1. There’s Gold In Them There Marshes!
Sarah K. Mack, PhD, CFM
Tierra Resources LLC

2. Y’all The Marshes Are At Least Worth Something!
Sarah K. Mack, PhD, CFM
Tierra Resources LLC

3. Outline Blue Carbon and Environmental Markets
Wetland Carbon Methodology
Pilot Projects
Next steps

4. Tierra Resources’ Mission
To conserve, protect, and restore coastal wetland ecosystems by creating innovative solutions that support investment into blue carbon.
Restoring our coast can create more than twice as many jobs as the oil and gas and road construction industries combined (RAE 2011)
Vision
Tierra Resources is the recognized innovator in blue carbon, solving complex wetland preservation and restoration issues through science-based analyses and projects.  Our services enable landowners, corporations, nonprofits, and government entities to understand the regulatory, financial, and scientific landscape to preserve and restore wetlands, monetize wetland offsets, and reduce liabilities.

5. The carbon stored in mangroves, seagrass, and coastal wetlands.
Blue Carbon
The carbon stored in mangroves, seagrass, and coastal wetlands.
Restoring our coast can create more than twice as many jobs as the oil and gas and road construction industries combined (RAE 2011)
Vision
Tierra Resources is the recognized innovator in blue carbon, solving complex wetland preservation and restoration issues through science-based analyses and projects.  Our services enable landowners, corporations, nonprofits, and government entities to understand the regulatory, financial, and scientific landscape to preserve and restore wetlands, monetize wetland offsets, and reduce liabilities.

6. Carbon Sequestration PHOTOSYNTHESIS CO2 in O2 out
CO2 stored in plants, and trees

7. The Carbon Diet Eat less or exercise! Voluntary Markets
Corporate Social Responsibility
ACR, VCS, CAR
$6/credit
Regulatory Markets
California, RGGI
$10/credit
Carbon Credits / Offsets
Today we are going to focus on carbon markets as one type of environmental market.
Eat less or exercise – if you cant reduce your emissions by retrofitting your facility you can purchase certifiable offsets.
Dr. is making you lose weight is similar to a regulatory market
California in 2013 is implementing the first U.S. economy-wide regulated cap-and-trade system
Voluntary market – voluntary you want to be healthy.
The american carbon registry is a voluntary market where folks like Entergy who want to be progressive and offset their emissions can invest in offsets
I am showing you an image of a soil core from a wetland.

8. What is an offset?
An offset represents a reduction, avoidance, or removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions resulting from a specific project activity that is used to compensate for an equivalent emission occurring elsewhere.

9. Background
Terrestrial sequestration – Capturing and storing carbon in plant and soil structures by modifying the management of forests, rangelands, and agriculture lands to either remove more CO2 from the air or reduce CO2 emissions from these ecosystems.
Protocols/methodologies are a rigorous scientific framework for project development and become the foundation for third-party validation and verification in accordance with standardized and transparent market practices.

10. Offset Criteria Real Permanent Additional Verifiable Enforceable
It can be accurately measured
Can be accomplished without “leakage”
Permanent
Will retain stored carbon for the life of the project
Additional
Occurs outside a regulatory requirement
Performance standard
Verifiable
It can be independently verified
Enforceable
Its ownership is undisputed
No double counting

11. A Different Business Model
Bottom up approach
We need a route to market!
Address science gaps through projects
The American Carbon Registry
Forest Carbon Standard
I have been working on bringing wetlands to environmental markets for about 6 years now. Luckily Entergy corporation chose to support our efforts when nobody else would. Louisiana is in a state of emergency…ACR was willing to support us in a bottom up approach to write the methodology in a conservative manner in order to address science gaps through projects. Louisiana doesn’t have the time for a top down approach. This methodology falls under the ACR Forest Carbon Standard. It is the first wetland carbon offset methodology for U.S. Wetlands which introduces wetlands as a new offset sector, first methodology in the world that is applicable at a large scale and broadly address wetland restoration through numerous restoration techniques.

