Forest Service acquires 130 acres near Florissant

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 near Florissant.

In partnership with The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit conservation organization, the Forest Service said they acquired the nearly 130 acres from the Wagon Tongue Company. The property lies southwest of Florissant, between the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and Eleven Mile Reservoir.

According to the Forest Service, the Conservation Fund stepped in earlier this year to buy the property from the Wagon Tongue Company and worked with the Forest Service and Congress to secure funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Conservation Fund was then able to convey the property into public ownership and management 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 conserve irreplaceable lands and improve outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the nation, according to the Forest Service.

The agency said the newly acquired property provides habitat connectivity for elk, wild turkeys, mountain lions, black bears, bobcats, and mule deer. The acquisition will also open up the South Park Ranger District’s hunting access and bolster the Forest Service’s ability to protect adjacent communities from catastrophic wildfires, the Forest Service said.

To learn more about The Conservation Fund, visit www.conservationfund.org.