Huge Chunk of Northern Forest Bought by Conservation Group
12/9/98
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Huge Chunk of Northern Forest Bought by Conservation Group
Source: The Associated Press, Cable News Network, Inc.
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 9, 1998
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- A conservation group struck a $76.2 million
deal with a paper company to buy 296,000 acres of forest and
wilderness land that stretch across three Northeast states.
The Conservation Fund called it the "largest public-private, multi-
state partnership in U.S. history." The deal, announced Wednesday,
had been in discussions for a year.
The land in northern Vermont, New Hampshire and New York was sold by
the Champion International paper company. It includes rich forests,
mountains and untouched rivers.
Conservation and paper company officials said the goal was to
preserve the rural way of life of the forested region, where there is
a mix of moose and snowmobiles, logged land and regenerated forests.
"For almost 75 years we have cared for and managed these lands in a
way that has contributed to the local economy of the Northeast and
protected their natural treasures," said Richard E. Olson, Champion's
chief executive officer. He said the land was sold at 10 percent
below its market value.
The Conservation Fund, based in Arlington, Va., said as much as 30
percent of the land would be sold to the state and federal
governments for long-term conservation, and the rest would be sold
privately, primarily to those seeking its timber resources.
But all the land will carry deed restrictions requiring public access
for recreation, fishing and hunting, as the paper company has long
permitted.
"Our purpose ... is to blend economic development -- jobs -- with
conservation," said Patrick Noonan, chairman of the Conservation
Fund.
Among the land earmarked for conservation is Vermont's Nulhegan River
basin. One of the few rivers in Vermont that never had hydroelectric
dams built across it, the Nulhegan and nearby bogs support several
endangered species.
The land stretches from New York's Adirondack Park to the Vermont
region known as the Northeast Kingdom, and into New Hampshire's North
Country.
More than 10 bidders sought to buy the land, including developers,
foreign investors, timber funds and Wall Street investment
partnerships.
The Conservation Fund formed a series of partnerships with private
investors, foundations, public agencies and nonprofit groups to buy
the land. The Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Freeman
Foundation are providing the lead funding.
The Vermont Land Trust will help the fund manage the land and find
private buyers willing to manage it for timbering.