A version of this article
appeared a decade ago as the cover story of Mammoth Tales.
Forest
areas in north central Wisconsin were permanently protected from development in
2002 under a landmark easement. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
(WDNR) and the landowner, Tomahawk Timberlands, led the effort to protect
35,000 acres of working forest. The conserved areas are in several large
blocks.
The
State’s easement with Tomahawk Timberlands ensures the following in perpetuity:
·
the land cannot be subdivided into smaller parcels;
·
development of buildings is not allowed;
·
public hunting, fishing, and hiking are allowed;
·
sustainable timber harvest can continue.
Preventing
the subdivision and development of these 35,000 acres means that road densities
will remain low and a more natural setting
remains for critters to thrive and pedestrians to explore.
One
of the bigger blocks protected by the easement is along the Ice Age Trail in
western Lincoln County. A separate 1999 easement protected only a narrow strip
for almost five miles of Ice Age Trail through this property. The 2002
easement, known as a forest legacy easement, adds another level of protection
to a much larger area around the Trail.
Almost
70% of forests in Wisconsin are privately owned. During the past couple of
decades, our forests have been increasingly subdivided into smaller parcels and
developed. At the same time, some companies that own forestland are being
bought out by interests that do not necessarily share our love of and livelihood
from Wisconsin’s forests. Should these trends continue into the decades ahead,
we could expect vast areas of forests to be subdivided and developed.
The
Forest Legacy Program is here to help. A private land conservation program
administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the Forest Legacy Program provides financial
assistance primarily for the purchase of conservation easements on forested
lands. WDNR and private land trusts,
such as The Nature Conservancy and the Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust, are
leading the implementation of the program in Wisconsin.
The
voluntary program leverages private and other public funds to provide
Americans with a bigger bang for their conservation buck. In 2001, over
700,000 acres were conserved across the nation using $60 million from the
Forest Legacy Program to protect forestlands with a value of $151 million.
Funding for the Forest Legacy Program is provided
on a project-by-project basis by Congress.
