photo: J. Novak

According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, new grants will permanently protect private forestland in 33 states and U.S. territories. The grants were awarded through the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) and total $72 million. The program will protect nearly 2 million acres of land in all. The Forest Legacy Program works with individual states to strategically protect lands from development in order to protect air and water quality. The program will also add recreational areas to a number of states as well as creating jobs.

"The threats facing our nation's forests do not recognize property boundaries, and we must cooperate across landscapes to protect working forests that supply clean and abundant water, shelter wildlife, and help us mitigate and adapt to climate change," said Vilsack. "The grants announced today will help the Forest Legacy Program protect working forests in states around the country that are in danger of becoming fragmented or disappearing altogether."

Areas to be protected:

Alaska, South Denali, $675,000

Ala., Cumberland Mountains Preserve, $640,000

American Samoa, Ottoville Rainforest Preserve, $1,000,000

Ariz., San Pedro River Ecosystem, $900,000

Calif., Chalk Mountain Area, $2,000,000

Colo., Snow Mountain Ranch, $2,500,000

Conn., Tulmeadow Farm, $1,415,000

Del., Green Horizons, $4,000,000

Fla., St. Vincent Sound-to-Lake Wimico, $2,500,000

Ga., Murff tract- Rayonier Forest, $3,500,000

Hawaii, Kainalu Forest Watershed, $1,500,000

Iowa, Preparation Canyon, $1,315,000

Idaho, Bane Creek Neighbors, $2,465,000

Idaho, McArthur Lake Wildlife Corridor, $3,345,000

Mass., Metacomet-Monadnock Forest, $245,000

Mass., Southern Monadnock Plateau II, $1,120,000

Maine, Katahdin Forest Expansion, $3,700,000

Minn., Koochiching Forest Legacy, $3,000,000

Mont., Murray Douglas Conservation Easement, $2,900,000

N.H., Cardigan Highlands, $2,400,000

N.J., Musconetcong & Rockaway River Watersheds, $1,000,000

Nev., Castles-Bowers Mansion, $900,000

N.Y., Follensby Pond, $2,500,000

Ohio, Vinton furnace, $1,610,000

Ore., Skyline Forest, $2,500,000

S.C., Belfast, $3,250,000

Tenn., North Cumberland Conservation Area, $4,160,000

Texas, Longleaf Ridge, $1,820,000

U.S. Virgin Islands, Annaly Bay/Hermitage Valley, $1,500,000

Utah, Dry Lakes Ranch, $1,400,000

Va., Chowan River Headwaters, $2,240,000

Vt., Eden Forest, $2,200,000

Wash., Mt. St. Helens Forest, $2,500,000

Wis., Chippewa Flowage, 1,500,000

Wis., Wild Rivers, $2,330,000

W.Va., South Branch, $230,000

Much of the lands through the FLP program are protected through private easements or from states purchasing the land from private citizens.

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