Mark Jacobs Calls on Foresters to Help Make Carbon Markets

Thanks to Aitkin County Land Commissioner Mark Jacobs for posting such a thoughtful comment in response to my blog post summarizing some of the conversation I overheard at the end of the Forest Values/Carbon Markets conference.

Mark explains that his interest in participating in the Manomet Center’s Northwoods Carbon Study was to “test” the carbon credit system in a real world situation and thereby help forest managers in Minnesota make better informed decisions on the potential costs and benefits of participating in a carbon credit payment system.

Mark writes, “as a public forest land manager involved in this project my question throughout this study has been. can Aitkin County forests provide benefits from the carbon credit market without adversely impacting the other benefits that our forests provide?”

Mark’s answer (so far)? Yes (probably).

While emphasizing that the study remains underway with much work still to be done, Mark reports that his initial impression is that there are things that can be done to increase carbon storage without adversely impacting Minnesota’s local forest industry. In a message detailing the Business.

As Usual (BAU) and alternative harvest scenarios developed for the study, Mark explains: “Based on the (study results) so far I see that our forest management system and forests store a great deal of carbon but that does not mean that it is eligible for compensation. With some minor adjustments and without reducing timber harvest volumes we could market a considerable amount of carbon credits, if the yet to be determined trade-offs are palatable. If nothing else this study has shown that forest management can play an important role in carbon storage, but the system is not set up to recognize that fact. As forest managers we should get more involved in this issue now when the systems are in their infancy.

 

Aitkin and Cass County Forest Lands Store the Equivalent of the Annual Carbon Emissions of more than 5 million cars

This week’s news release, from Dovetail Partners, Inc. summarizing the learnings to date from a the Manomet Center’s study of carbon credit options for Aitkin and Cass County Land Departments, reports that the carbon storage on these lands represents the annual carbon emissions of more than 5 million cars. Check out the news release here .

The report was presented at VF/VC’s recent conference: Forest Values/Carbon Markets: Opportunities for Minnesota. A full copy of the report is available on the Foundation’s web site.

 

Minnesota Society of American Foresters Weigh In on Global Climate Change

Thanks to Beth Jacqmain, Aitkin County Deputy Land Manager and 2009 Chair of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, for forwarding me a copy of the Chapter’s new resolution on carbon sequestration.

The resolution was passed by unanimous vote at MN SAF’s General Business meeting on February 27th, on the heels of the Forest Values/Carbon Markets conference at Cloquet Forestry Center.

Katie Fernholz, an SAF/MN past chair, alerted me to the fact that it was Saint John Arboretum’s Tom Kroll who took the time to draft and introduce the carbon resolution, and that DNR’s (former State Forester) Mike Carroll – an influential voice – lent his instant support. As Katie wrote, “it is to the credit of the full membership that [the resolution] passed unanimously, but it took Tom’s initiative to get it rolling down hill. Thank goodness that man chose forestry as his profession!” Indeed.