The state of Minnesota and several conservation groups have joined forces to protect more than 51,000 acres of northern Minnesota forest land from development. The Department of Natural Resources, on Wednesday, announced the deal, which establishes a working forest conservation easement to maintain nearly 80 square miles in Itasca and Koochiching counties available for public use and timber harvesting.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty called it the single largest conservation project in Minnesota in at least a decade.
Under the deal, the state and conservation groups will pay Forest Capital Partners $12 million for the easement, which prevents the company from subdividing its land holdings for development. The company will retain ownership of the property and will be allowed to continue to harvest timber.
The property, which includes 11,824 acres in Itasca County and 39,339 acres in Koochiching, was owned for years by Boise Cascade, which maintained the land as a timber base. But when the land was sold to a real estate development firm, Forest Capital Partners, state officials and conservationists became increasingly concerned that development of the land for homes and cabins could reduce public access to the area as well as curtail logging.
This is the second and largest project to be completed by the Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership, a public-private coalition created two years ago by The Nature Conservancy and the Blandin Foundation to help conserve Minnesota?s northwoods. The partnership?s first project, known as Sugar Hills, was completed in May 2007 and ensured that 1,600 acres in Itasca County would remain a publicly accessible working forest.
The partnership includes the Trust for Public Land, which facilitated the transaction in the latest Forest Legacy project between the landowner (Forest Capital Partners) and the state, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which will hold and monitor the conservation easement. Additional partnership members are The Conservation Fund, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Forest Resources Council and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA).Timberjay Newspapers
