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COMMON GROUND VOL 12 NO 2 JANUARY-MARCH 2O01 J 1 Sr VIE n � :cc IT-, .� .• Chi VI . i -: - 1 :� . •1! ' .e• 1 .. f f ru!• e.t( , tI• Y- f `' r :M �,,'!' . -3 •!; � '�=. .�. �( q . fi.� .w;.r, . t.. Turtle, from page 1 the state to expand its crane habitat . In Janu- On St . Croix in the Virgin Islands , the ary, the Fund will transfer the 2,400 -acre Many thanks to these Fund transferred two 10- acre tracts to the tract at Smith Bend to the state . " In addition recent donors to the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, in- to providing critical habitat for the cranes COMMON GROUND eluding 600 feet of prime waterfront nesting and other migratory birds, these properties Research Fund . beaches . The refuge is considered to be one are benefiting these rural areas economically Dorothy Blumner of the most important nesting areas for through increased tourism from bird watch- Peter Cooper leatherback turtles in the world . ing, " said Rex Boner of the Fund ' s Georgia William Decamp Ross Dring office ( 770 / 414- 0211 ) . " TCF is glad to assist John Dunkle 3 By mid-February, The Conservation Fund the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Christopher Graham expects to complete the transfer of 150 acres and local communities in meeting these con- Charles Haberlein lich in Indian River County, Fla . , to the Fish and servation and economic objectives , " Michaell Huxley Ralph uxle y Wildlife Service to insulate Pelican Island Judith McCandless National Wildlife Refuge from encroaching 0 The state of Delaware recently acquired Madelen McIntosh development . President Theodore Roosevelt 1 ,519 acres of open space and conservation Letitia Morris created the nation ' s first wildlife refuge at easements on 4,283 acres mostly in the Ra nRoseon Pelican Island in 1903 to protect birds from Nanticoke River watershed in Sussex Ca of Swarts feather hunters . Today, Pelican Island and County . The state paid $ 6 million for the Richard Van Frank the surrounding waters are an important land, which The Conservation Fund held, breeding and nesting area for brown and and the working forest easements , which the More than 335 donors white pelicans . " The challenges facing Peli- Fund and the Glatfelter Pulp Wood Co . gave $ 15 ,980 to the coM- can Island—particularly the spread of devel- owned . The state will monitor the easements MON GROUND Research opment into wild areas—are symbolic of the to assure that sustainable forestry practices Fund in 2000 . Start the new year by making a gift . threats facing protected land throughout the are followed . Hunting also will be allowed n e need your help . U . S . and the new challenges facing the con- on much of the easement land . Send your check c / o servation movement, " said Matthew Sexton The Conservation Fund , of The Conservation Fund ' s Florida office 13 In December, President Clinton named 1800 N . Kent St. , Suite (561 / 832-7665 ) . The new acquisitions at Peli- William deBuys, the New Mexico representa - 1120 , Arlington, VA can Island, worth $ 10 million, are part of a tive for The Conservation Fund, as a member 22209 -21569 three-year effort by the Fund and its part- of the new Valles Caldera Trust . Congress ners to add a 250 - acre buffer around the ref- created the trust to administer the 95, 000- uge by its 100th anniversary . acre Baca Ranch, which the federal govern- ment acquired last year . The ranch, now M Two tracts in eastern Tennessee that The called the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Conservation Fund helped protect which is part of the National Forest System , provide migratory habitat for sandhill cranes may soon become a stopover for their en- M The Michigan Dune Alliance ( 312 / 332- dangered cousins—whooping cranes . The 6293 ) has secured $ 722, 000 in start-up fund- Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership ing to promote conservation and steward- (bringbackthecranes . fws . g�) liF working to ship of the coastal marshes, dunes, forests The Michigan reintroduce a migratory flock of whoopers and freshwater river systems that border Dune Alliance east of the Mississippi River . Lake Michigan . The alliance, organized in hopes to Researchers achieved a critical milestone 1999 with the help of The Conservation this fall when a flock of 11 sandhill cranes Fund, hopes to implement conservation implement followed an ultralight aircraft from Wiscon- plans over three years for 14 aquatic sites conservation sin to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife identified by the Nature Conservancy, an plans Over three Refuge in Florida . The 40 - day flight was a alliance partner . The Mott Foundation trial run for a planned migration next year ($ 600, 000 ) , Environmental Protection Agency 1J" ears for 14 that aims to reintroduce migratory whoop - ($ 72, 000 ) and the Michigan Coastal Manage- aquatic sites , ing cranes in the East . If the sandhill cranes ment Program ($50, 000 ) provided lead fund- return north next spring on their own, as ex- ing for the alliance . Land trust partners pected, researchers will train a flock of include Grand Traverse Regional Land Con- ilar voyage . servancy, Land Conservancy of West Michi- whoopers for a simTwo important stopovers for cranes are gan, Leelanau Conservancy, Little Traverse the Hiwassee Wildlife Management Area Conservancy, and Southwest Michigan Land and Smith Bend along the Tennessee River Conservancy. The Michigan Department of in east Tennessee . A few years ago, The Con- Natural Resources, Michigan Department of servation Fund bought a 750 - acre tract adja- Environmental Quality, National Park Ser- cent to Hiwassee WMA and transferred it to vice and Forest Service also are partners .