MANAGING
AGENCY:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
LOCATION:
Madison
Parish, Louisiana
PROJECT
NAME:
Chicago
Mill acquisition
SIZE/COST:
Total:
11,033 acres, $13.25 million
($9
million in federal funds to be matched by $4 million in Entergy and other
private carbon sequestration funds)
Phase
1: 2,455 acres, $2.790 million, fall 2004
Phase 2: 2,398 acres, $3.002
million, likely spring 2005
NATURAL RESOURCES:
Bottomland hardwood forest
Louisiana black bear
Largest white-tailed deer herd in
Louisiana
Neotropical migratory bird habitat
and migratory waterfowl habitat
PROGRAMMATIC
SIGNIFICANCE:
Carbon
sequestration reforestation
Wildlife
migration corridor
Endangered
and/or threatened species protection
Wildlife
habitat preservation
Consolidation
of existing refuge lands
The
Chicago Mill project, a multi-year partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL), seeks to add 11,033 acres
of Louisiana black bear habitat to the
Tensas National Wildlife Refuge. Primarily
an agricultural tract for many years, the acquisition of the Chicago Mill
property offers the opportunity to bridge the two separate units of the refuge,
thus providing a protected wildlife corridor for a number of refuge species,
most notably the Louisiana black bear.
This
property had been part of the famous Singer Tract, a 75,000-acre tract of
hardwood forest once owned by the Singer family (of sewing machine fame). Chicago Mill and Lumber Company, the current
owner, once harvested the timber, but is now looking to dispose of this property.
TPL has contracted with Chicago Mill with the goal of purchasing and transferring
the 11,033-acre parcel to the USFWS for public use and enjoyment for future
generations. The first transfer, 2,455
acres worth $2.790 million, is scheduled for fall 2004, and the second one,
2,398 acres worth $3.002 million, is likely in the spring of 2005.
Funding
for this project are being sought from a number of different sources, including
the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, Migratory Bird Conservation
Fund, and the Entergy Corporation. Additional
funds are pending the outcome of the federal Fiscal Year 2005 Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
The
strong support of the Louisiana Congressional delegation has
been instrumental in the funding effort. Both
Senators John Breaux and Mary Landrieu, a member of the Senate Appropriations
Committee and Congressmen Rodney Alexander support this project.
In addition, Senator Breaux is a member of the Migratory Bird Conservation
Commission.
Funding
for the entire Chicago Mill acquisition is highly leveraged. In addition to nearly $9 million being sought
from federal sources, almost $4 million in private carbon sequestration funds
will offset what otherwise would be costs incurred by the Federal government,
allowing the refuge to purchase the property at a significantly reduced cost
to taxpayers.
TPL
has partnered with private energy companies, such as the Entergy Corporation,
to leverage federal funds with private donations to both acquire and reforest
the land with native hardwoods, thereby creating that much more prime black
bear habitat, as well as habitat for neotropical
migratory birds and migratory waterfowl. Entergy
and other companies that may contribute to this endeavor get the benefit of
carbon sequestration credits that reduce the impacts of global warming.
Essentially, planting trees on this deforested land reduces the amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, in addition to the many other benefits
provided. In fact, the federal government
has stipulated that the Chicago Mill tract can only be transferred to the
USFWS if it has been replanted. Of the 11,033 acres, 2279 acres are naturally
forested with the remaining 8750 acres in need of reforestation. With Entergy’s financial contributions, 1500
acres of that amount have already been reforested as of fall 2004.
