Members of the band formerly known as Soundgarden and the band stlll known as Pearl Jam joined together with producer Brendan O'Brien and other music industry suits to donate $400,000 to buy and preserve 220 acres of land in the Cascade Mountain foothills east of Seattle, Wash., the last privately held piece of land in the valley. The environmentally friendly rockers gave the money to The Land Conservancy of Seattle and King County, a private non-profit which then bought the Hardscrabble Creek property from the United Cascade Mining. The land will be jointly owned by The Land Conservancy of Seattle and King County, which will take care of preservation efforts, and Northwest Wilderness Programs. The NWP will take care of land ownership issues. The purchase of the land ensures that it will be protected as a wildlife habitat. The land is rich with old-growth timberlands and is a refuge for mountain lions, bears, eagles and elks. "Anytime you have successful artists willing to make this kind of substantial contribution, it obviously has a big impact," said Gene Duvernoy, The Land Conservancy's Executive Director. "We are extremely grateful for the generosity of the Pearl Jam and Soundgarden bandmembers and their associates who made the purchase of this property possible." Representatives of United Cascade Mining could not be reached for comment. -- ATN staff report [Tues., Aug. 26, 1997, 3 p.m. PST]