The Carbon Initiative in Burnett County, Wisconsin
Read about Carbon, Conservation, and Community in Northwest Wisconsin...
A 95,000-acre carbon project on land owned by Burnett County in Northwest Wisconsin was announced in April by The Climate Trust (TCT), a Portland, Oregon non-profit. The project was defined as an “Improved Forest Management Initiative on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands” within the American Carbon Registry, according to the announcement.
“The partnership between TCT and Burnett County is based on a 20-year contract, with the goal of optimizing and sustaining the forest's utility including the production of forest products, recreational opportunities, wildlife, watershed protection, stabilization of stream flow, and most recently, carbon” according to the announcement.
“A carbon project protects the significance of the forest's health and its benefits to the community. The local community depends on the forest to generate timber revenues to offset local taxes and fund a portion of the local county government. Carbon revenue will help diversify existing forest-based revenues, providing additional certainty and assistance with county budgeting for the next two decades,” according to The Climate Trust. Burnett County Forest covers 111,000 acres so the carbon project will represent over 85% of the county’s total forest acreage.
