0263-GCG-FoothillsConservancy ESG23 12-13 - Flipbook - Page 25
2023 Impact Report
biota here, the rare species occurring just in
this section of river.”
The parcel of land now in the U.S. Forest Service’s
ownership contains aquatic habitat for the brook
昀氀oater, an at-risk, endangered species of freshwater
river mussel. It is also home to the signi昀椀cantly rare
Edmund’s snaketail dragon昀氀y and the seagreen darter
freshwater 昀椀sh. Sightings of several vulnerable and
signi昀椀cantly rare animal and plant species have also
been recorded and documented, both on the property
and within a one-mile radius.
above the riverbank on the newly acquired
property. “That area, though, is a gorge —
it’s really quite limited, access-wise. This
property will allow us to facilitate people
coming into the woods, providing easy
access to the water without the danger of
rapids, and just, quite frankly, the ability to
park vehicles so that folks can get out into
the forest and into the river.”
An additional advantage of the improved access
to the national forest and river is that emergency
“The lands that we currently administer
here for the national forest are a two-mile
section just below where we’re standing
right now,” Larson explained, standing just
management services will be able to conduct quicker,
more direct rescue efforts in the area, especially in
times of heavy recreational use, when other access
points may become overcrowded with visitors.
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