Carbon Sequestration on Appalachian Mountain Club Forest Lands – History, Opportunities and Future Direction Dr. David Publicover Senior Staff Scientist.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Forest Legacy Assessment of Need Identifying Future Forest Legacy Areas Governors Commission for Protecting the Chesapeake Bay through Sustainable Forestry.
Advertisements

Overview of Mitigation Banking Program December 10, 2009 Robert M. Brown, Director Environmental Resource Regulation Department Robert M. Brown, Director.
Pennsylvania Forests and You. “Penn’s Woods” Pennsylvania was founded by a Quaker, William Penn. In 1681, Penn’s Woods included more than 28 million acres.
Expanding Participation by the Forest Sector in Greenhouse Gas Registries and Markets Richard Birdsey USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station Presented.
Timber Products Company Bioforestry: Measurement of forest structures within intensively managed forestlands. Stuart Farber & Geoff Kaberle Timber Products.
Managing Timberlands Owned by a REIT. 2 Key Components of a REIT  REIT Background: Form of C-corporation Created in 1960 Vehicle for the multitudes Pass-through.
LECTURE XIII FORESTRY ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT. Introduction  If forestry is to contribute its full share to a more abundant life for the world’s increasing.
Thanks for joining us. We’ll be starting soon. To join the teleconference, dial , passcode # To download handouts : Click the Handouts.
Forest Legacy/State Transportation Commission Funded Acquisition
Bay Bank The Chesapeake’s Ecosystem Service Marketplace.
Restoration and Enhancement Delivery on Private Lands Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council Monday, January 26, 2009 Kevin Lines Board of Water and Soil Resources.
Forest Project Protocol v3.1 Use of FIA Data John Nickerson FIA Conference February 2010.
HR A 1 © Copyright 2004 The Trust for Public Land.
2014 Federal Farm Bill Overview 3/14/14. Conservation Compliance 2 “Recoupling” federal crop insurance premium support benefits to HEL and wetland conservation.
Impact of adjacency and green-up constraints on wood supply in Georgia, USA Michal Zasada, Chris J. Cieszewski, Roger C. Lowe, Don Reimer 2 nd International.
Managing forests for carbon storage Bill Keeton Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont.
Forest Management Certification through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI ™ ) Rev. 2/3/06 Content owned by: EMS Manager SFI Overview.
Managing for Forest Carbon Storage. Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change.
 Learn from others. Talk to:  Neighbours,  Members of the Ontario Woodlot association  The Ministry of Natural Resources forest staff  The Ministry.
Presented by Dean Current, PhD Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) Department of Forest Resources University of.
Most Common Conservation Practices Forestry Illinois.
CLIMATE ACTION RESERVE PROJECT SHOWCASE Alligator River Avoided Conversion Project CAR – BAAQMD California Offsets Workshop Project Showcase August 8,
Agricultural Conservation Easements John Bonham Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy.
1 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) Disclaimer: Provisions provided in this presentation are subject to change or interpretive differences.
LULUCF Concepts Training Seminar for BioCarbon Fund Projects February 8 th 2008 Timothy Pearson and Sarah Walker Winrock International.
Carbon Offset Projects and the FIA Neil Sampson March 3, 2009.
V 1.0 The CAR Forest Project Protocol: A Case Study in Verification Christie Pollet-Young, Senior Verification Forester September 19, 2011.
Chapter 5 Sound Management 1. Sound Management Defined Sound management is a program of production designed to obtain the greatest net return from the.
How to Protect and Preserve Your Agricultural Land.
The WLP must be consistent with these objectives 1.maintaining or enhancing an economically valuable supply of commercial timber from the woodlot licence.
