Carbon credits spell new future for forests

BURNT WOODS, Ore. — Driving through the verdant timberlands of Oregon's Coast Range, Matt Fehrenbacher pointed out a mountainside where every tree had been clearcut.

"That's business as usual," said Fehrenbacher, a forester with The Pacific Forest Trust, a conservation group that manages private forests, both to produce lumber and to store carbon as a hedge against global warming.

Later Fehrenbacher walked through the forest he manages for the Van Eck Forest Foundation, showing off tall Douglas firs that are breaking into a new growth spurt after trees around them were cut to let in more sun, dead logs with mushrooms sprouting from them left behind on the forest floor, and hemlock seedlings planted next to stumps left from logs sold for lumber.

"There's a sweet spot where a landowner can potentially balance your timber value with your carbon values," said Fehrenbacher. "As this market emerges, it's becoming more of a reality. Landowners' interest is very high right now."

The Van Eck Oregon Forest that Fehrenbacher manages is not yet getting paid for the carbon it stores, but it is positioning itself for the day when it will be, either under an emerging voluntary market for carbon credits, or if climate legislation — one of President Obama's top priorities — is enacted in the U.S. Senate.

Trees naturally absorb carbon dioxide as part of photosynthesis, and store it in their leaves and wood. When trees burn, rot or are cut down, they return carbon to the atmosphere. The trick is to maximize the amount that gets stored.

While the climate bill has drawn strong opposition from conservatives wary of creating a cap and trade system that charges carbon producers, like coal-fired power plants, it has united two longtime adversaries.

Timberland owners and environmental groups both want to see the bill pass. For timberland owners, it means new sources of revenue immune to the boom and bust of the housing industry. One comes from the cap and trade market paying for leaving trees standing. Another comes from promoting the sale of biomass — small trees cut to reduce fire danger and make room for other trees to grow — that can be mixed with coal in power plants, or turned into pellets for wood-fired furnaces.

For conservation groups, it is a way to stop millions of acres of forest land from falling to development, leaving it standing for fish and wildlife habitat.