Document text
62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, May 27, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Britt Festival Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 18, 2005 Group buys monument land By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Nearly 2,000 acres of private forestland surrounded by the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument have been purchased by the conservation community. The Pacific Forest Trust, the Collins Foundation and several anonymous donors paid $1.42 million for the property owned by American Forest Services, a subsidiary of UST, formerly U.S. Timberlands. The acreage, much of which has been logged, will be managed to conserve the monument’s natural resources, Pacific Forest Trust president Laurie Wayburn said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Santa Rosa, Calif. "Our goal is to help ensure these lands are managed to achieve the intent of the monument’s designation," she said, referring to the 2001 presidential proclamation which cited protection of the area’s unique biological diversity as the primary purpose for creating the monument. Located in the mountainous region immediately east of Ashland where the Cascade, Klamath and Siskiyou ranges converge, the 52,940-acre monument is in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District. Advertisement The newly acquired land is generally along the Cascade-Siskiyou crest just off Soda Mountain and along Jenny Creek. The rare species found in the area include redband trout, Western pond turtles and Pacific tree frogs. The monument’s diversity includes everything from 200 species of butterflies to elk. The purchase won’t impact the BLM’s management of the monument, said Howard Hunter, the monument’s assistant manager. The agency is expected to complete its management plan for the monument this year. "I think they would make good neighbors in light of the fact of how they plan to manage the land," he said. However, he stressed that it is private land that is not under the jurisdiction of the agency. Tuesday’s announcement marks the second large purchase of private land by a non-government entity to add to conservation efforts in the area, he said. Last year, a couple from Grants Pass who requested anonymity purchased 2,900 acres surrounded by the monument to preserve for wildlife habitat, he noted. With the nearly 2,000-acre purchase, the trust will first make an in-depth inventory of the property before coming up with a management plan, Wayburn said. Pacific Forest Trust sustains private forests through cooperative partnerships, financial incentives, sound science and stewardship management, according to Wayburn. "We will continue to work with willing landowners to acquire and conserve large, privately owned properties to create a more cohesive, protected landscape," she said of undeveloped private land surrounded by the monument. Such acquisitions help protect the monument, said Dave Willis, chair of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council which promotes creating a 23,000-acre wilderness within the monument. About 560 acres of the newly purchased land is immediately southeast of Soda Mountain and is flanked on three sides by the wilderness study area, he observed. "If you look at the map and realize the ecological connectivity values of this area, why it became a monument, you can see the public lands anchor those values," he said. "Hopefully, the continued acquisition of private land from willing sellers for management based on ecological values will not only strengthen the thread, but create a rope and eventually a cable," he added. Jack Williams, senior fishery scientist for Trout Unlimited, agreed. "Jenny Creek is a jewel in the rough," he said in a prepared statement. "Lower-elevation forest streams like this provide the living homes for very rare fish species. This acquisition helps conserve a vital resource." For additional information, visit www.pacificforest.org on the Web. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s