Posted on: Saturday, December 7, 2002

Kamehameha picks buyer for Midwest timberland

Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A North Carolina-based investment group has won a bidding war for a sprawling, 390,000-acre tract of Michigan timberland owned by Kamehameha Schools, according to one of the losing bidders.

Philip Power, chairman-elect of the Michigan Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, said he expected a deal announcement Monday by the Kamehameha Schools, the charitable trust that owns the property.

Conservancy officials have learned the successful bidder is The Forestland Group LLC, Power said.

It outbid suitors including a consortium led by the Nature Conservancy and state of Michigan, winning rights to the property stretching across much of the Upper Peninsula and encompassing some of the region's most pristine land.

Estimates placed the land's value at about $150 million, but the sale price has yet to be disclosed.

"We're naturally disappointed our group didn't win, but we're pleased a conservation-minded group did win," Power said.

Kamehameha spokeswoman Susan Todani would not confirm the sale yesterday.

Gov. John Engler and Nature Conservancy officials announced plans in September to bid on the property, and made a public plea for timber firms to round out its partnership.

The state dangled tax incentives and $10 million secured from the Natural Resources Trust fund as seed money to entice a private timber partner.

The Nature Conservancy also huddled with numerous foundations and private donors to sweeten the pot, and the group eventually enticed multiple timber firms to join its bid team, Conservancy officials said.

They said they hoped to meet next week with The Forestland Group to pitch their proposal. The consortium's goal was to purchase permanent conservation and recreation easements that would guarantee public access while keeping the bulk of the property on the tax rolls and maintaining timber jobs for Upper Peninsula residents.

The Forestland Group could fit with the Nature Conservancy's goals, Power said.

"Our sense is they've got a first-class track record of putting in place solutions like the ones we're working on," Power said.