Davis Announces $1 Million for Gettelfinger TractOctober 30, 2003

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis announced that H.R. 2691, the FY 04 Interior Appropriations bill, contained $1 million for the Historic Rugby District Ray Gettelfinger Project.

"This funding will help purchase the Gettelfinger Tract, one of the valuable resources people in the Upper Cumberland share," Davis noted.

The Ray Gettelfinger Tract, as it is commonly known, is1,600 acres of forestland located in Scott and Morgan County. This project had been selected as the Tennessee Forest Legacy Committee's first priority for 2004 funding and was recommended by the U.S. Forest Service for FY04 funding in the President's budget. Congressman Davis submitted a request to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior Chairman and Ranking Member in support, asking them to fully fund this project.

"As a child I was able to enjoy the beauty of this area and I want other generations to be able to enjoy it as well," Davis said.

The Forest Legacy Program (FLP), a federal program in partnership with states, supports state efforts to protect environmentally sensitive forest lands. Designed to encourage the protection of forest lands, FLP is an entirely voluntary program. To maximize the public benefits it achieves, the program focuses on the acquisition of interests in privately owned forest lands. FLP helps the states develop and carry out their forest conservation plans.