[미국] Boeing, SC습지 보호를 위해 협력 구축

미육군 공병단은 Boeing가 종합적인 습지완화 계획을 통해 습지를 보호하도록 허가했다고 밝혔다. Boeing은 허가로 남부 캐롤라이나 저지대의 프랜시스 매리언 국유림 근처 세 개로 분리된 넓은 지역에 위치한 2천 에이컨 이상의 습지를 포함하는 4천 에이커 규모의 토지를 보호할 예정이다.

Boeing은 보호를 위해 지대를 확인하고 지역·국가적으로 중요한 보호 목표를 달성하기 위해 연방, 주, 지역기관, 보호단체와 협력한다. 그 결과 토지, 수질, 희귀종 및 멸종위험의 야생종을 보호하고 국가 토지와 공공 접근이 상당히 증가할 것으로 예상된다.

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave approval to Boeing (NYSE: BA) to preserve, through a comprehensive wetlands mitigation plan, approximately 4,000 acres of land, including more than 2,000 acres of wetlands, located on three separate tracts near the Francis Marion National Forest in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Boeing worked in partnership with federal, state and local agencies and conservation organizations to identify the tracts for preservation, which achieves conservation goals of regional and national significance. The result will be a substantial increase in public lands and public access, as well as protections of land, water quality and several rare, threatened and endangered wildlife species.

"This investment significantly advances a national effort to protect and restore the fire-dependent native longleaf pine ecosystem," said Mark Robertson, South Carolina executive director of The Nature Conservancy. "Together, these acquisitions represent one of the largest private conservation investments in the Francis Marion National Forest and surrounding region."

The approved plan is part of the permitting process for 468 acres of land in North Charleston that Boeing previously announced it will lease from the State of South Carolina to protect for potential future growth. Included in that leased property is 153 acres of wetlands that date back to the property's former use as a phosphate mine.

"Working with our habitat protection partners on landscape scale conservation projects has been a priority of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the last two decades," said Alvin Taylor, director of the South Carolina DNR. "At DNR, we are grateful for the opportunity to work with our partners in conservation -- the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and the Open Space Institute -- in order to seek a mitigation solution that Boeing supports and meets the regulatory requirements and that will benefit fish, wildlife, their habitats, and our citizens."

The three tracts of land were closed on earlier this year. Boeing funded the purchase of one tract by the Lowcountry Open Land Trust (LOLT). LOLT will hold the property for up to five years and then transfer it to the South Carolina DNR for long-term ownership and management. Boeing funded the purchase of the other two tracts by The Open Space Institute (OSI) and The Nature Conservancy. OSI and The Nature Conservancy will hold the property for up to five years and then transfer it to the U.S. Forest Service for long-term ownership and management as part of the Francis Marion National Forest.

[출처 = Water World / 2014년 7월 16일]