Montana Forest Stewardship “Empowerment of Forest Owners through Personal Involvement”
The State of Global Forests
Accomplish More Together Conservation Planning for Green Infrastructure: A Greenprint for Sustainability Michael S. Fishman, CWB, PWS Greg Liberman, CPESC.
Spatial mapping as a tool for mainstreaming biodiversity values Subregional Workshop for South America on Valuation and Incentive Measures Santiago de.
Alachua County Forever Cattle Grazing Business Plan January 24, 2012.
CPA-14-08: Transfer of Development Rights Large Scale Text Amendment Adoption Hearing Board of County Commissioners September 23, 2008.
The Forest Protocol & Project Case Study Alligator River Avoided Conversion Project California Cap-and-Trade Workshop Climate Action Reserve June 14, 2011.
“STEWARDSHIP IN FORESTRY” Forestry Projects for Terrestrial Sequestration -- Regulatory and Public Acceptance Issues -- Jim Cathcart, Ph.D. Oregon Department.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative RGGI John Marschilok, P.E. Environmental Engineer Department New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Development of a Forest Carbon Sequestration Protocol for the State of Georgia J. Siry, P. Bettinger, B. Borders, C. Cieszewski, M. Clutter, B. Izlar,
Update from the Longleaf Economics Team “An Overview of the Literature” Longleaf Partnership Council October 2014.
Kalum TSA Mid-Term Timber Supply Issue. Land classification Reduction area (ha) Result (ha) Gross TSA area 2,300,464 Large parks 460,845 Tree Farm Licences.
Agricultural Economics An Introduction to Markets for Ecosystem Services (Carbon Offsets) Jack Schieffer.
Americas Energy Coast Leadership Forum Galveston, Texas May 26, 2010 Capturing Carbon with Nature Jeff Williams Director, Climate Consulting Entergy.
Michigan Commission of Agriculture September 16, 2009 Climate Change and the Farm.
Alachua County Forever Timber Harvesting Business Plan June 28, 2011.
By Michelle Passero Director of Policy Initiatives A Presentation for the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership October 28, 2004 Overview.
Outside Large Blocks, Inside & Outside Critical Habitat Management Hypothesis Highest timber production yields. Produces uniform stand conditions. Shorter.
The Fish and Game Commission has designated the states portion of the South Bay Salt Ponds an Ecological Reserve. Planning for the management of Ecological.
Carbon Markets and Carbon Crediting For Forestry West and Central Africa Tropical Forest Investment Forum – August 28 th to 30 th 2007 Timothy Pearson.
Insert Your Image Here © Insert Image Credit Josh Parrish – Director, TNC Working Woodlands Program Gay Thistle – Private Forest Owner Bill Kunze – Executive.
David R. Jackson Penn State Cooperative Extension February 10, 2009 “I Have Timber to Sell” Timber Sales and Marketing.
Land Protection. Conservation Restriction (CR) Voluntary legal agreement that protects land forever from being developed.
American Forest Foundation Forest Climate Opportunities for Family Forest Owners Robert S. Simpson Senior Vice President Center for Family Forests October.
Land Use North Street Plan Downtown & Waterfront Plan Natural Environmen t Open Space Protection Plan Built Environmen t Transportatio n System Economic.
Town of Harvard Conservation Commission
OPEN SPACE/ CONSERVATION
Sand Dunes State Forest
Tillman Creek Acquisition
Pisgah Mountain Area. Map by the Harvard Forest staff of the
Wildlife Biology and Management
Wisconsin Council on Forestry Meeting May 18, 2017
Entergy’s GHG Stabilization Commitment
What is Exemplary Forestry? Why Should Land Trusts Care?
WIP Regional Meetings Jason Keppler
Tree Harvesting By Mr. Kennedy.
Current VA Ag Initiatives
DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry and
Welcome! Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Forest Carbon Accounting Approaches for Use in Regulatory and Financial Trading Schemes Webinar: Presentation.
Soil Carbon Sequestration and Other Soil Ecosystem Service
Presentation transcript:

