TNC Press Release
Colorado Springs, Colorado - Today The Nature Conservancy released a statement praising Senator Allard, R-Colorado and Representative Hefley, R-Colorado for their valiant work in securing $7 million in funds that will safeguard the open space and beauty of this region, from peak to prairie, and ensure our soldiers have a place to train said Charles Bedford, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. These funds help protect not only our country's military preparedness, but also our states natural heritage.
The recent Army allocation of $7 million is part of a growing trend in cooperative conservation, a movement blending the work of private landowners, local, state, and federal governments and local community members to preserve large landscapes and important wildlife for the benefit of the communities who depend on them.
It's no wonder that Fort Carson is becoming a model throughout the country for how to use buffer zones to preserve wildlife, military training, and a local way of life, said Bedford.
Rapid urban development around military bases across the country is becoming a growing threat to both military training needs and the conservation of wildlife habitat. As housing and other human development creep closer to military base borders, restrictions are often imposed on military activities due to the associated dust and noise.
Approximately half of the land needed for Fort Carson will now be protected. We're at the 50 yard line, but with the leadership of our legislators and the support of the local community, we know we can get to the finish line, said Bedford.
In addition to the recent $7 million appropriation, last year the [Nature] Conservancy completed the first 5,000-acre installment in a series of voluntary land protection agreements that will protect the entire southern and eastern boundaries of Fort Carson, preserve over 50,000 acres of high-quality shortgrass prairie habitat and allow neighboring ranchers to continue their traditional livelihoods.
Building on this momentum, the [Nature] Conservancy has launched the Peak-to-Prairie Project in partnership with Colorado Open Lands and the local ranching community to protect a landscape stretching east from Cheyenne Mountain and our Aiken Canyon Preserve to the Chico Basin and Bohart Ranches, knitting together a series of protected lands and preserving open spaces between Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
Biologists as well as social scientists believe that the next 10 years will be a critical make it or break it decade for the area around Fort Carson. The work of Senator Allard and Representative Hefley will help define the future of this community, said Bedford The Nature Conservancy stands with so many others in the Colorado community to say thank you to Senator Allard and Representative Hefley for their energy and wisdom in protecting the community values embodied in this special place, he continued.
Copyright 2006, The Nature Conservancy.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/colorado/press/press2301.html