February 9, 2015
IRON COUNTY, Wisc.—The Conservation Fund announced today the permanent protection of the 13,732-acre Twin Lakes Legacy Forest through the sale of a working forest easement to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI DNR). Owned for generations by Consolidated Paper Company, and recently by timber investors, the Twin Lakes Legacy Forest will now continue to support jobs and provide a sustainable supply of forest products in perpetuity, as it has for the last century, while ensuring and enhancing access to outdoor recreation and protecting habitat for important game and non-game species. The State of Wisconsin funded the project, which closed late in December 2014, with a $4.47 million investment from the state’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
A national and regional leader in the forest products industry, Wisconsin’s timberlands play a vital role to the state’s economy supporting more than 167,000 part-time and full-time jobs in 2010. Privately owned timberland contributed nearly $5.2 billion to the state’s GDP in 2010, and investments from the state’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, such as permanent protection of the Twin Lakes Legacy Forest, secures the capacity of this private land base to continue supporting Wisconsin’s forest products industry by limiting the subdivision of large forest properties and complementing the active management of adjacent public forestlands. In the 1990s Wisconsin had more than 1.1 million acres of private land open for public use and managed for timber products owned by private industrial forest companies. Today, Wisconsin has lost more than ¼ million acres of industrial forestland much of which is now in small, parcelized private ownerships. In recent years the Stewardship Program has been instrumental in slowing forest land parcelization by working with owners to find business solutions to ensure working forests stay as working land accessible for recreation and timber. The smaller the parcel the less chance timber will be managed. It reduces opportunities for hunters as no trespassing signs typically follow changing ownership.
“The Conservation Fund is pleased to partner with the Wisconsin DNR and the foresters working in this part of Iron County to help secure the state’s private wood basket,” said Tom Duffus, Vice President – Midwest for The Conservation Fund. “These investments in our future are made possible by the Knowles-Nelson State Stewardship Program, helping communities safeguard the state’s habitats and inhabitants. We are also grateful to The McKnight Foundation and the Richard King Mellon Foundation for the bridge financing to acquire this property.”
The Twin Lakes Legacy Forest has been a top priority for supporters of working forests including the WI DNR as the land’s forest resources and outdoor recreation opportunities are major drivers of the regional economy. An important aspect of this project is providing for permanent use by the public for recreation, including vehicle access on over 10 miles of private woods roads that enable hunters to continue to access the interior of the property.
“Forestland owners and managers face tremendous economic challenges today because of land parcelization and fragmentation. The working forest conservation easement on the Twin Lakes Legacy Forest will keep the land in one block,” said Ed Steigerwaldt, President, Steigerwaldt Land Services, Inc. “It will ensure that the land will be managed in perpetuity for recreation, timber production, and wildlife enhancement. This will support an economically viable forest, which creates jobs and opportunity for a sustainable economy in Wisconsin.”
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 to protect more than 7.5 million acres of land since 1985.
Press Release Contacts
Ann Simonelli | The Conservation Fund | 703-908-5809 | asimonelli@conservationfund.org
Robin Murphy | The Conservation Fund | 703-797- 2507 | rmurphy@conservationfund.org
A national and regional leader in the forest products industry, Wisconsin’s timberlands play a vital role to the state’s economy supporting more than 167,000 part-time and full-time jobs in 2010. Privately owned timberland contributed nearly $5.2 billion to the state’s GDP in 2010, and investments from the state’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, such as permanent protection of the Twin Lakes Legacy Forest, secures the capacity of this private land base to continue supporting Wisconsin’s forest products industry by limiting the subdivision of large forest properties and complementing the active management of adjacent public forestlands. In the 1990s Wisconsin had more than 1.1 million acres of private land open for public use and managed for timber products owned by private industrial forest companies. Today, Wisconsin has lost more than ¼ million acres of industrial forestland much of which is now in small, parcelized private ownerships. In recent years the Stewardship Program has been instrumental in slowing forest land parcelization by working with owners to find business solutions to ensure working forests stay as working land accessible for recreation and timber. The smaller the parcel the less chance timber will be managed. It reduces opportunities for hunters as no trespassing signs typically follow changing ownership.“The Conservation Fund is pleased to partner with the Wisconsin DNR and the foresters working in this part of Iron County to help secure the state’s private wood basket,” said Tom Duffus, Vice President – Midwest for The Conservation Fund. “These investments in our future are made possible by the Knowles-Nelson State Stewardship Program, helping communities safeguard the state’s habitats and inhabitants. We are also grateful to The McKnight Foundation and the Richard King Mellon Foundation for the bridge financing to acquire this property.”
The Twin Lakes Legacy Forest has been a top priority for supporters of working forests including the WI DNR as the land’s forest resources and outdoor recreation opportunities are major drivers of the regional economy. An important aspect of this project is providing for permanent use by the public for recreation, including vehicle access on over 10 miles of private woods roads that enable hunters to continue to access the interior of the property.
“Forestland owners and managers face tremendous economic challenges today because of land parcelization and fragmentation. The working forest conservation easement on the Twin Lakes Legacy Forest will keep the land in one block,” said Ed Steigerwaldt, President, Steigerwaldt Land Services, Inc. “It will ensure that the land will be managed in perpetuity for recreation, timber production, and wildlife enhancement. This will support an economically viable forest, which creates jobs and opportunity for a sustainable economy in Wisconsin.”
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 to protect more than 7.5 million acres of land since 1985.
Press Release Contacts
Ann Simonelli | The Conservation Fund | 703-908-5809 | asimonelli@conservationfund.org
Robin Murphy | The Conservation Fund | 703-797- 2507 | rmurphy@conservationfund.org
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