Forest Service partners with Wisconsin to keep forests working and conserve 2,539 acres of...

Milwaukee (October 31, 2024) – The Forest Service is pleased to announce that 2,539 acres in Wisconsin will be conserved thanks to $1,345,000 in Forest Legacy Program funding. These investments ensure the most critical forestlands will continue to provide benefits to people and communities, like recreation opportunities, vibrant local economies, and thriving ecosystems.

"Forests provide innumerable benefits to people and communities, and for nearly 35 years the Forest Legacy Program has allowed us to support States and landowners in their efforts to conserve important forestlands," said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. "Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we are protecting parcels we never thought we’d have the resources to secure and even more acres of vital forestlands so that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy all the irreplaceable benefits they provide."

Through the Forest Legacy program, states work with tribes, local communities, and landowners to identify important private forestlands and develop proposals to conserve these lands as forests. The Forest Service selects the top proposals for funding through a competitive, entirely voluntary process and provides grant funding to states. Some of this land will stay in private ownership and will be permanently protected and conserved as forests, while states will also purchase other parcels to be managed as public land.

Projects funded through this announcement:

Stateline Forest

Northern Forest FLA - Town of Oma, Iron County, Wisconsin

This conservation easement will protect 998 acres of forest and surrounding uplands that harbor high quality forest complexes of mixed northern hardwood. The wetlands contribute to surface and groundwater protection and provide important habitat for the American marten, Wisconsin’s only endangered mammal. It will also provide an important connection linking two county-owned forests located in Wisconsin and Michigan, expanding the area of protected lands.

Border Lakes

Vilas County, Town of Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin

The Border Lakes conservation easement will protect 1,350 acres in the Border Lakes Region of northern Wisconsin. The region supports an unusually diverse and high-quality accumulation of aquatic natural communities. Within the Ontonagon-Presque Isle River Watershed, the surrounding uplands contain mixed northern hardwood and assemblages of old growth forests, rare bird and plant species, and contribute to surface and groundwater protection.

Upper Wisconsin River Forest

Vilas County, Town of Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin

The 191-acre Upper Wisconsin River Forest conservation easement is situated in the Headwaters Area of Wisconsin with the Wisconsin River being the largest waterway that winds itself through vast areas of scenic forests and eventually empties into the Mississippi River. It contains some of the state’s most scenic and important forest complexes containing rare birds and plant species and will add strategic protection to an existing 1,042-acre state funded conservation easement.

The funding maintains working forests for future generations in Wisconsin. It boosts local economies and improves public access to natural spaces while safeguarding critical wildlife habitat and water quality.

For additional information, including the complete list of 2024 funded projects and how states can apply for fiscal year 2025 funding, visit the Forest Legacy website or contact your local Forest Service office.

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