12. Restoration of Degraded Deltaic Wetlands of the Mississippi Delta
Sarah K. Mack, PhD, CFM
Robert R. Lane, PhD
John W. Day, PhD
First Wetland Carbon Offset Methodology Specifically focused on U.S. Wetlands Applicable at a large scale Broadly address wetland restoration

13. Key Equation Net emission reduction = Project - Baseline
Carbon Credit = CACR,t = (ΔCACTUAL – ΔCBSL) * (1-LK) * (1 – UNC)

14. Project Eligibility
4 Million Acres of the Mississippi Delta

15. Eligibility Requirements
Wetland eligibility
Forested and non-forested wetlands in the Mississippi Delta ranging from fresh to saline conditions
Not required by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
Eligible restoration techniques
Reforestation with a variety of species
(e.g., cypress, mangroves, grasses)
Hydrologic management
Diversion of river water into wetlands
Introduction of nonpoint source runoff
Discharge of treated municipal effluent into wetlands
The wetland eligibility is for forested and non-forested wetlands in the Mississippi Delta ranging from fresh to saline conditions. Please note that wetland restoration activities must not be required by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act meaning this methodology is not applicable to wetland mitigation banks.

16. Applicable Funding Leveraged Private
Carbon markets are used to match other types of funding to expand a project or reduce overall costs
Restoration project
Capital project
Private
Strictly a landowner initiative
Active management
Plantings
Benefits the community at large
Private is less capital intensive

17. Next Steps Pilot projects Determine true costs and benefits
Make the business case (prevented loss))
Scale to commercial projects
Project participants
Landowners
Government entities
Corporations
Investors
NGOs
Figure out the details of these partnerships

18. St. Charles Parish at Risk!
The pilot is located in Luling Louisiana 19 miles west of New Orleans. Wetland assimilation system that started in The parish wanted to pursue more sustainable infrastructure that improves the environment and is more resilient to hurricanes but did not have the funding to compensate the landowner for the use of their land.

19. First Wetland Carbon Pilot!
The pilot is located in Luling Louisiana 19 miles west of New Orleans. Wetland assimilation system that started in The parish wanted to pursue more sustainable infrastructure that improves the environment and is more resilient to hurricanes but did not have the funding to compensate the landowner for the use of their land.

20. Key Hires Marketing Support
The freshwater and nutrients in the treated effluent restores the wetlands and allows them to grow more quickly. Wetlands sequester CO2 through photosynthesis. We will be planting cypress seedlings since the wetland can no longer naturally regenerate and quantify the increase in carbon sequestration according to the methodology.

21. Mangrove Pilot Project
Prevented Loss
Fate and transport of carbon during wetland loss
Fresh
Brackish
Saline
GHG emissions
Mangrove plantings
Test various planting techniques
Interior saline marshes
Figure out the details of these partnerships

22. Pilot Project Goals Apply the methodology Prove the science
Determine cost-saving measures
Prove the commercial viability of wetland carbon credits
Demonstrate public-private partnerships that leverage carbon finance
Give landowners the mechanisms to be better stewards of their land
Benefit the region at large
We need to prove the commercial viability of wetland carbon credits in order to be included in the emerging California market. Basically I need to use the results of this pilot and my business skills to show that we can create a new industry!

23. Next Steps California’s Air Resources Board (ARB)
Agency administering CA’s emerging cap-and-trade
Phase I ( ) 14 million yearly offset demand
Phase II ( ) 34 million yearly offset demand
Strategic plan for adoption of wetlands
Demonstrate commercial viability to California
Highest carbon market values
Maximize opportunities for Gulf Coast Restoration
Methodology Expansion – interested in partners to expand the methodology to other regions
Ca compliance transaction
We are looking at near-term projects that we can bring to the CA market as well as opportunities to partner with the state for longer term projects

24. Impacts Wetlands - A New Offset Sector
First time to invest in wetlands!
Funding
25% of the 4 million acres in the Mississippi Delta
$5 billion - $15 billion over the next 40 years
National and Global Awareness
Start to put a $ value on wetlands
Potential for gold in the future!
These numbers could increase
We are so proud to be the pioneer’s in this field and to be putting Louisiana on the global map!

25. Acknowledgements Co- Authors ConocoPhillips Entergy Corporation
Rob R. Lane, PhD
John W. Day, PhD
ConocoPhillips
Maxine Madison, PhD
Phil Precht
Entergy Corporation
Brent Dorsey
Steve Tullos
American Carbon Registry
Nick Martin
Mary Grady
Sandra Brown, PhD

26. Be Involved! Pilot projects Project Participant Market assessment
Advocacy
Sarah K. Mack, PhD, CFM
(504)