THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150328
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
One of the world's largest paper product companies joined one of the nation's leading conservation groups Monday in an unprecedented agreement to protect 21,068 acres of timberland along the lower Roanoke River in North Carolina.
Georgia-Pacific Corp., which manufactures pulp paper, tissue and packaging products, signed a pact with The Nature Conservancy to jointly manage forest lands, swamps and bottom lands - primarily between Williamston and Plymouth - along the Roanoke and Cashie rivers, west of the Albemarle Sound.
The land supports more than 210 species of birds and is a significant nesting site for the American Bald Eagle. Whitetail deer, wild turkey, river otter and other wildlife abound on the industry-owned land. The area also is considered a critical spawning area for striped bass.
Under the new management plan, all tracts will be designated black-bear sanctuaries.
The agreement marks a new era for environmental partnerships, said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.
``Georgia-Pacific and The Nature Conservancy are setting a standard that makes sense for the environment and the region's economy,'' Babbitt said at a news conference Monday in Washington. ``It proves that a forest-products company and conservation interests can develop hands-on resource management partnerships.''
Under the agreement, Georgia-Pacific will retain ownership of seven large tracts of land. The Nature Conservancy will help manage that land - and will place restrictions on what kind of trees can be harvested, how they can be felled and when timber may be taken. The environmental organization also will develop programs to protect plants and wildlife in the area.
Representatives from both groups and a myriad of other state and local agencies will develop an ecosystem management plan which will address any activities that may take place on the land.
Georgia-Pacific Chairman A.D. ``Pete'' Correll acknowledged that the newly protected area represents only a small portion of his company's 6.2 million acres of timberland. But he said the agreement is an important step toward future conservation plans. Georgia-Pacific wants to integrate ``forest resource use with the protection of the environment,'' Correll said.
``Georgia-Pacific will continue to be able to produce forest products. But their activities will be very guided by this plan,'' said Frederick W. Annand, associate director of The Nature Conservancy's North Carolina chapter. ``This agreement really will change the way industry thinks about certain lands it owns.''
Although the paper-producing company still owns the land, Monday's agreement legally deeds an interest in those tracts to the Nature Conservancy. Until Georgia-Pacific completes a survey of the property, Annand said, he is not sure what monetary value his nonprofit, private group will receive from the agreement. The industry will get a tax write-off.
And the project's practical values are plentiful.
``First, we'll complete a biological inventory of the area to see what's out there,'' Annand said Monday afternoon from Williamston. ``Then, we can begin planning for better timber management. We hope, eventually, that Georgia-Pacific will be able to do only selective cutting that will closely mimick the natural selection of clearing that occurs during storms and through other natural processes.''
The agreement, which will be in effect indefinitely, stipulates that Georgia-Pacific can clear land in the protected areas only by helicopter harvesting methods. Helicopter harvesting, which does not require trucks or other large ground equipment, is the least disturbing method of timber clearing, Annand said.
Besides curtailing timber harvesting on most of the seven tracts, Georgia-Pacific agreed not to clear any lumber from two separate sites, comprising more than 6,500 acres total. Areas known as Jamesville Island and Swan's Bay - which The Nature Conservancy deemed ``high priorities'' for preservation - will be completely protected under Monday's pact. Georgia-Pacific relinquished all rights to harvest timber in those areas.
``Nature Conservancy officials will enforce terms of the agreement. We hope it doesn't come to this,'' Annand said. ``But if we have to, we can always bring in a third-party arbitrator or take it to court if we feel the pact has been violated.''
Covering areas in Bertie, Martin and Washington counties, the environmental agreement is estimated to include 94 million board feet of timber. Georgia-Pacific last cut timber on that land in 1991, harvesting about 1.1 million board feet, Correll said. Timber types include cyprus, tupelo, white cedar, and a variety of other hard and softwood trees.
Currently, The Nature Conservancy owns 35,000 acres in North Carolina - including the Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve on the Outer Banks. Conservancy officials help manage more than 344,000 acres statewide - not including the newest acquisition. Annand said a new manager will be hired specifically to oversee the Georgia-Pacific properties along the Roanoke River.
``We are very excited about this partnership,'' said Conservancy President John Sawhill, whose group owns the largest private system of nature sanctuaries in the world. ``We believe in cooperative conservation. And this will be a prime example of cooperation among industry, private environmental groups and governments.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color Staff map
Area Shown: Albemarle Sound, Roanoke River
by CNB