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Questions and Answers About the Southern Forests Conservation Project
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Why is this announcement so significant?
This announcement is of historic significance because of its size, its scope, and its importance to conservation. For example:
- Forests: 10 of the parcels contain significant intact or restorable longleaf pine habitat and bottomland hardwood forests. Only 4 percent of the original 60 million acres of longleaf pine forests remain. Bottomland hardwood forests are one of the most productive and ecologically important forest types in the nation. Eighty percent of bottomland forests in the South have been lost.
- Freshwater: 14 sites adjoin and protect Southern rivers of high ecological significance.
- Marine: 8 sites relate directly to the protection of high priority estuaries on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.
Who is selling the land?
International Paper (IP) is selling this land as it continues to explore the sale of the remainder of its 6.8 million acres of timberland in the U.S.
Where does IP own land that it is either selling or exploring selling?
IP owns about 6.8 million acres across 17 states. The company is currently one of the nation’s largest landowners.
- Texas: 650,000 acres
- Louisiana: 650,000 acres
- Arkansas: 690,000 acres
- Mississippi: 400,000 acres
- Alabama: 1.2 million acres
- Georgia: 570,000 acres
- Florida: 240,000 acres
- Tennessee: 200,000 acres
- South Carolina: 630,000 acres
- North Carolina: 630,000 acres
- Virginia: 190,000 acres
- Minnesota: 17,000 acres
- Wisconsin: 68,000 acres
- Michigan: 450,000 acres
- New York: 275,000 acres
- Vermont: 250 acres
- Maine: 30,000 acres
How many acres of IP’s land are being acquired as part of the March 28th announcement and in how many states?
Total acres being acquired: 218,000 acres
Total states involved: 10
- 173,000 acres by The Nature Conservancy across 10 Southern states: Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas
- 39,000 acres jointly acquired in South Carolina by The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund
- 6,000 acres by The Conservation Fund in Florida and North Carolina
What is the value of this land?
The land is being sold to the conservation groups at market value for nearly $300 million.
How did IP, The Nature Conservancy, and The Conservation Fund reach this agreement?
Last July, shortly after IP announced it would explore selling its lands, many conservation groups, including The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund, inquired about the possibility of buying lands that are of critical conservation interest. IP invited The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund to assess the company’s portfolio of lands and acquire the tracts that were of greatest interest before the land was put on the market to other bidders.
Why are conservation groups so interested in this land?
The Southern United States is the most biologically diverse region in the country. It is also a region where our natural heritage is most threatened, with the continuing fragmentation of forests being one of the most pressing threats to wildlife in the South. By protecting large blocks of forestland, we can preserve the vital connection among healthy forests, healthy forest ecosystems and healthy forest-based industries. Particularly important in this case is the proximity of much of the land being purchased to rivers and estuaries. Intact forest land adjacent to waterways is critical to their value as habitat for a wide range of plant and animal species.
What factors were used to select these lands?
Several criteria were used:
- The biological value of the parcels (identified by previous studies and evaluations)
- Their proximity to other conserved lands such that they would contribute to creating larger blocs of forestland for the future
- Their proximity to waterways and other sensitive natural resources
- Interest and support from public conservation agencies
Will the conservation groups continue to own the land?
In most of the states the two conservation organizations are working closely with state governments and other partners with the objective of conveying the land to public agencies over the next few years. This will ensure that the lands are conserved for future generations and that these forests will become available for a range of public uses, consistent with maintaining their natural character.
In Virginia, Florida and Georgia, the Conservancy will transfer ownership of some lands to Conservation Forestry, LLC and Forest Investment Associates, two private timber investment and management entities. The Conservancy will retain rights to acquire nearly all the properties, or interest in the properties in the form of conservation easements, at later dates, based on the availability of funding. In the interim period, the lands will be managed to sustainable forestry standards and key conservation areas will be off-limits to timber harvesting.
Why did The Nature Conservancy engage private timber investment entities in this project?
The agreement represents the largest financial commitment in the 55-year history of The Nature Conservancy. To secure the necessary funding to complete this project, the Conservancy engaged Conservation Forestry, LLC and its consortium partner, Forest Investment Associates. The Conservancy simply didn’t have the financial resources to complete this project without the help of these key partners.
Both organizations have strong and recognized sustainable forestry and conservation track records. They were selected as partners after a careful review of 10 other firms.
