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The Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is pleased to introduce a new series of videos designed to illustrate the diversity of its forest conservation projects as well as the robust and innovative partnerships that are critical to the program’s success. This video series also is intended to illustrate the scientific, historical, economic, and strategic attributes of FLP projects and the program’s landscape level approach to forest conservation.

Forest conservation projects that receive funding through the FLP integrate many aspects of multiple-use forest management. Long-term protection of these areas often entails a combination of sustainable timber harvesting, watershed and wildlife habitat protection, and recreation opportunities such as hunting, fishing, and hiking.

• The first video in the series, “Moose Mountain,” highlights protection efforts at the Moose Mountain Reservation in New Hampshire, whose wood, water, wildlife, scenic, and recreational values will be sustained and managed over the long term thanks to the Forest Legacy Program, the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and many others. Moose Mountain has been protected since 2006. (http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2008/video/03/nh.shtml)
  
  
• The second video is from Utah and follows the Blonquist family, third generation ranchers, as they describe entering into a conservation easement with the Forest Legacy Program that both protects their ranch and allows them to be part of a bigger conservation effort east of Park City. Six Feathers Ranch has been protected since 2005. (http://www.fs.fed.us/video/legacy/utah/)
  
  
• The third video is from Hawaii. Wao Kele O’Puna is a 26,000 acre tract that is the last largest remaining expanse of low-land lava rainforest on the big Island of Hawaii. This property was for many years the focus of struggle for native Hawaiians who sought to protect Wao Kele O’Puna from geothermal development so that they might retain access to the site to collect plants for native rituals and to visit burial sites. Wao Kele O’Puna was protected in 2007 and is now managed by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. (http://www.fs.fed.us/video/legacy/waokeleopuna/)
  
  
• Minnesota’s Sugar Hills is a wonderful example of how recreation and sustainable forestry can come together as a community building initiative. This property is part of a local family run timber business. The property owners already were allowing public access for hiking and cross-country skiing so when the Rajala family came across the Forest Legacy Program, they new it would be a good fit for them and the people who enjoy visiting Sugar Hills. The State of Minnesota used FLP funds as well as funds form several partners to purchase a permanent conservation easement on the property.(http://www.fs.fed.us/video/legacy/minnesota)

  
  
• In 2008 when the International Paper company decided to sell all of its property in the South Carolina low country, the State stepped in to buy some key lands for conservation with help from the Forest Legacy Program. This video is about the protection of the 25,000 acre Woodbury tract. This fee acquisition protects the confluence of two major rivers, the Great Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee. Woodbury is home to Federally threatened and endangered species including wood storks and swallow-tailed kites. This river corridor is also vital to sustain the black bear population of coastal South Carolina. Managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Woodbury provides public access for traditional recreational activities including hunting and fishing. State management efforts support national conservation goals for forest wetland conservation and longleaf pine restoration. The property also has significant historical value. It is associated with the Revolutionary War battle activities of Francis Marion, including one skirmish with Tory loyalists. Revolutionary War Brigadier General William Woodbury is buried on the property.(http://www.fs.fed.us/video/legacy/southcarolina)
  
  
• The State of Washington was one of the first Western states to work with the Forest Legacy Program in the early 1990s. A state with a very productive timber industry, Washington State was challenged with rapid growth along the I-90 corridor that threatened to fragment some of the most important forest landscapes for water quality protection, recreation and forest products. The "Mountains to Sound Greenway Collaborative" was formed by a broad coalition of people and groups to support strategic landscape level planning along I-90 with the aim to protect key resources, while working to sustain local economies. This story is about partnerships and collaboration. The Forest Legacy Program works with a wide variety of groups as well the State agencies that implement the program on the ground. The success of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Collaborative shows that much more can be accomplished in partnership, and the Forest Legacy Program was there from the start.(http://www.fs.fed.us/video/legacy/washingtonstate)