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Blandin Foundation Donates $7 Million For Forests

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Apr 1, 2009 11:06 pm US/Central

Blandin Foundation Donates $7 Million For Forests

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) ― The Blandin Foundation says it will contribute $7 million toward an effort to keep 292 square miles of northern Minnesota forests undeveloped and open to the public.

The R.K. Mellon Foundation is donating another $2 million toward the effort to protect forests in Itasca, Aitkin, St. Louis, Koochiching, Cass and Beltrami counties.

The money will be funneled to the state through The Conservation Fund. It will be used to buy permanent conservation easements for land owned by Finland-based UPM/Blandin Paper Co. in Grand Rapids.

The foundation grants would be combined with about $40 million from the state to buy easements guaranteeing the land will not be developed, but will remain open to hunting, public recreation and sustainable logging.

The state money still requires legislative approval.

The Blandin Foundation was set up by the family that founded the paper company but is not affiliated with the company.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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