Cave Creek, only twenty-five miles north of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, is one of the few perennial streams in the Upper Sonoran Desert. Cottonwood, willow, sycamore, and ash trees as well as bulrushes and cattails grow in this riparian area, in sharp contrast to the arid uplands of the watershed. The Conservation Fund partnered with the landowners and the U. S. Forest Service to add twenty-eight acres of this oasis to the Tonto National Forest, including areas where Hohokam people lived about 800 years ago.
For financing, the team tapped a little known-federal land conservation program, the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act of 2000. Under this act, the Bureau of Land Management can sell hard-to-manage parcels of public land and lands with significant residential or commercial value, to generate funds to support land conservation. Across the West, this resource promises to extend land conservation's horizon.
Dubbed the "biological crossroads of North America," Big Thicket attracts hikers, campers and outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy its lush forests, cypress swamps, creeks and bayous. We now have the opportunity to protect the forests of Big Thicket and celebrate the cultural and historic treasures of the Texas Pineywoods region.
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From government agencies to corporations, from private landowners to land trusts and local communities, the Fund's partners seek our expertise to:
Powered by: Phase2 TechnologyThe Conservation Fund National Office
1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300
Arlington, Virginia 22209-2156
Phone: 703-525-6300
Fax: 703-525-4610
Email: postmaster@conservationfund.org
