Making the North Shore Even More Beautiful

It looks like the US Forest Service is going to make our beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior even more beautiful with their newest project.  Read their press release for details.
 
Natural Resource Conservation Service and Forest Service
Team Up with Partners on Lake Superior North Shore Coastal Forest Restoration
DULUTH, MN  February 26, 2015 – As part of a national partnership, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service are coordinating technical resources and funds totaling $200,000 to support forest restoration efforts along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Since much of the North Shore is in private ownership, a concerted effort between public and private landowners is essential to achieving forest restoration at a landscape scale. Thanks to this new partnership, agency personnel will be jointly dedicated to coordinating small scale work on private land with larger scale activities on National Forest System land. Through consolidation, treatments will be more economical and seamless.
Will Bomier with the Natural Resource Conservation Service says:  “This project is a unique and critical opportunity to put ‘boots on the ground’ to engage private landowners while expanding restoration efforts on public land.”
In the North Shore project, restoring long-lived conifers and other native species is critical to developing a forest that is resilient in the face of climate change and other disturbances. By improving the health and resiliency of the forest landscape, this effort will help to protect the tributaries that impact water quality in Lake Superior, mitigate wildfire threats to landowners and communities, provide critical wildlife and fish habitat, as well as maintain the visual corridor along Highway 61, a National and State Scenic Byway.
This project is part of a larger landscape restoration effort along the North Shore of Lake Superior being led by the North Shore Forest Collaborative. The Collaborative is made up of more than 30 entities who are committed to large-scale restoration of the coastal forest, including:  Tribal, federal, state and county agencies; non-profit organizations; and private landowners.
“The North Shore Forest Collaborative is a great example of the synergy generated when public and private landowners work across boundaries to accomplish common goals. It is an outstanding model of private-public collaboration.” stated Richard Periman, Deputy Forest Supervisor, Superior National Forest.
The North Shore project is one of fifteen projects located across the country that were selected for a total of $10 million in funding as part of the Chiefs’ Joint Landscape Restoration Partnership in 2015. This is the second year of the national partnership between the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Forest Service that is intended to improve conditions on public and private lands.
In addition to USDA agency investments, partners are contributing more than $5 million in the 2015 projects over three years in financial, technical and in-kind services. These fifteen new projects, coupled with thirteen projects announced last year, will help mitigate wildfire threats to communities and landowners, protect water quality and supply, and improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species in high priority landscapes across the U.S. Summaries of all projects selected can be found at:   http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/features/?cid=stelprdb1270755
Funding of these projects was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2014 Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life.
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