Preserved But Maybe Not November 20, 2013 Staff presentation to CEQ

Good News: Most proposed land exchanges have NOT been approved. Bad News: Hundreds of acres of conservation lands have been proposed for exchange or conveyance in the past two years. Most state conservation lands are not protected from exchange or conveyance, and therefore are not preserved in perpetuity.

Perception? or Fact? “essentially a former sand pit, full of shrubs…” “There's little or no native vegetation, mainly just some trees around the edges.” [Public Hearing Testimony] “has high priority recreation, fishery, and conservation value, and is consistent with the state comprehensive plan for outdoor recreation and the state plan of conservation and development, and should be retained in its natural scenic or open condition as park or public open space.” [Deed]

Perception? or Fact? “difficult grades, poor soils and a lack of practical access” [Letter from Exchange Proponent] “integral and significant to the resource management programs of the Department.” “Stand 2-34 is the Mountain Laurel Sanctuary… established in the 1930s… a popular tourist spot” [DEEP]

Conclusions Swaps and conveyances conflict with public expectations for conservation lands. Swaps and conveyances undermine the support of volunteers, when that support is needed and should be nurtured. Impermanence costs the state in two ways even when land is not exchanged: o Staff resources spent evaluating proposals o Expense of classifying state forest under PA 490 The perception of state conservation lands as unused, underutilized or vacant conflicts with facts about their conservation value, but facts arrive late in the process.

Recommendations Get data to the front end of the process, and reduce uncertainty 1.Management plan or public “data sheet” for all state conservation lands 2. Standard procedure to be used prior to proposing any swap or conveyance – including conveyance legislation – that includes solicitation of relevant facts from DEEP 3. Permanent protection for all future state conservation acquisitions 4.Classification of existing state parks, forests, and wildlife areas as lands of “high conservation value” (PA ) 5. Legislation to implement 2 & 3, as needed, and to preserve in perpetuity lands of high conservation value (#4). 6. Enlistment of willing conservation commissions for help in documenting legal status of preserved lands