Swiss billionaire puts $35M into MT conservation

[IDemo]

By MATTHEW BROWN - Associated Press
Published: 12/12/10

BILLINGS, Mont. — Philanthropist Hansjorg Wyss grew up in Switzerland and now spends the bulk of his time outside Philadelphia, but it is the wild landscapes of the Rocky Mountains where he could leave his most lasting mark.

In recent years the publicity-shy billionaire has quietly donated tens of millions of dollars to the preservation of pristine areas of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and other states.

Now, what appears to be his most ambitious project to date has come to fruition as conservation groups this month closed a deal to purchase vast tracts of Plum Creek Timber Co. land in western Montana. Backers say the deal - which included $35 million in donations from Wyss - could shield an estimated one million acres from future development.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Wyss, 75, said he first became enamored of the Rockies as a college student who toured the region in 1958. And he defended his actions against those who chafe at the prospect of an outsider buying up land that in some cases has been logged, ranched or farmed for generations.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/12/12/1452476/swiss-billionaire-puts-35m-into.html

[aquart]

1. And who will hold the land when he's gone?

[IDemo]

2. He's donating money to the Nature Conservancy to purchase the land

http://www.nature.org/

[aquart]

3. And no chance they'll be taken over like the Sierra Club was?

So hard to guarantee the world after you're dead.

[IDemo]

4. They have been at this for some time and have a great track record.

They are not a fly-by-night Eco operation.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

We address the most pressing conservation threats at the largest scale. Thanks to the support of our more than 1 million members, we’ve built a tremendous record of success since our founding in 1951:

*
We've protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.
*
We work in all 50 states and more than 30 countries — protecting habitats from grasslands to coral reefs, from Australia to Alaska to Zambia. See where we work.
*
We address threats to conservation involving climate change, fresh water, oceans, and conservation lands.

more -> http://www.nature.org/aboutus/?src=t5

[robinlynne]

5. what happened to the sierra club?

[IDemo]

6. A takeover maneuver by anti-immigrant forces was thwarted

They were not taken over.

http://www.splcenter.org/greenwash-nativists-environmentalism-and-the-hypocrisy-of-hate/an-early-battle-defending-the-sierra#

[happyslug]

7. That is what Pinchot did starting under Theodore Roosevelt

Pinchot, as head of the US Forest Service under TR (he was fired by Taft) AND later as Governor of Pennsylvania (He was elected twice, a hard feat for at that time he could NOT succeed himself, he had to wait out a term when he ran for Governor his Second time).

Today, Pennsylvania has huge State Forests, do to the fact Pinchot bought the land and left the trees grown back.

More on Pinchot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot

Pa State Forests:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/

Hiking trails in the State:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/hiking/index.aspx

Now the PA State Park System was started under Pinchot but the real leader of the State Park was Maurice K. Goddard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_K._Goddard

Goddard was liked by Democrats and Republicans of his time period, but his one outstanding maneuver was insisting that every State Park would be intersected by a major road. Goddard did this for one important reason, he wanted the parks open to everyone and he knew the State Legislature. If he isolated the parks, sooner or later someone would come up with the idea of charging to enter or exit the parks. Goddard thus designed the parks so that if the State ever decided to charge a fee, they would be no single entrance point so the whole system would become unmanageable (Goddard, like Pinchot loved but also knew this state).

The down side of this is the state could (and has) underfunded the State Parks. Maintenance is needed but has not been done. The best example of the down side of this policy is NOT a State Park, but the Allegheny County Fair. When the Fair Grounds were built in the 1930s, like Goddard, the designed made sure a major road went right through it so that it could NEVER be cut off and make it easy to charge admission. The problem was the County Commissioners saw the fair (Very Popular) as an expense and in 1972 decided to cancel it. No Fair has been held ever since (A pretend one was tried in the 1990s? but NOT in the old Fair Grounds were NOT used, instead they used a parking lot next to Three Rivers Stadium, it was a bust unlike the old Fair that had been very popular).

The Old Allegheny County Fair is mentioned in the following article:
http://www.clpgh.org/research/pittsburgh/history/parks.html

It ignores the fact that the Fair Grounds were designed by its designed NOT to be able to charge a fee (Calls the road a "Convenience" in the 1930s but by the 1960s had outlived it usefulness, a bit of wishful thinking by the writer or his boss) and then points out Allegheny County was no longer Agricultural by the 1960s (But ignores the issue of the Fair losing money do to an inability to charge a fee, but that it was still popular at its end, the loss was small but the County Commissioners hated the Fair and used the loss to justify killing it for it was to popular to kill without an excuse). The Allegheny County Fair, I beleive, never made money and was never intended to. Like most fairs it was a draw for other businesses and in that it was successful, but the County Commissioners could not get campaign donation from the small vendors so it was of no worth to them and they killed it.

The State Park has the advantage that even if not funded, the land is still a State Park, but why the Allegheny County Fair Closed is a warning even to well laid plans.