ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas
(Oct. 28, 2016) —The Conservation Fund and Texas A&M Forest Service announced today the
protection of 6,899 acres of working forestland near Palestine, Texas. With
funding from the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy
Program
through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), eleven miles of the
state-classified “ecologically significant” Neches River and vital wildlife
habitat for state and federally-listed species have been protected under a
conservation easement.
With
more than a third of the property, known as Bobcat Ridge, located within the
authorized boundary of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), its
protection will nearly double the amount of conserved lands within the boundary.
It protects the viewshed of the Texas State Historical Railroad line and helps
secure the water supply and quality for six cities downstream—Jacksonville,
Woodville, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Palestine and Tyler. In addition, the newly
conserved forestland, owned by The Conservation Fund, will continue to be
sustainably harvested for timber, supporting local jobs.
“Texas
forests play a critical role in water and air quality as well as a host of
other benefits contributing to the quality of life for Texans,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Partnership
Coordinator Gretchen Riley. “Bobcat Ridge is a key working forest, and we
are pleased to hold a conservation easement that protects it from conversion to
non-forest. Sustaining forests in a state growing as rapidly as Texas is made
easier with partners like The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Forest Service.”
The
Conservation Fund purchased the Bobcat Ridge property in 2011 through its Working Forest
Fund®
with generous support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the
PulteGroup Land Legacy Fund,protecting it from subdivision and conversion. The
Texas A&M Forest Service purchased a working forest conservation easement
on the land in September 2016 with $2.3 million from the LWCF—a bipartisan,
federal program that uses a percentage of proceeds from offshore oil and gas
royalties, not taxpayer dollars—which was provided through the merit-based
Forest Legacy Program and was implemented in partnership with the Texas A&M
Forest Service. LWCF is
annually funded by the U.S. Congress, including Texas’ U.S. delegation
representing Anderson County: U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
and U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling (TX-5).
“Thanks
to funding through the Forest Legacy Program, our state partners have a greater
ability to conserve ecosystems and working forests vulnerable to encroaching
development,” said Michael Murphy, the
Forest Legacy program manager with the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Region.
“Future generations of Texans will now be able to enjoy the unique beauty and
biodiversity of Bobcat Ridge, as well as the economic benefits gained through
sustainable forest management.”
The
forested wetlands at Bobcat Ridge comprise one of the most biologically
productive habitats in Texas, providing critical habitat for the
federally-endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and 12 state-threatened species,
including the peregrine falcon, wood stork, swallow-tailed kite, bald eagle,
paddlefish, Rafineque’s big-eared bat, alligator snapping turtle, timber
rattlesnake and four freshwater mussel species. Bottomland forests located in
Eastern Texas and in Oklahoma offer the only significant breeding habitat of the
wood duck and are one of the most important wintering areas for the mallard in
the Central Flyway.Forty-three percent (273) of
all bird species documented in Texas are found on Bobcat Ridge and in the
adjoining Neches River NWR.
“The
forested wetland habitat now permanently protected at Bobcat Ridge was deemed a
top-tier ‘Priority 1 Site’ by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to its
excellent quality bottomlands of high value to key waterfowl species,” stated Julie Shackelford, Texas Programs Director
for The Conservation Fund in its East Texas office. “Many of these Priority
1 sites in Texas have been flooded or developed in the last 30 years. Being
able to protect this habitat is a real victory. We are grateful to the Texas legislative
delegation for supporting programs like the Forest Legacy Program that conserve
privately owned lands.”
“Protecting
the environmentally sensitive Bobcat Ridge forestland is just the most recent
project in which PulteGroup has partnered with The Conservation Fund, but it is
also one of the most important,” said Ryan
Marshall, PulteGroup President and CEO. “Through The Conservation Fund’s
leadership, we look forward to supporting the protection of other vital land
positions that can further enhance the environment and the quality of life for
people throughout the country.”
Since
2000, The Conservation Fund has secured over $60 million in public and private
dollars to acquire 108 river miles (roughly 60,000 acres) within the Neches
River corridor including private lands and properties within the Neches River
NWR and the Big Thicket National Preserve.
About The Conservation
Fund
At
The Conservation Fund, we make conservation work for America. By creating
solutions that make environmental and economic sense, we are redefining
conservation to demonstrate its essential role in our future prosperity.
Top-ranked for efficiency and effectiveness, we have worked in all 50 states
since 1985 to protect more than 7.8 million acres of land. www.conservationfund.org.
About Texas
A&M Forest Service
Fulfilling the service component of a land-grant
university system, Texas A&M Forest Service is a proud member of The Texas
A&M University System. Created in 1915 by the 34th Texas Legislature, Texas
A&M Forest Service conserves forests and natural resourcesand
protects lives and property.http://tfsweb.tamu.edu
About the Land
and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)
Established by Congress in 1965, LWCF is a visionary and
bipartisan federal program that uses a percentage of proceeds from offshore oil
and gas royalties for the protection of irreplaceable lands and improvement of
outdoor recreation opportunities across the nation. No taxpayer dollars are
used to support LWCF. The program has permanently protected nearly five million
acres of public lands including forests, natural resources, state and local
parks and recreation areas.
Texas has received approximately $570.5 million in LWCF
funding over the past four decades, protecting places such as Big Thicket
National Preserve, San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, Padre Islands
National Seashore and Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuges; supporting
timber sector jobs and sustainable forest operations while enhancing wildlife
habitat, water quality and recreation through the Forest Legacy Program; and
utilizing the LWCF state assistance grants, which have further supported
hundreds of projects across Texas’ state and local parks, including Palo Duro
Canyon State Park in Armstrong County, Bastrop State Park in Bastrop County,
Big Bend Ranch State Park in Presidio County and McKinney Falls State Park in
Travis County.
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Media Contacts:
Ann
Simonelli, The Conservation Fund, (703) 908-5809, asimonelli@conservationfund.org
Gretchen Riley, Texas A&M Forest Service, (979)
587-8135, griley@tfs.tamu.edu