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NEWS AND EVENTS
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Another property on the Bull River now permanently
protected!
Sandpoint –
57 acres in the incredibly scenic Bull River Valley
within the Cabinet Mountains of Sanders County, Montana,
are now permanently protected from development. The
Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy (CFPOC), of
Sandpoint, Idaho, has just closed a conservation
easement on this stunning property which has significant
wildlife habitat and ecological value for several
threatened and endangered species and which serves as a
potential wildlife travel corridor between the east and
west side of the Cabinet Mountains. Belonging to Ann
Warrington of Spokane, Washington, this spectacularly
beautiful property is dominated by mountain foothills
with conifer forest and extensive, rich wetland and
riparian areas along the river, providing exceptional
habitat for moose, waterfowl and birds, as well as the
threatened bull trout.
The conservation easement was
purchased through a grant from
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)
of 1989. NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations
and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry
out wetlands conservation projects in the United States,
Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of
wetlands-associated migratory birds and other wildlife.
“This
was a collaborative project involving, private land
owners, several non-profits, federal agencies and Avista
Utilities. We would like to thank the Warrington family,
Ducks Unlimited, The Conservation Fund, American Public
Land Exchange, US
Fish and Wildlife Service, and Avista Utilities for all
coming together to preserve and protect this exceptional
property along the Bull River,” stated Kyler Wolf,
project manager and board member of the CFPOC. “The
CFPOC will hold the conservation easement to ensure the
stewardship and protection of this property is
maintained in perpetuity. This is a wonderful example of
private land conservation, and we are honored to be
involved and to have more of the Bull River area
protected forever,” continued Mr. Wolf.
The
CFPOC is a non-profit land trust that works with willing
landowners to protect open space in north Idaho and
northwest Montana. Since 2002, the CFPOC has
successfully partnered with federal, state, and local
entities to protect critical habitat, forest and ranch
land, important scenic areas, recreational areas, and
cultural landscapes. Operating in Bonner County, Idaho
and Sanders County, Montana, the CFPOC has protected a
total of 1,764 acres, and several other projects are
nearing completion. This success has been accomplished
by working with private landowners to prepare
site-specific conservation easements, which are
permanent legal agreements between a landowner and a
land trust that protect a property’s special natural
resources in perpetuity,
while still allowing for a range
of land owner activities such as farming, ranching and
timber management. The CFPOC also acquires ownership of
land as another way of ensuring that it remains
protected forever. To learn more about how you can
protect your land or how you can support the Clark
Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy, visit
www.cfpoconservancy.org
or call 208-263-9471.
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The CFPOC is
delighted to welcome Eric W. Grace as its new Executive
Director. Eric comes to us with 13 years of experience
as the Executive Director of the Genesee Valley
Conservancy (GVC) in New York State.
Eric received
his Bachelors degree in Political Science from Colorado
College. Following graduation, he moved to the New York
City area and worked in various fields. In 1994, he and
his wife moved to Ithaca, where Eric attended Community
College for several years to prepare for a career in
land conservation. In 1996, he was accepted to SUNY
Environmental Science and Forestry School for a Masters
degree in Land Use Planning. While studying, Eric
volunteered with GVC and did projects for the Save the
County Land Trust in Onondaga County and the Genesee
Land Trust in Rochester, NY.
In July of
1998, Eric accepted a position with GVC as its first
Executive Director. He was responsible for establishing
the office, furthering the preservation goals of the
Conservancy and fundraising. Eric has overseen the
conservation of more than 9,000 acres.
A few of Eric’s
successes over the past 13 years:
·
Oversaw a staff of 4.5
·
Oversaw an operating
budget of $230,000
·
Protected over 9,000
acres
·
Received over $8 million
of NY State and Federal funding
·
Established 3 public
access properties
·
Led GVC through the
accreditation process with the Land Trust Alliance
·
Initiated a capital
campaign to increase stewardship endowments (close to
$200,00 raised to date)
Eric and his wife, Celeste, will be moving to Sandpoint
in September 2011.
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The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is coming
back to the Panida Theater in Sandpoint on October 7th
and 8th, 2011! If you'd like to be a sponsor, please
click on the links below for our sponsorship letter and
a
sponsorship form.
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March 17,
2011
616 Acres of Key Wildlife Habitat
Permanently Protected
Sandpoint --An
historic forest and ranch homestead abutting the Morton
Slough Wildlife Refuge on the Pend Oreille River is
permanently protected from development thanks to the
work of the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy in
collaboration with the
Idaho
Department of Fish and Game and with funding from the
Equinox Foundation in partnership with the Inland
Northwest Community Foundation.
The
spectacularly scenic 616-acre preserved property
includes a diverse landscape including expansive
forested
mountainsides with towering cliffs, rich wetland areas,
productive agricultural lands and pristine shoreline.
“Conserving this land is a win-win for all,” said Robb
McCracken, the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy’s
Executive Conservation Director. “The amazing landscape
is preserved, the wildlife habitat is protected, the
working ranch and timber lands will remain intact and
the water quality of the Pend Oreille River is
protected.”
For 83 years the same family has managed this working
ranch and timberlands. “It’s pretty well unspoiled
land,” said Virginia Overland whose parents first bought
the property in 1928. “We are kind of an island here. We
are nearly surrounded by subdivisions now and it’s
ruining wildlife habitat. We feel it is necessary to
save this piece for the wildlife.”
