Author: vandy

The Family Forest Carbon Program is a new program, created by the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy, that brings together rural family forest owners and companies to address climate change together.

In the U.S., families, and individuals own the largest portion – 36% – of all forests. Yet nearly all of these owners have been unable to access carbon markets due to high upfront costs and complexity. The Family Forest Carbon Program helps solve this challenge, giving family forest owners an opportunity to bring in income from their land, in exchange for implementing sustainable forest practices that help sequester and store more carbon. Companies in turn can purchase this carbon in the form of verified carbon credits.

Carbon produced from the small landowner holdings enrolled in the Program will be available for purchase in the form of verified carbon credits. For companies, this provides a method for reducing residual emissions when energy efficiency, renewable energy, and employee behavior change strategies have all been exhausted.

Drs. Moomaw, Masino, and Faison coined the term “proforestation” in a 2019 paper. They say that keeping existing forests intact and growing them to their ecological potential is a more effective, immediate, and low-cost approach that could be mobilized across suitable forests of all types. They conclude that proforestation serves the greatest public good by maximizing co-benefits such as nature-based biological carbon sequestration and unparalleled ecosystem services such as biodiversity enhancement, water and air quality, flood and erosion control, public health benefits, low impact recreation, and scenic beauty.

 Forests annually sequester large quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), and store carbon above and below ground for long periods of time. Intact forests—largely free from human intervention except primarily for trails and hazard removals—are the most carbon-dense and biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems, with additional benefits to society and the economy.

Read the full paper here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00027/full

Read the interview with Dr. Moomar by Yale 360: https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-keeping-mature-forests-intact-is-key-to-the-climate-fight

A recent study by the USDA Forest Servce (https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/59852) estimates that US forests represent the largest net carbon sink in the United States. They offset more that 11 percent of total green house gas emissions annually.

From the University of Minnesota :

The Sleeping Bear Tree Farm will participate in current and future CO2 studies.

Sleeping Bear Tree Farm Managing Member, Vandy Johnson participated in the 24 Hours of Reality: Truth in Action event held at the Minnesota Science Museum. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter was the keynote speaker.

You have likely seen Greta Thunberg on TV or the internet this week. She testified before the US Congress and the United Nations. She is remarkably consistent in referring policy and law makers to an IPCC report.

First, who is the IPCC? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options.

The report that Ms. Thunberg references can be found here: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/05/SR15_SPM_version_report_LR.pdf

The 2018 report is a comprehensive summary of the science behind climate change, potential impacts and an assessment of the risks.

I encourage you to read the summary and see why Ms. Thunberg is pleading with policy and law makers to read the report.