What will happen to the lands in Georgia, Florida and Virginia after the options to acquire the lands or conservation easements expire?
The situation is unique to each state:
- In Virginia, The Nature Conservancy will acquire the Big Woods tract. For the remaining properties, the Conservancy retains a 50-year right of first negotiation. If during that time funding is not available and the Conservancy does not opt to acquire the properties, Conservation Forestry and Forest Investment Associates will continue to own the land unencumbered.
- In Georgia, the Conservancy will acquire fee title to approximately 4,095 acres, a conservation easement interest in approximately 4,300 acres, and retain an option to acquire a conservation easement that covers the most ecologically-significant portions of the remainder of the total property. If funding is not available and the Conservancy does not exercise its option, Conservation Forestry and Forest Investment Associates will own the land unencumbered.
- In Florida – on the 11,528-acres GCPEP property – if the Conservancy does not exercise its 5-year option to acquire the entire parcel, then the money the Conservancy spent securing the option will go toward fee ownership of key lands along a river system within the property. Conservation Forestry LLC and Forest Investment Associates would then own the remainder of this tract unencumbered.
Will The Conservation Fund and The Nature Conservancy seek state and federal funds?
Yes, the organizations are working closely with state government agencies and public officials across most of the project states to secure the necessary public funding for purchase of the lands from the conservation organizations. Nearly all the lands expected to be conveyed to the states have previously been identified as priority areas for conservation.
Will timber harvesting continue on the lands that are part of this project?
Yes, timber harvesting will continue for a set period on some of the lands. As part of this agreement, the conservation organizations agreed to provide a set amount of pulpwood, under five-year fiber supply agreements, from 13 of the larger parcels.
According to the terms of these agreements, the new owners own the trees outright and agree to provide IP with a certain pre-approved amount of pulpwood for its mills each year. The new owners will decide which specific tracts within the 13 larger parcels to harvest, what harvesting methods to use, and when to harvest.
In several places, the acquired properties contain areas that are currently in pine plantations, which are low-value from a conservation perspective. If desired, these areas can be harvested as part of a long-term plan to restore the plantations to native forest types, providing a readily available source of timber to meet the terms of the fiber supply agreements.
In the case of all parcels, including those subject to fiber supply agreements, high-value conservation areas will be set aside. In addition, timber management will be subject to forest certification standards that help protect the biological diversity of the forest.
Are there other IP-owned lands, not part of this project, that are ecologically-important?
Yes. There are many other tracts of land within IP’s real estate portfolio that are of interest from a conservation standpoint. IP’s 105 years of careful stewardship has resulted in a great many acres that are ecologically important. In selecting the lands for purchase, The Conservation Fund and The Nature Conservancy carefully reviewed IP’s land-holdings and targeted the lands that fell within priority areas for each organization. Not all ecologically-important lands made it into the final package. Available capital limited the number of acres the organizations could acquire.
Is this purchase enough; will it save the South’s forests?
As large and biologically important as this purchase is, it is not sufficient to “save” the forests of the region. Eighty-nine percent of the South’s forests are privately owned and are vulnerable to threats from fragmentation, development and land use change. While purchases for public use can protect the highest value sites, the great majority of forestland in the South will remain in private hands. Incentives are needed to encourage private landowners to manage their land over the long run for a wide range of conservation purposes. The upcoming reauthorization of the U.S. Farm Bill offers an opportunity to enhance such incentives.
Will the public be able to use this land or will it be “locked up” for environmental purposes?
The land being sold to state agencies will eventually become state forests, wildlife management areas and parks and as such will be available for public use. Lands being held by Conservation Forestry LLC and Forest Investment Associates may be leased to hunting and fishing clubs as has been the case in the past.
Are the Conservation organizations making a profit on this deal?
No. The organizations just hope to cover their overhead and expenses. Conservation Forestry LLC and Forest Investment Associates may make a profit; they are profit-making, yet conservation-minded, private investors. The private capital made available through a partnership with these investors allowed the Conservancy to assemble the unprecedented amount of financing necessary to complete this landmark conservation transaction.
What does this transaction mean for the region’s economy?
The IP sale is an example of continuing change in the forest industry in the South. The inclusion of some timber harvesting on several of the sites is meant to contribute to the ongoing health of the forest products industry as is the ongoing partnership with Conservation Forestry LLC and Forest Investment Associates.
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