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Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change with Natural and Working Lands – A Policy Analysis and Playbook
“Wisconsin’s more than 33 million acres of forests, farms, and conservation lands cover more than 92% of our state. They play a critical role in absorbing and offsetting carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions that are the primary cause of climate change.
Together, these “Natural and Working Lands” are a highly productive resource, contributing farm and forest products to our economy, providing recreation opportunities and a high quality of life, and quietly but effectively offsetting CO2 emissions.”
New report: “Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change with Natural and Working Lands”
Wisconsin’s more than 33 million acres of forests, farms, and conservation lands cover over 92% of the state. They play a critical role in absorbing and offsetting carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions that are the primary cause of climate change. Together, these “Natural and Working Lands” are a highly productive resource, contributing farm and forest products to [the] economy, providing recreation opportunities and a high quality of life, and quietly but effectively offsetting CO2 emissions.
Natural and Working Lands make a significant contribution to cleaner air and reduced warming, with large benefits for soil, water, and people. By managing [the] Natural and Working Lands effectively, Wisconsin could offset an additional 16 million tons of CO2 each year—equal to 20% of our annual net greenhouse gas (GG) emissions.
See the full report “Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change with Natural and Working Lands” here.
It’s time for businesses to aim higher. Here’s one way to do it—natural climate solutions
Corporations are (rightly) first focused on reducing their emissions. That’s absolutely where they need to start, and it should be their highest climate-related priority. Thanks to pressure by activists, customers, shareholders and employees, companies are now taking action. They’re not waiting for government regulations mandating them to do so. They’re doing what they can to reduce their carbon emissions by using less energy and switching to renewables.
And when they can’t reduce further, they are now also committing to purchase large volumes of offsets to reach carbon neutrality. Some companies go even further and aim to reach net negative.
This is where NCS enters the picture…
Grant for climate resilience outreach, education
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy: This project, entitled “Rise and Thrive: Building Understanding and Support for Climate Action on Maryland’s Eastern Shore,” is the second grant awarded to ESLC’s coastal resilience program by the Rauch Foundation in as many years.
The purpose of this project is to directly engage public and private audiences in order to build regional public support for climate adaptation solutions. The Eastern Shore of Maryland is the country’s third most vulnerable region to sea level rise, behind south Florida and Louisiana. Because of the threats of increased flooding, the loss of properties, and widespread ecological impacts, ESLC is working with communities to take action on these threats today…
Answers in the trees
Columbia Land Trust (in Washington State) has been weaving climate change into its publications and outreach. Here’s an example:
“There are two ways to restore some semblance of balance to the carbon cycle: reduce emissions from fossil fuel use and increase the carbon-absorbing power of forests and other plant-rich landscapes.
Both methods are needed. We call the latter approach a ‘natural climate solution.’
Forests, especially the verdant, fast-growing forests of western Oregon and Washington, already provide a number of benefits even before taking carbon storage into account, including wood products, forestry jobs, world-class recreation, wildlife habitat, and clean air and water. ‘People manage forests for multiple purposes,’ says Lydia Mendoza, conservation lead with Columbia Land Trust. ‘Carbon sequestration is one of many crucial values that forests can provide.’ Leveraging the carbon-sequestering power of forests involves balancing values and evolving as we learn…’
Sustainability and climate change initiatives
In their most recent climate initiative, the Kennebec Land Trust Finance Committee worked with Kennebec Savings Bank Investment and Trust Services to move their investments into a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) portfolio that is aligned with their mission. SRI considers environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria to generate long-term competitive financial returns and positive societal impact.
As managers of forestland, they use and promote forest management practices that maximize carbon sequestration, including: protecting soil carbon, where about 50% of the carbon inventory is typically stored on a forested acre; promoting native species and increasing plant diversity to improve forest resiliency and carbon storage; harvesting sustainably; and taking a long-term view by growing high-value and larger diameter trees. On the ground, their forestry days at the Curtis Homestead are teaching the next generations…
Coastal access, climate change key as Maine Coast Heritage Trust turns 50
Land conservation efforts by the organization have increasingly taken community strength and health into account, as much as the environment, and conservation’s overall impact on the state’s economic foundation. As the climate changes, that focus is more important than ever, he [Tim Glidden, president of Maine Coast Heritage Trust] said…
Quantifying carbon stocks on conserved land
Carbon project development in Vermont is compatible with, and in fact would be aided by, participation in other forest stewardship programs. These include forest certification, cost-share by EQIP and the Forest Legacy Program, and Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal (UVA) Program (also known as Current Use).
All three major certification Vermont Forest Carbon: a market opportunity for forestland owners 4 systems in the U.S. (Forest Stewardship Council [FSC], Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and American Tree Farm System) can be employed to meet various requirements under CARB and the voluntary markets, such as the need to have a comprehensive forest management plan…
Sequestering carbon and enhancing our local landscapes
Last year, almost 50 businesses and individuals offset their carbon footprints with ECC [Evergreen Carbon Capture] by planting 4,038 conifer trees, which will absorb 20,190 tons of CO2 over the next 100 years. Though only a drop in the bucket compared to what our native forests were once capable of, every tree planted and cared for provides a myriad of benefits like wildlife habitat, and improved water and air quality, which bring our landscapes one step closer to the ecological function of their pasts.
ECC offers the unique opportunity for partners to join our tree planting efforts at volunteer work parties. This year our field partners from Adopt-a-Stream Foundation, Dirt Corps, Forterra, Friends of the Burke Gilman Trail, Green Kirkland Partnership, Green Redmond Partnership, Green River Coalition, Green Seattle Partnership, and Stewardship Partners led 11 events for 367 volunteers to plant trees throughout the Puget Sound region, from Auburn to Marysville….
A natural path for U.S. climate action
When it comes to the impact and potential of land management on global warming, everything really is bigger in Texas. Unless you’re talking about agricultural lands—then everything is bigger in Iowa. Or if you’re talking about the impact of urban trees, that’s biggest in Florida—though it’s also pretty big in Texas.
Across the United States, in fact, land management can have a really big effect on the climate. A new study examines the country’s potential to implement natural solutions—such as growing taller trees, improving soil health, protecting grasslands and restoring coastal wetlands—to increase carbon storage and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. Essentially, turbo-charging nature to address global warming, while also providing natural benefits for people, water and wildlife…