$1 Million Challenge Grant to Ensure Sustainable Forestry, Protect Wildlife Habitat, Provide Public Access

Sets Stage for Final Push toward $26 Million Fundraising Goal

Minneapolis, MN— March 13, 2007— Minnesota’s north woods is a signature of our quality of life, providing economic and recreational opportunities, and a critical place for wildlife to live. To ensure these forests continue to be managed sustainably for forest products, protect wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for public access, the Kresge Foundation has provided a $1 million challenge grant to the Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership for forest conservation efforts. The challenge grant sets the stage for the final push by the Partnership to raise $26 million of private and public funding for conservation easements on up to 75,000 acres of forestland in the greater Itasca County area. The grant hinges on the Partnership reaching its goal by July 1, 2008. To date, the coalition has raised more than $16.6 million.

“The Kresge Foundation has provided us with a significant boost, and an exciting challenge,” said Peggy Ladner, State Director of The Nature Conservancy. “We have a brief window of opportunity to conserve Minnesota’s large timberlands for economic, ecological and recreational needs. With the deadline set by the Kresge Foundation, time truly is of the essence.”

The Kresge Challenge Grant comes on the heels of the establishment of a $6 million fund by the Blandin Foundation to help to stem the recent trend of large-scale forestland sales and subdivisions in Minnesota. Additionally, the Surdna Foundation provided a $1 million contribution to the Forest Legacy Partnership, a coalition of organizations working to preserve the recreational, economic and ecological resources of Minnesota’s northwoods. The Partnership includes the Blandin Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Forest Resources Council, The Conservation Fund, Minnesota Forest Industries, the Minnesota Deer Hunter’s Association and The Trust for Public Land.

“We are particularly gratified that a national foundation of Kresge’s standing has seen the value of the work we are doing here in Minnesota to ensure that the many benefits of working forest landscapes will continue to be available for Minnesotans for generations to come,” said Blandin Foundation President Jim Hoolihan. “We think this endorsement sends a powerful signal to other public and private funders in our state of the priority and urgency of the Legacy Partnership.”

Forests for Sale!

Watch a video that describes the impacts of forest fragmentation on Minnesota's landscape and the people who depend upon it.

The forestland conservation easements will limit development and subdivision while ensuring sustainable forest practices and public access opportunities for a variety of recreational pursuits including hunting, fishing and hiking. The easements will be held by the Department of Natural Resources, which will monitor the legally binding agreements. Currently, the Partnership is working with a handful of landowners on conservation easement agreements. In June 2006, the Partnership announced an agreement with Forest Capital Partners to protect up to 50,000 acres of working forestland in parts of Itasca and Koochiching Counties. Another project protecting 1,600 acres in southern Itasca County is underway with Liila Forest Products. Both of these projects are scheduled for completion this spring.

“With the aid of this challenge grant, we hope the campaign can become an even more strategic opportunity to connect with stakeholders and reach out to new donors, volunteers and the general community,” said Rip Rapson, President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation. “We are pleased to be able to make this challenge grant toward the protection of the outstanding ecological and recreational values embodied within these forests.”

The rapidly changing economics of the forest products industry are forcing an unprecedented change in ownership across the Great Lakes states, and throughout the nation. Large forest holdings have been subdivided and sold, and subdivided again. In December 2004, Boise Cascade sold some 2.2 million acres in Minnesota, Louisiana, Alabama and the Pacific Northwest—309,000 acres of which are located in Minnesota’s Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods and St. Louis Counties. Moreover, in the last 15 years, 400,000 of Minnesota’s roughly 13 million acres of forestland has been converted to other uses and removed from the production base.

Forests fragmentation is among the greatest threats faced by wildlife and has compromised timber harvesting in many areas. Itasca County has the largest concentration of privately held industrial forestland in the state, supports many timber-related jobs and is a major destination for forest-based recreation like deer hunting. Many of the industrial timberlands have traditionally been open to public access, but with sales and subdivision, these smaller tracts are often closed by the new owners. This is a major challenge for recreationists, as the private lands are often closely connected with public lands. Similarly, animals such as bears, wolves, moose and interior forest birds need large, unbroken tracts of land to survive.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

Blandin Foundation, Minnesota’s largest rural-based private foundation is located in Grand Rapids, MN. Its mission is to strengthen rural Minnesota communities, especially the Grand Rapids area, through grants, leadership development programs and public policy initiatives.

The Kresge Foundation is a national foundation with $3 billion in assets. Through its grant making programs, The Kresge Foundation seeks to strengthen nonprofit organizations by catalyzing growth, connecting them to their stakeholders and challenging greater support through grants. In 2005, the Foundation awarded 212 grants totaling $131,770.027 to organizations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa and Mexico.