The Trust For Public Land Will Help States To Fight Climate Change By Protecting Forests

The Trust for Public Land announced today that it will provide $300,000 to help states create new tools to help communities aid the fight against climate change by trapping more carbon in forests.

“If we are going to solve the climate change problems we all face, America’s forests can be a major part of the solution,” said Jad Daley, Climate Director at The Trust for Public Land. “We believe this money can help create the tools for states and communities to use forested land to take more carbon out of the air.”

Specifically, the funds will help create science-based metrics which can be used to show private forest owners forest practices that will store more carbon in woodlands. The money will also go for model state policy proposals that will aid states in developing new financial incentives for landowners to undertake these carbon-beneficial forest practices.

The money will be channeled through the Forest-Climate Working Group, a broad public-private coalition of forest interests which Daley co-chairs.

The Trust for Public Land announcement was made as part of an event at Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, where the Obama administration announced new efforts to help forest owners capture and store more carbon in American woodlands. The announcement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack commits the department to using its existing programs to support science-based, carbon-friendly management of U.S. forests.

“About 13% of our carbon emissions every year are captured and sequestered by our forests,” said Daley. “The announcement by Secretary Vilsack is an important, positive step forward in raising that figure. Helping private forest owners understand how they can store more carbon in their trees while still producing timber and food is a win for them, and a win for the public, too.”