The Nature Conservancy announced Monday that it has closed a deal to sell 92,000 acres of former Finch, Pruyn and Co. land in the central Adirondacks for $32.88 million to an organization it says is committed to environmentally responsible forestry.
Under the agreement, the lands would be sold to the Danish pension fund ATP, an investor client of Regions Morgan Keegan Timberland Group, of Birmingham, Ala. According to published reports, this purchase is part of a plan by the Danish pension fund to acquire sustainable forestry practices as part of a broader focus on climate change investments.
"I think, overall, it's a great day for investment in the Adirondack economy," said Mike Carr, executive director of the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. "The combination of conservation, international investment, making good on pledges to 27 communities on the economic side of the transaction, is real cause for celebration today."
The lands are part of the 161,000 acres The Nature Conservancy purchased in June 2007 from Finch Paper LLC for $110 million.
Of the 69,000 acres still remaining from The Nature Conservancy's June 2007 purchase from Finch Paper, 65,000 acres are expected to be sold to the state for Forest Preserve; 1,170 acres have been set aside for community-enhancement projects in Newcomb, Long Lake and Indian Lake; and the remaining 3,500 acres are still under negotiation.
The sale of the 92,000 acres of timberland has been anticipated for months, and The Nature Conservancy will now turn its focus on finalizing an agreement with the state for conservation easements on the land.
The state expects to buy conservation easements from The Nature Conservancy within the next two fiscal years, state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Lori Severino said. The easement agreement is expected to open up select areas for public recreation.
Until that point, the land will be closed to the public. Logging, however, is scheduled to continue.
Finch, Pruyn, which owned the land for more than a century, and its successor company Finch Paper, have been sustainably managing the forests according to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. RMK Timberland will follow suit, supplying "green" pulpwood to the Finch Paper mill under a fiber-supply agreement that was originally signed by The Nature Conservancy when it bought the property.
The agreement, which has 18 years left on it, will keep logging crews working in the woods. Finch foresters will manage the ATP forestland on an interim basis and continue to sustainably manage the forestlands owned by The Nature Conservancy.
"There is a newfound enthusiasm these days for investing in natural resources like forestland," Charlie Daniel, president of the RMK Timberland Group, said in the written statement announcing the deal. "The Adirondacks is a place widely-recognized as a model in sustainability and we are delighted to be a part of this unique region."
In the same statement, Henrik Gade Jepsen, CEO of ATP Timberland Invest K/S, part of Denmark's largest pension fund and the investor backing RMK Timberland's Adirondack timberland purchase, said this property was "precisely" what they were looking for. "It meets the high standards of our pension fund's commitment to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, and it fits perfectly in our portfolio investment strategy," he said.
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Keeping the forest intact
The timberland includes parts of Blue, Dun Brook and Goodnow mountains and surrounding lands in Hamilton and Essex counties. The purchase also includes a large section of land southwest of Indian Lake that includes Panther and Dell mountains. Another large parcel is located just north of the former mine at Tahawus, which is at the southern end of the High Peaks.
The lands feature 274 miles of rivers and streams, some feeding the headwaters of the Hudson River, and sustains a variety of plants, animals and natural communities. Asphodel, rusty blackbird, and riverside ice meadows are among the rare, threatened or endangered species and ecoystems.
The Nature Conservancy emphasizes that from an ecological perspective, this land is part of a globally important landscape that represents one of the last best chances anywhere to preserve a large, intact, temperate, deciduous forest system.
"This tremendous investment in the Adirondacks is a testament to strong partnerships toward a sustainable future," Carr said. "Our scientists put in hundreds of hours identifying significant species and habitats to determine where our biodiversity conservation objectives can be compatible with forestry."
Currently, the lands are still off limits to the public. Ultimately, it is anticipated they will be opened, to a limited extent, when conservation easements are acquired by the state, giving people recreational access to places that have been off limits to the public for at least a century.
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Towns in favor
The towns that are part of the 161,000 acres of former Finch, Pruyn land have agreed to allow the state to use Environmental Protection Fund money to purchase the lands, according to The Nature Conservancy. Towns have the right to veto state land purchases with EPF funds.
"All 27 towns have given a green light to move forward with the plan," Carr said. "There is still a lot of work ahead, and we know communities are counting on the many benefits they stand to gain when we bring the plan across the finish line."
One of the selling points for The Nature Conservancy to the towns with these lands is the creation of a snowmobile trail network that would connect several communities. The proposed trails would link North Hudson with Newcomb and Minerva. They would also link to pre-existing trails.
Hunting and fishing clubs were also given three-year leases in October to last them through the uncertain period, said Carr, noting he expects the new owners would continue the leases.
"We didn't know what to expect when The Nature Conservancy bought the Finch lands," said George Canon, supervisor of Newcomb. "I give them a lot of credit for listening and working with us on snowmobile trails and other opportunities."
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Contact Mike Lynch at (518) 891-2600 ext. 28 or mlynch@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
