Forestry Legacy
The Program
Utah’s Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is designed to protect and manage, for future generations, environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses, such as development and subdivision. Conservation easements are used to achieve this goal with priority given to lands which:
- are at risk of conversion to non-forest uses
- protect and enhance water quality and water supplies for both wildlife and downstream users
- protect wildlife habitat and maintain connectivity of wildlife movement corridors
- maintain and restore riparian areas
- contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of rural communities
- directly border existing protected lands, such as other FLP projects or public lands
- provide potential for public access (recreation, hunting, etc)
The program is funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which invests a small percentage of federal offshore drilling fees toward the conservation of important land, water, and recreation areas for all Americans. The passage of the Great American Outdoors Act provides permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Conservation Easements
The use of a conservation easement, a legal agreement between a willing seller-landowner and the state, allows land to remain in private ownership while ensuring that its environmental values are protected. Instead of making a costly outright purchase of forest land, conservation easements limit development rights. This ensures that the land will remain in forest cover while private landowners continue to own, manage and use their lands and natural resources.
Public Values
Across America, 60% of forested lands are non-Federal. The role of private forest lands in providing a sustainable source of goods and services dramatically exceeds that of Federal lands. Loss of forested areas poses an increasing threat to the integrity of the nation’s natural resources. As these areas are fragmented and disappear, so do the benefits they provide.
Protection of private forests by providing economic incentives to landowners through the FLP maintains a multitude of public benefits. These “working forests” protect water quality for downstream users, critical wildlife habitat and movement corridors, forest products for supporting rural economies, opportunities for hunting and recreational access, and other public benefits.
Land Management Plan
Accompanying the conservation easement is a Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) for the property. The FSP encourages long-term stewardship by assisting private landowners with the active management of their forest and related resources. It is intended to be an action-oriented, working document. The FSP is amended periodically to schedule a new phase of management practices, account for changes in landowner objectives, landownership, forest health conditions, or other factors which may not have been originally present.
Projects Completed
Since its creation in 1990, the FLP has conserved over 3 million acres of forest land and expanded across the country to 53 states and territories. The program has been operating in Utah since 1996.
Explore the places and projects that the Forest Legacy Program has conserved through the Forest Legacy Interactive Map.
The Forest Legacy Program from Peregrine Productions LLC on Vimeo.
Please read about the Forest Legacy Program in the western states at the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC).
Working with our land trust partners, Utah’s Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands has accomplished the following:
- 85,000 acres protected
- 31 projects completed
- $35 million awarded in Forest Legacy funds
- $28 million donated by landowners
- $11 million of non-federal matching funds
Partners
Funding support from the Governor’s Quality Growth Commission has supplemented USDA Forest Service funding on several projects. We have also developed partnerships with The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Bear River Land Conservancy, Utah Open Lands, The Trust for Public Lands, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The cooperation and common interests of these public-private partnerships have been instrumental in our program’s success.
Project Applications
The FLP is a highly competitive national program. Properties must be at least 75% forested and have public values and strategic alignment with other protected lands. Please see the US Forest Service FLP website for more information.
Private landowner properties located within one of the nine Utah Forest Legacy Areas are eligible to apply. The program can provide up to 75% of the costs for the purchase of conservation easements, with a minimum 25% match requirement coming from a landowner donation or other private, state or other non-federal sources. Landowners are strongly encouraged to work with a land trust organization to develop their project and complete the final proposal.
Funds are awarded to successful projects approximately three years after submission of the initial pre-application, with up to an additional two years to close the project. The Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands accepts pre-applications for the Forest Legacy Program in October of every year. Interested landowners and land trusts may contact Natalie Conlin to receive a pre-application form