Remington Outdoor Foundation’s first-year donation of $100,000 to the National Forest Foundation will be leveraged by more than $1 million in matching funds to help restore habitat at Colorado’s Pike National Forest and the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon, according to a release by the Madison, NC-based manufacturer of firearms and ammunition.
“Our support of the National Forest Foundation’sTreasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences campaign enables us to help restore forest ecosystems, which is an important part of Remington Outdoor Foundation’s conservation mission,” said Jim Moore, president of the Remington Outdoor Foundation.
“This investment in our National Forest System of $100,000 a year for three years will provide countless recreation and environmental benefits.”
Remington said their are looming challenges to national forests and grasslands, ranging from wildfire to invasive species to climate change, which threaten natural resources and “wild places.”
One effort supported by Remington Outdoor Foundation is revitalizing the Pike National Forest, the site of the 2002 Hayman Fire, Colorado’s largest wildfire. The National Forest Foundation is working with community-based partners and the Forest Service to restore the Upper South Platte watershed (Denver’s main water supply). Restoration work includes reducing sediment loads, enhancing and relocating trails, eradicating noxious weeds, planting trees and restoring wildlife habitat on approximately 45,000 acres burned in the Hayman Fire.
The National Forest Foundation expects to complete this project by 2012, the 10th anniversary of the Hayman wildfire. With its $50,000 grant, Remington Outdoor Foundation is helping leverage and match $350,000 from the U.S. Forest Service, $250,000 from Vail Resorts, $50,000 from the Gates Family Foundation, $50,000 from National Forest Foundation Chairman John Hendricks, and $250,000 from the National Forest Foundation for year one of the three-year restoration effort. Funds from this collaboration will be used to improve habitat for a variety of wildlife species including elk, deer, cutthroat trout and more.
Remington Outdoor Foundation is supporting a second project at Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest with another $50,000 donation to restore the Metolius River and Whychus Creek. Over time, dam development and over-uses for irrigation and recreation have damaged the Metolius and Whychus and their historical fish habitat. Thanks to new fish passage systems, these streams will soon see the reintroduction of native salmon and steelhead migrating from the sea to freshwater to reproduce.
The National Forest Foundation has begun community-based efforts to restore these Deschutes National Forest watersheds and surrounding recreation sites thanks to Remington Outdoor Foundation’s initial gift and another $168,000 generated from matching funds. These matches include $36,500 in private funds, $86,500 from the U.S. Forest Service, and a $45,000 grant from the county Resource Advisory Council.
“America’s National Forests host millions of visitors each year, many of them enjoying the incredible hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities provided by our public lands,” said Bill Possiel, National Forest Foundation president. “The Remington Outdoor Foundation is a natural partner for our efforts to perpetuate healthy national forests and grasslands, and we are extremely grateful for their partnership and support.”