Carbon Sequestration on Appalachian Mountain Club Forest Lands – History, Opportunities and Future Direction Dr. David Publicover Senior Staff Scientist Appalachian Mountain Club Gorham, NH Sustainable Woodstock Carbon Work-Study Discussion Series August 18, 2018

Background on forest carbon offsets AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative AMC involvement in carbon offset markets Current carbon offset projects Current research activities

Carbon offset concepts What is an “offset”? Voluntary and regulatory markets Registries and protocols CAR (Climate Action Reserve) ARB (CA Air Resources Board) Permanent, additional, verifiable MT CO2e

Forest projects can accrue credits in two ways: Having initial carbon stocking above the calculated project-specific baseline, which represents average carbon stocking within the ecological subsection (“common practice”) (“initial stocking credits”). Increasing project carbon stocks over time (“growth credits”). Credits may include long-term carbon storage in harvested wood products – projects may include managed lands as well as reserves.

Our story begins in 2003… AMC begins tracking organizational carbon footprint, with goal of reducing it 80% below 2004-05 baseline by 2050. AMC acquires first forest land as part of Maine Woods Initiative.

AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative is an innovative approach to conservation that combines outdoor recreation, resource protection, responsible forestry, and community partnerships. 2003 – Acquired Little Lyford Pond Camps and Katahdin Iron Works property (37,000 acres). 2004 – First timber harvest. 2007 – Forest Legacy easement establishes KIW ecological reserve. 2009 – Acquired Roach Ponds property (28,000 acres). 2010 – Initiated KIWER carbon offset project. 2014 – Completed KIWER carbon offset project (voluntary market). 2015 – Forest Stewardship Council certified. 2015 – Acquired Baker Mountain properties (4,000 acres). 2016 – Acquired Silver Lake property (4,000 acres); carbon offset project in progress (ARB market). Current ownership is 73,892 acres encumbered by six conservation easements held by three different easement holders.

MWI forest management objectives: Manage the property with a long-term focus on both ecological and economic sustainability. Manage the property so as to increase its resilience and adaptability in the face of anticipated climate change Designate a significant portion of the property as ecological reserve, which will be managed to restore and maintain natural ecological communities and processes. Designate other no-harvest areas at a variety of scales to protect ecological or aesthetic values that could be adversely affected by timber harvesting. Allow natural successional processes to restore the ecological reserve and other no-harvest areas to a late-successional condition. Provide a high level of protection to wetlands and riparian areas. Identify and protect occurrences of rare, unusual or sensitive natural communities and plant species. Identify and manage as appropriate important wildlife habitats. Protect the aesthetic quality of important scenic vistas and areas adjacent to recreational trails and facilities. Promote the long-term development of mature, multi-aged forest stands in areas managed for timber production. Increase average stocking of managed stands over the long term. Increase the component of softwood species (particularly red spruce and white pine) in areas with suitable soils. Retain and restore late-successional structures (large diameter live trees and standing and down woody debris) within harvested stands. Promote the growth of high-value species and forest products (sawlogs and veneer). Provide income from sale of timber products for payment of ownership and management costs and to support the development of recreational infrastructure and programmatic activities.

Katahdin Iron Works Ecological Reserve carbon project (9,037 acres) ~2005 – back-of-the-envelope calculation of KIW carbon sequestration. October 2009 – CAR opens up forest protocol to projects nationwide. Late 2009 – AMC contacted by commercial carbon project development companies. April 2010 – KIWER project submitted for listing. February 2011 – Project accepted for listing. Summer-fall 2011 – Project inventory. June 2012 – Field verification. January 2014 – Project completed; initial credits (2007-2012) released. Winter-spring 2018 – Desk verification for 2013- 2017 credits. Late 2018 – 6-year reverification. 2023 – Next inventory. 2024 – Next field verification.

Modeling gives average increase of about 1 Modeling gives average increase of about 1.7 MT CO2e/acre/year between 2011 and 2023 inventories. Following deductions (confidence interval, leakage, buffer pool contribution) we may accrue about 0.7 credits/acre/year. At $5/credit this represents a potential income of $3.50/acre/year.

An unexpected complication… Katahdin Iron Works Conservation Easement Section VI.B.6: All rights to develop or use the Protected Property that are prohibited by or inconsistent with this Conservation Easement are extinguished, and cannot be used to transfer development rights to other land, or to permit increased development or natural resource use or removal on other land, or to achieve other regulatory mitigation credits for fiber, discharge of pollutants, or other similar accommodation on land not subject to this Conservation Easement. Easement language is critical!

Current investigations: Carbon project viability analyses for MWI managed lands and Cardigan Reservation (NH) . Developing tools for evaluating tradeoffs between timber harvest and carbon credits at various levels of harvesting and carbon/timber pricing scenarios. Selling AMC carbon offset credits to guests to offset the footprint of their travel to our facilities. Carbon project development considered as an investment (i.e. no immediate payoff). Application of AMC forest carbon sequestration to organizational carbon footprint reduction goal?

Cardigan Reservation carbon project viability assessment: 1200-acre property in western New Hampshire. ~1100 acre potential project area. Predominantly northern hardwoods with some softwood. Mid-successional; some areas were pasture until 1930s; limited harvesting in 1960s. 31-plot inventory conducted fall 2016. Current stocking: Basal area: 136 ft2/acre (KIWER – 99) Volume: 39 cords/acre (KIWER – 17) Carbon: 133 MT CO2/acre (KIW – 70) Project results in positive carbon credits (both initial and near-term annual growth). Growth credits are about 0.7/credits/acre/year – the same as KIWER. However, small size results in a project that is not economically viable - at a credit price of <$13/ton it would take more than 25 years for the project to break even. Results are consistent with analysis of Kerchner and Keeton (2015).