PARK COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the Conservation Fund announced Wednesday the purchase of 130 acres of private land for conservation and land management purposes near Florissant.
In partnership with The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit conservation organization, the Forest Service acquired the nearly 130 acres from the Wagon Tongue Company. The property is located southwest of Florissant, between Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and Eleven Mile Reservoir.
According to the Forest Service, the Conservation Fund purchased the property from the Wagon Tongue Company earlier this year and worked with the Forest Service and Congress to obtain funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Conservation Fund was then able to transfer the property to public ownership and have it managed by the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a federal program that provides funding to preserve irreplaceable lands and improve outdoor recreation opportunities across the country, according to the Forest Service.
The agency said the newly acquired property provides habitat for elk, wild turkey, cougar, black bear, bobcat and mule deer. The acquisition will also provide the South Park Ranger District with access to hunting areas and strengthen the Forest Service’s ability to protect adjacent communities from catastrophic wildfires, the Forest Service said.
For more information about the Conservation Fund, visit www.conservationfund.org.
