1. Ask not what climate change can do for you, but what you can do for climate change A proposal to the American Forest Foundation to form a Carbon Offset Cooperative for PNW Non-Industrial Private Landowners

2. The Audience: American Forest Foundation  Oversees American Tree Farm System  Long history- started in 1942 by the American Forest Products Industry  Oversees 65,000 tree farmers who own >85 million acres

3. Objective To increase the net amount of carbon storage in forests by using market-based incentives for altering forest management.

4. The Situation  36% forests in WA are private (60% are private in United States)  40% of NIPFs in western WA are found in low density or urban settings, with threat of land-use conversion  In Puget Sound watershed areas >50% tree cover declined from 1.64 million acres to 1.04 million (37%) from 1992- 1997

5. Situation  Forests can influence atmospheric CO 2 levels by changing the amount of carbon stored in biomass and soil.  Climate change can influence forests by changing frequency, duration, extent, and intensity of disturbances

6. Fires  Climate variability in past can be correlated with disturbance frequency  Warm phase PDO* statistically correlated with increase fire propensity * PDO=Pacific Decadal Oscillation is a natural climate variation that is associated with changes in sea surface temperature and is most pronounced in North Pacific

7. Insect and Pathogen Outbreak  Warm PDO and El Nino positively correlated with drought  drought positively correlated with insect outbreaks

8. Future Climate Change  In PNW: Climate change models predict increase winter temps and precip, which leads to decrease in summer water availability, increase water stress Increase in fires and insect and pathogen outbreaks

9. What is a carbon deal?  Under Kyoto called an emission reduction credit  Carbon dioxide emitter pays entity to have a net reduction in CO 2 - increase in carbon sequestration - decrease in CO 2 emissions

10. We’re not ratifying Kyoto so who cares?  Industry believes emissions caps will eventually be in place  Bush administration making progress in global warming mitigation strategies - encouraging GHG reduction and sequestration projects - increasing funding for carbon sequestration policy and research - increasing funding for Forest Stewarship Program

11. Who is paying?  Greenhouse gas emitters - Power Companies (Seattle City Light) - Oil companies (Shell and BP Amoco) - Chemical companies (Dow, Dupont)

12. Existing carbon traders  Climate Trust in OR (partnered with Seattle City Light)- buyer  eg. Paying Lummi Indian Tribe to buy 1,624 acres forest land near Mt Vernon WA, capture 350,000 metric tons CO 2 over next 100 years  Montana Carbon Offset Coalition  eg. Getting paid for reforestation on Salish and Kootenai tribal lands in Montana  Environmental Resources Trust  Restore riparian areas on Rocking C Ranch in southern OR  Restore natural prairie on Pine Creek Ranch in eastern OR  Restore old growth Ponderosa Pine stands on Ochoco Lumber Company lands in eastern OR

13. Why a cooperative?  Landowner parcels becoming increasingly smaller.  Small trades not cost effective (by the time you factor in cost of auditing, brokering, taxes etc… you need to have a guarantee of over 160,000 tons CO 2 to get any money to the seller 1.  Also need enough land to cover risk from climate variability and change.

14. American Forest Foundation Role  AFF will serve as the aggregator of forest landowners and will be “deal- maker”  AFF will pledge x amount of CO 2 avoidance where x = expected value taking into account probability of disturbance

15. Landowner Role  Landowner will agree to alter forest management plan and will calculate additional net carbon stored (actually net CO 2 avoided)  Must prove additionality! - increasing rotation age - changing site preparation (no sub- soiling or burning) - changing equipment/ transportation

16. Economics- does this pay?  For NIPFs can probably receive enough to pay for project and annual property taxes  Will not be most economically attractive, but small NIPFs often aren’t managing solely to optimize money (or they would already have developed land!)

17. Case Study Not complete Comparing changes in carbon storage by increasing rotation length and will calculate how much $ton/CO 2 removed is needed to offset hypothetical annual property taxes

18. How is this going to help increase resilience to climate variability and change in PNW?  Direct- by reducing CO 2 emissions  Indirect- Landowners enrolled in cooperative will need to actively plan for risk or increased disturbances due to climate change

19. For more information please see white paper proposal