ARKANSAS:  Buck Island Conservation Easement Signed

October 2010: ALC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) have signed an agreement to permanently conserve the 880 acres of timber on Buck Island, a 1,500-acre island located one mile up the Mississippi River from Helena Harbor. The agreement protects important wildlife habitat, including that of Arkansas’s largest Mississippi River nesting colony of the endangered Least Terns, while also conserving ecological values such as water quality and open space. Learn more»

CALIFORNIA: ALC Protects Fragile Riparian Area; Increases Recreation Opportunities

September 2010: ALC conveyed 9.73 acres of high priority habitat in Tehama County, CA to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The newly publicly owned land is to be included in the Sacramento River Bend Outstanding Natural Area (ONA). The acquisition adds approximately a half-mile of river frontage with high quality shoreline riparian habitat, and includes a tremendous and unique view-shed of the River Bend and surrounding land. Located in the Sacramento Valley, the 17,000-acre ONA is a low-elevation landscape containing now-rare oak woodlands, 25 miles of some of California’s last intact riparian habitat, and excellent spawning grounds for salmon and steelhead trout.

CALIFORNIA: Habitat Protected in Area of Critical Environmental Concern
August 2010: ALC conveyed 50 acres of high priority habitat for sensitive and endangered species to BLM in support of its Atwell Island Land Retirement Demonstration Project in Tulare County, CA. Atwell Island is located within the southeastern portion of now-drained Tulare Lake which, as recently as 100 years ago, was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. Numerous plant and animal species have been detected and identified on the 7,000-acre island, including: 204 birds, 30 mammals, 13 reptiles, 4 amphibians, 24 butterflies, 12 dragonflies, and 171 plants in 44 families.  Learn more»

Lands Previously Conserved:

NEVADA: Critical Migration Corridor Conserved; Public Gains Mountain Range Access
August 2009: ALC, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), protected 650 acres in Nevada’s southern Peterson Range that act as a critical migration corridor for mule deer and provide new public access to outdoor recreation opportunities such as hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. The property also conserves winter habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse, lies within BLM-designated Mountain Quail critical habitat, and has been found to harbor numerous clusters of Ames Milkvetch, an at-risk, sensitive plant species. Learn more»

ALASKA: 4,000 more acres conserved on Afognak Island
July 2009: ALC and its partner, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), protected another 4,000 acres of pristine habitat for Kodiak brown bears, Roosevelt elk, and wild salmon in on the north coast of Afognak Island, Alaska. The project was a multi-year effort that complements an earlier ALC-RMEF partnership on Afognak that protected 4,441 acres through acquisition of land and timber rights. The land is now open to the public. Learn more about ALC's Alaska program»

ILLINOIS: Forested Wetlands Conserved; New Local Park Created
July, 2009: ALC, in partnership with Green Earth, Inc. and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, protected 124 acres of forested wetlands in the heart of Carbondale Illinois that provides a riparian corridor to a nearby creek and is home to deer, beaver, waterfowl, migratory songbirds, and other wildlife. The site will soon be open to the public and Green Earth will be creating nature trails on the site that will be used for conservation education programs for local school children. Learn more»

Other Recent Accomplishments: