[Tennessee] State environmentalists are excited about what Gov. Phil Bredesen calls “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” — the chance to preserve almost 200 square miles of forestland on the Upper Cumberland Plateau. Bredesen, … said his state budget request for next fiscal year will include money to help preserve about 124,000 acres of property …currently owned by a timber company. When timber companies sell off huge tracts of land, they’re often bought by developers looking to chop them up into subdivisions, Safer said. All the property and timber rights the governor wants to buy are owned by GMO, a Boston, Mass.-based timberland investment management organization. The Lyme Timber Co., which would partner in the investment, would get a 10-year timber lease-back agreement as part of the deal, allowing it to harvest trees in the area, Hancock said.
News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org