The “Overland Tree Farm,” as the
family refers to their property,
provides vital habitat for
a huge variety of animals including elk, black bear
and mountain lion in the uplands, as well as moose,
birds, waterfowl and fish in the wetland areas. In fact,
over 2,000 birds have been counted on this slough in a
single day according to studies conducted by the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game.
The Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy (CFPOC), the
region’s non-profit land trust, partners with private
landowners such as Virginia and Orren Overland to
protect the conservation values of ecologically critical
lands through the creation of conservation easements.
These easements are permanent legal agreements that
restrict certain land uses such as development, while
still allowing for a wide range of land owner activities
such as farming, ranching, specified recreation,
sustainable timber harvesting or some residential use.
It allows the landowner to own their land, live on it,
and use it for a variety of activities while still
protecting the natural area or ecosystem forever for the
good of the community, the wildlife and the environment.
To
date, the CFPOC has helped preserve over 1600 acres of
working farms, ranches and important fish and wildlife
habitat in Bonner County, Idaho and Sanders County,
Montana.
“As our region continues to experience rapid growth and
increased development pressure, the need for protecting
our last, special places is becoming more and more
important,” said Kyler Wolf, CFPOC Board President. “A
conservation easement is a viable option for landowners
hoping to protect their lands and landowners may
even qualify for financial incentives including federal
income tax deductions, compensation for development
rights and reduced estate taxes.”
To learn more about how you can
protect your land or, how you can support the Clark
Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy, visit their website at
www.cfpoconservancy.org or
give them a call at
208-263-9471.
Contact Information: Nancy Dooley:
208-290-2828,
ndooley@sandpoint.com
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The Wade Project
10 miles
east of the town of Clark Fork, and near the proposed
Scotchman’s Peaks Wilderness area.
50 ACRES
Type of
Protection: Donated Conservation Easement
3/21/11
Conservation Values:
Relatively Natural Habitat (wildlife, forest, wetlands,
plants). This project has protected a significant and
relatively natural habitat of the kind identified in the
Bonner County Comprehensive Plan and by wildlife
biologists as worthy of and important for conservation
and preservation. This well-forested property provides
habitat for moose and black bear. It is in a grizzly
bear habitat and in a United States Forest Service
grizzly bear management unit (as verified by Wildlife
Biologist Karen Robinson, BS University of Montana). It
has wetlands that are moose habitat. About 60 different
varieties of native wild mushrooms and a rare mountain
orchid flower have been identified on this property.
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GOLD CREEK
RANCH CONSERVED FOREVER
643 Acres Protected
A Bonner County family, in partnership with the Clark
Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy and the
US Forest Service, Idaho
Department of Lands has permanently protected 643 acres
of working forest from future subdivision and land
development under the Forest Legacy Program. Located
northeast of Sandpoint, the property, owned by Jim and
Virginia Wood, contains exceptional natural resource
values of national, regional and local significance.
For
over 70 years, the family has sustainably managed their
forestland for timber production, cattle, and
recreation, which have all contributed to the local
economy. Protection of this property from development
ensures continuation of these benefits to the community,
as well as sustainability of forest resources, for
generations.
The
Wood family’s desire to participate in the Forest Legacy
Program arose from changes the family saw throughout
rural Bonner County, where subdivisions, urban sprawl
and land development began to consume large contiguous
tracts of productive forestland. The family’s deep ties
to the forest and concerns the land could someday be
developed were reasons for placing a conservation
easement on the ranch.
Quote
from Woods
“This
very scenic land is next to the Kaniksu National Forest
and provides critical habitat and a wildlife corridor
for elk, moose, bear, and many other wildlife”, said
Robb Mc Cracken, CFPOC’s Conservation Executive
Director. “The property has several streams (part of the
Grouse Creek and Gold Creek drainages) that are very
important to protecting our native bull trout and
cutthroat trout. It is an extremely well managed
timberland and a model cattle ranch. We are thrilled
that the Wood family decided to preserve this beautiful
land forever as a working forest and working cattle
ranch.”
Participation in Idaho’s Forest
Legacy Program is voluntary and does not infringe on the
rights of private landowners. The program provides
willing landowners a tool to ensure their forestlands
continue to provide the conservation and forestry values
for which their properties have traditionally been
managed. A one-time purchase of the developmental
rights by the State of Idaho, these conservation
easements assure participating landowners, and the
public, that the lands enrolled in the program will
remain as working forestlands forever.
The
Forest Legacy Program, a USDA Forest Service program
administered in partnership with state governments,
supports state efforts to protect privately owned,
environmentally sensitive forests. To maximize public
benefits, the program focuses on the acquisition of
partial interests in privately owned forestlands to
keep working forests working.
The
project was sponsored and co-managed by the Clark
Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy and the Idaho department
of lands. It took over 550 hours of professional CFPOC
staff time and the work of several volunteers to
complete. The CFPOC solved funding problems, wrote
grant proposals, negotiated the land use restrictions
and reserved rights between all parties, drafted the
legal language for conservation easement documents,
researched and co-wrote the required ecological baseline
reports and provided other technical functions. These
items are required by law and are prerequisites to
permanently preserve the land.
The
Idaho Department of
Lands will be
responsible for assuring that the terms of the easement
are forever met. The CFPOC will help in this work by
checking the property every year through their
Stewardship program and working with the landowners on a
periodic basis.
According to CFPOC, conservation of the Gold Creek
Ranch, in its location next to the national forest,
provides maintenance of a critical wildlife corridor and
continued prime habitat for elk, moose, bear, native
trout, and other wildlife.
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