesign”, Climate Change, and Ecosystem Markets were the nexus for integration. “Macario Herrera was the consummate meeting organizer!” said Deirdre Raimo, Northeastern Area FLP manager. “He helped me with my unusual requests, which allowed for an excursion to the Albuquerque Service Center – the Forest Service budget and finance center – by contingent of State FLP coordinators. They, as was I, were happy to put faces to the relatively new ‘black box’ of Forest Service grant fund administration. ”The success of the integration effort is something that will be played out in the future as the newly formulated ideas have a chance to incubate.

Massachusetts Governor’s Proposed Bond Bill Could Benefit FLP
The Massachusetts FLP could benefit from the passing of a proposed 5 year $1.4 billion bond submitted by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on December 21, 2007. The bill entitled the 2008 Energy and Environment Bond Bill directs funds for a variety of environmental purposes. The proposed bill identifies $70 million for land acquisition for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the lead agency for FLP in Massachusetts. In a separate section of the bill, language directs that $4,000,000 be used for a “Forestry Conservation Restriction Program,” to target Conservation Restriction acquisition on working forests by DCR. Different than the FLP, the bill allows for conservation restriction stewardship “including monitoring, baseline documentation, and enforcement costs.” The bill will be considered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2008.

Recently Completed FLP Projects

Massachusetts Forest To Remain a Forest Haven for Urban Youth
A 100-year old Fresh Air Camp, situated on approximately 473 forest acres in the Eagleville Pines area of Athol and New Salem, Massachusetts is host to hundreds of urban disadvantaged youth campers every summer. With funding from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program and facilitation by Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, the Massachusetts DCR acquired a 283-acre Conservation Restriction (CR) on the forest surrounding the camp. Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries sold the Forest Legacy CR to Massachusetts on October 30, 2007, which was valued at $955,000 for $830,000 of FLP funds, donating the remaining value. The tract was one of the largest unprotected properties in the North Quabbin Region of north central Massachusetts.

Pennsylvanians Keep a Bird-sboro Sanctuary
The last remaining large, un-fragmented forest in southeastern Pennsylvania could have been sold to a private water company with intentions of breaking up the forest that surrounds the reservoirs and subsequently selling pieces to developers. However, Pennsylvania completed a conservation easement on the 1,727-acre Birdsboro Waters project on November 20, 2007. This area faces huge development pressure due primarily to its close proximity to the City of Philadelphia. The Birdsboro property houses several reservoirs and provides clean, abundant water and outdoor recreation opportunities to Birdsboro residents and surrounding municipalities. The $2,200,000 value of the easement was acquired from the Birdsboro Water Authority using $800,000 from the Forest Legacy Program, $320,000 from the William Penn Foundation and $1,080,000 provided from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources via the State's Growing Greener II initiative.

Ohio Completes First Forest Legacy Project
Your image of Ohio may be: a pretty countryside with farms that had been replaced by shopping malls, if you listened to the rock group “The Pretenders”. However, forests cover the southeastern portion of Ohio, which support forest industry and which are sought out by people who want camps and weekend getaways. The State of Ohio acquired a conservation easement, December 7, 2007, on a 436-acre property with 2,300 feet of frontage on the main stem of the Muskingum River, the largest watershed in Ohio. The property is directly adjacent to state-owned Tri-Valley Wildlife Area -- a 16,200-acre public hunting area. This industrial forest property is owned by Superior Hardwoods of Ohio, Inc. who has historically and will continue to manage the forests for large diameter, high value wood products. The property includes river frontage, which has attracted second-home development. The conservation easement valued at $349,000 was acquired at a bargain sale from the landowner for $261,750 with funds provided by the FLP.

New Hampshire Succeeds in Decades-old Conservation Effort
Conservation organizations have been seeking to protect the land surrounding Robb Reservoir for decades for the valuable waterfowl and warm water fishery habitats provided by the reservoir. The 1,667-acre Robb Reservoir tract is located to the north of an Audubon property and the previously-completed Bald Mountain tract is to the south, in the rapidly developing Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire, where large blocks of forest land still remain. New Hampshire acquired a conservation easement on the property on December 20, 2007, from the Trust for Public Land, which had acquired the tract until FLP funding was secure. The restricted land will be transferred to the Harris Center for Conservation Education, whose website says, “If you live in the Monadnock Region, chances are that your children or your neighbors’ children have participated in Harris Center programs.” Audubon and the Harris Center adjacent lands will enhance their shared educational goals. The $3,060,000 value of the easement was purchased for $3,000,000 in FLP funds with the remaining value serving as a portion of the nonfederal cost share. The remainder of the cost-share was satisfied through a donation of a 285-acre parcel of forest land to the Society for the Protection of NH Forests valued at over $1,000,000.

Vermont Protects Opportunity to Examine Forest both Inside and Out
The quintessential view of Vermont from an interstate highway and the essential enjoyment of the forest from a regional trail were saved when Vermont added two more properties to the Chittenden County Uplands project. A conservation easement purchase on 157 acres owned by the Peet family, and which shares a boundary with an earlier phase of the same project, closed on on December 27, 2007 for $53,000 of FLP funds. . The project area is visible from Interstate 89. The second, a 426-acre property purchased on December 28, 2007 from the West Bolton Golf Club, is adjacent to Mount Mansfield State Forest. The second parcel was purchased for $540,000 in FLP funds and includes a section of the Long Trail, the oldest hiking trail in the country, located along the spine of the Green Mountains through Vermont connecting Massachusetts with Canada. Cost share for the acquisitions came through the generous donation of 228 acres in the towns of Stowe and Waterbury from the Scheur estate to the State of Vermont. The Scheur property is now managed as part of, Mount Mansfield State Forest.