State Seeks To Purchase 390,000 Acres

"Engler and the Nature Conservancy's Michigan chapter last month sketched out plans to combine state, federal and private funds to buy the Kamehameha property, valued at $150 million. Officials hope to use tax incentives plus contributions from state, federal and philanthropic sources to entice a timber industry partner. The logging company would pay the bulk of the purchase price, own the timber rights and 90 percent of the property, and would guarantee permanent public access through a conservation easement, according to the plan. Private ownership would keep the property on the tax rolls and ensure timber industry jobs to help support the U.P.'s historically wobbly economy."

Thanks to C. Scott Smith