Press Releases
January 26, 2015
CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla—The Conservation Fund announced today the acquisition of the 2.7-acre Paradise Point property in Crystal River, FL, an internationally renowned haven for manatees. Surrounded by the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge complex, this tract is critical to the protection of the federally endangered Florida manatee. It is the ideal location for annual manatee health checks, education, and monitoring activities. Crystal River/Kings Bay is the largest, natural winter refuge for manatees in the world, hosting over 550 manatees each winter (approximately 10% of the population). The chance to see a manatee brings thousands of visitors to Crystal River every year and ecotourism has become a major part of the local economy. Protection of Paradise Point will help protect the health of manatees in Crystal River and throughout their range.
January 21, 2015
Conservation Easement Permanently Protects Largest Private Property In South Boulder Creek Watershed
GILPIN & BOULDER COUNTY, CO—The Conservation Fund and its partners announced today the permanent protection of the historic 3,334-acre Toll property, one of the largest intact private holdings along the Front Range. This area is a popular recreation destination with access to the James Peak Wilderness, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Roosevelt National Forest, and Eldora Ski Area. The conservation easement protects critical drinking water sources for Boulder and Denver, improves forest management and safety, and sustains and enhances recreational opportunities.
January 14, 2015
Birmingham, Ala.—Today The Conservation Fund and Resource Management Service, LLC (RMS) announced the receipt of both federal and private funding to launch a historic partnership to create a 205,000-acre sustainable working forest comprised of native longleaf pine in the lower Alabama and Florida panhandle region. As part of America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative—a collaborative, public-private effort to restore the threatened longleaf ecosystems across 8 million acres by 2020—The Conservation Fund and RMS plan to establish the first large landscape-level model for reestablishing and conserving longleaf habitat on privately-owned land, which will have the dual benefit of providing environmental and economic benefits—explicitly by keeping the lands in timber production.
January 7, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The decisions we make every day directly affect the health and future of our forests. The launch of the new Sustainable Forestry Initiative® 2015-2019 Standards and Rules marks an important advancement to support better decision making all along the supply chain and to promote sustainable forest management. When a Fortune 500 company sources forest products, a landowner makes a forest management plan or a consumer buys copy paper, they can all make the right choice for our forests by choosing the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
January 6, 2015
GARY & VALPARAISO, Ind.—Two natural areas in Porter and Lake Counties grew last month with the purchases of priority lands offering environmental, recreational and community benefits. The Lake County Parks and Recreation Department acquired and added 96 acres to its Deep River County Park in Ross Township, and the Porter County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America purchased a 40-acre farm near Michigan City for inclusion in its Frame Little Calumet Conservation Area. Both conservation efforts were made possible with grants from the Enbridge 6B Mitigation Fund.
December 22, 2014
KREMMLING, Co.—The Colorado Headwaters Land Trust and The Conservation Fund announced today the protection of the historic 662-acre McElroy Ranch. This scenic working ranch is now permanently protected and the McElroy family will continue to own the agriculturally productive land they have ranched for four generations. To keep the ranch and its abundant water rights forever intact, funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) were used to purchase a conservation easement on 548 acres of the ranch in 2014. In 2013, the McElroy family donated a conservation easement on 114 acres of the ranch.
December 14, 2014
Statement by Larry Selzer, President & CEO, The Conservation Fund
“The Conservation Fund congratulates the lawmakers and key partners who have worked to create and expand historic national parks and establish new wilderness areas for the enjoyment and education of their constituents and the public through the passage of the NDAA bill.”
December 10, 2014
ST. MARY’S COUNTY, Md.—The Conservation Fund, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) and St. Mary’s County, announced today the purchase and protection of 212 acres on the Chesapeake Bay that will provide opportunities for historical interpretation and recreational access along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, while buffering Patuxent River Naval Air Station (NAS) from land uses that threaten the mission of the base.
