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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:place w:st="on"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Forest</SPAN></B></st1:place><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Legacy Program now accepting
applications<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">July 8, 2009<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Contact: Diane Partridge,
541-963-3168 or Kevin Weeks, 503-945-7427</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><SPAN
class=062424617-08072009>#09-25</SPAN></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Applications are now being accepted
for a program seeking to protect the future of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:State>’s forests by helping landowners acquire
easements to assist conservation of forests in areas threatened by risk of
fragmentation or development.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The <A name=OLE_LINK2></A><A
name=OLE_LINK1><SPAN style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2">Forest Legacy
Program</SPAN></A>, administered locally by the Oregon Department of Forestry
(ODF), is a national cooperative forestry program of the U.S. Forest Service
that seeks to conserve private forest lands in areas where forests may be lost
to non-forest uses, to help protect forest resources, and enhance community
forest conservation partnerships.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">“We’re focusing our efforts on areas
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place> that
face immediate threats to conversion to non-forest uses,” said Diane Partridge,
ODF’s Forest Legacy Program coordinator. “These are large areas of private
forest land that face the possibility of development within the next decade, and
where the consequences could be great in terms of losses to the ecological,
social and economic benefits we enjoy from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>’s forests.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The Forest Legacy Program is
designed to support state and community efforts to keep forestland viable, and
keeping working forests as forests. The voluntary program provides financial
incentives -- <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>using conservation
easements or land acquisition<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>--
for private landowners to protect environmentally important working forest areas
(those that provide forest products, water, fish and wildlife habitat and
recreational opportunities) that are threatened by development, fragmentation
and other non-forest uses.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">People interested in submitting
proposed projects for federal Fiscal Year 2011 funding should contact ODF and
submit projects prior to <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">September 25,
2009</B> for consideration. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Applications for the Forest Legacy
Program, guidelines and additional program information are available on the ODF
website, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">www.oregon.gov/ODF</B>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:State w:st="on"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Oregon</SPAN></st1:State><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> welcomed its first Forest Legacy
Program project in September 2007 when the City of <st1:City
w:st="on">Eugene</st1:City> worked with a private landowner to preserve over 25
acres of oak habitat called South Eugene Hills Phase One in <st1:City
w:st="on">Eugene</st1:City>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wild</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Iris</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ridge</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. During 2008-2009,
the Forest Legacy program also awarded $1,500,000 to the Deschutes Land Trust to
acquire a conservation easement for the <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Skyline</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Forest</st1:PlaceType> near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Bend</st1:City></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">A conservation easement is a legal
restriction placed on a piece of property to protect a specific resource, or
several resources. Conservation easements protect land for enjoyment by future
generations while allowing owners to retain many private property rights and to
live on and use their land, at the same time potentially providing the landowner
with incentive or tax benefits.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">For more information about the
program, contact Diane Partridge, ODF Forest Legacy Program Coordinator at
541-963-3168 or<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">
dpartridge@odf.state.or.us</B>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">###</SPAN><SPAN
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