Category Overview
Urban Wildlife Habitat projects fund close-to-home places to play and explore nature. As our urban areas are increasingly expanding and densifying, these grants protect important fish and wildlife habitat within five miles of densely populated areas, creating green refuges that help keep our ecosystems healthy and provide places to enjoy nature right in our backyards.
Project Highlights
Under this grant, DNR attempted to acquire approximately 789.4 acres, including the following properties: Brenden, Carlson, Fiorito, Granite Lakes, Granite Products, Harrington, McAllister, TPL-Buse, Wallace, Weyerhauser-Mailbox, and Wiseman. Offers were made on all listed properties, however, Brenden, Granite Lakes, and Weyerhauser-Mailbox declined to sell. DNR ultimately acquired 742.17 acres with this grant funding, which is significantly more than originally included in the application. None of the properties acquired required boundary line adjustments or segregations, nor were any relocations required. Almost all of the properties were unimproved, requiring little more demo than standard weed control; however, the Carlson property required a significant amount of clean up work and debris removal, and the Harrington property required the demolition of a high-altitude cabin, which took additional time and resources to complete. The McAllister property was purchased above appraised market value with the approval of RCO. This grant was amended on nine (9) occasions since its original funding date of September 1, 2014: 1) Increase in grant amount from partially funded to fully funded, executed August 6, 2015. 2) Time Extension for project completion from 12/31/15 to 6/30/16, executed November 24, 2015. 3) Time Extension for project completion from 6/30/16 to 6/30/17, executed July 28, 2016. 4) Scope Change to add Wallace property to grant, executed August 9, 2016. 5) Time Extension for project completion from 6/30/17 to 12/31/17, executed May 4, 2017. 6) Time Extension for project completion from 12/31/17 to 9/1/18, executed November 16, 2017. 7) Increase from 5% to 7.5% in administrative charges allowed under this grant, executed April 20, 2018. 8) Time Extension for project completion from 9/1/18 to 10/22/18, executed August 30, 2018. 9) Time Extension for project completion from 10/22/18 to 6/30/19, executed October 18, 2018.