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Grand Canyon, froiti page 1
<br />■ The Friends of the National Parks at
<br />Gettysburg recently purchased the last
<br />commercial property within Gettysburg Na-
<br />tional Military Park thanks in part to a grant
<br />from the Katherine M. McKenna Foundation
<br />and an anonymous donor. The Conservation
<br />Fund negotiated and helped finance the
<br />transaction. The friends group will hold the
<br />$1.2 million property, currently the site of a
<br />motel, until the National Park Service ob-
<br />tains funding this fall to buy the property.
<br />The site of the famous Pickett's Charge, the
<br />property saw fierce fighting between the
<br />Confederate and Union armies in July 1863.
<br />Plans call for the motel to be razed and the
<br />site restored to an open field.
<br />■ More than 600 acres on Rocky Face
<br />Ridge, the site of the first battle that led to
<br />the siege of Atlanta during the Civil War,
<br />have been preserved, culminating a multi-
<br />year effort to protect the land. Partners in-
<br />cluded Whitfield County, the City of Dalton,
<br />the Dalton / Whitfield Chamber of Com-
<br />merce, the Georgia Community Greenspace
<br />Program, the National Park Service, the
<br />Community Foundation of Northwest Geor-
<br />gia, the Turner Foundation, and the Gilder
<br />Foundation. The Conservation Fund worked
<br />with the Looper family and Rex Investments
<br />to purchase the land for conservation.
<br />Whitfield County plans minor enhance-
<br />ments to preserve the Confederate fortifica-
<br />tions and tell the story of the 1864 battle.
<br />■ Sand Creek, Colo.: A 240 -acre tract in
<br />Colorado, recently acquired and conveyed
<br />by The Conservation Fund to the National
<br />Park Service, represents the first piece in an
<br />assemblage of land from willing sellers that
<br />will become the Sand Creek Massacre Na-
<br />tional Historic Site (nps.gov /sand). The
<br />Fund has secured another 640 -acre tract un-
<br />der contract, with transfer to the park ser-
<br />vice expected by the fall. The Southwest Ca-
<br />sino and Hotel Corp. has contracted to buy
<br />1,465 acres, which it intends to donate to the
<br />Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.
<br />The property ultimately will be managed by
<br />the park service as part of the national his-
<br />toric site. On Nov. 29, 1864, U.S. Army
<br />troops killed at least 150 Arapaho and Chey-
<br />enne women, children and elderly tribal
<br />members in a surprise attack. The massacre,
<br />which occurred near present -day Eads, in
<br />Kiowa County, Colo., was recognized as a
<br />national disgrace and condemned by Con-
<br />gress and a military commission. Sen. Ben
<br />COMMON GROUND VOL. 13 NO. 3 JULY- SEPTEMBER 2002
<br />Nighthorse Campbell (R- Colo.) introduced
<br />legislation, which President Clinton signed
<br />on Nov. 7, 2000, to create the 12,480 -acre site.
<br />■ The Conservation Fund has received a
<br />second grant from the Charles Stewart Mott
<br />Foundation to increase the new Great Lakes
<br />Revolving Loan Fund to $5.75 million. The
<br />program provides bridge funding to groups
<br />in the eight- state, Great Lakes watershed for
<br />land acquisition and conservation easement
<br />projects. As of June, two loans have been
<br />completed, including $1.07 million to The
<br />Nature Conservancy to protect 6,000 acres on
<br />Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. To run the
<br />program, the Fund has hired two representa-
<br />tives: Jennifer LeBlanc (jleblanc @conserva-
<br />tionfund.org), who most recently worked in
<br />the Fund's real estate department at its Ar-
<br />lington headquarters, and Mike Kelly (PO
<br />Box 111, Auburn, MI 48611, 989 / 662 -6024,
<br />mkelly @sysu.edu), who also administers the
<br />Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network
<br />(saginawbaywin.org).
<br />■ Alaska, S.C., representatives: The Conser-
<br />vation Fund welcomes new representatives
<br />in its Alaska and South Carolina offices.
<br />Glenn Elison (6400 Andover Drive, Anchor-
<br />age, AK 99516, 907/868 -7974, glennelison@
<br />alaska.com) comes to the Fund after 26 years
<br />with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, most
<br />recently as assistant regional director for mi-
<br />gratory birds and state programs. He joins
<br />Brad Meiklejohn, who has worked for the
<br />Fund in Alaska for several years. Harry
<br />Lesesne (PO Box 5226, Columbia, SC 29250-
<br />5226, 803/422-1408, hlesesne @conservation
<br />fund.org) most recently taught history at the
<br />University of South Carolina at Columbia.
<br />■ Top ranking: The Conservation Fund,
<br />with its 17o fund raising costs and 9570
<br />program allocation, has been recognized
<br />as the nation's top environmental non-
<br />profit by two prominent charity watchdog
<br />organizations. Charity Navigator, in its
<br />Guide to Intelligent Giving (charity
<br />navigator.org), awarded the Fund its top
<br />four -star rating for exceeding industry
<br />standards and outperforming all environ-
<br />mental charities. For the second year, the
<br />American Institute of Philanthropy
<br />(charitywatch.org) gave the Fund an A+
<br />for unsurpassed effectiveness and effi-
<br />ciency. In both charity rankings, the Fund
<br />earned the best score among more than 40
<br />environmental nonprofits.
<br />Nominees sought
<br />The deadline for sub-
<br />mitting nominations
<br />for the American Land
<br />Conservation Award is
<br />Aug. 16. The award
<br />recognizes outstanding
<br />volunteer leadership in
<br />land and water conser-
<br />vation. The recipient
<br />receives $50,000, the
<br />largest such award in
<br />the U.S. For more in-
<br />formation, visit
<br />www.conservation
<br />fund.org or call
<br />Gretchen Stone
<br />(703/525-6300).
<br />Many thanks to these
<br />recent donors to the
<br />COMMON GROUND
<br />Research Fund:
<br />Dr. & Mrs. U.C.
<br />Bartlett
<br />H. Meade Cadot, Jr.
<br />Deborah Duke
<br />Page Hungerpiller
<br />Raymond Schamel
<br />Twenty-seven donors
<br />have given $1,005 to the
<br />COMMON GROUND Re-
<br />search Fund this year. If
<br />you would like to made a
<br />gift, send your check c/o
<br />The Conservation Fund,
<br />1800 N. Kent St., Suite
<br />1120, Arlington, VA
<br />22209 -2156.
<br />`J
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