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Rocky Mountain Natural Resource Center - Sept./Oct. 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008(National Wildlife Federation)
In late June, Garrit Voggesser and Myra
Wilensky of the Tribal Lands Conservation
Program co-hosted a meeting with staff from the
forestry department of the Nez Perce Tribe to
discuss carbon sequestration on tribal lands.
The goal of the meeting was to establish tribal
experiences with carbon sequestration and
identify how tribes can partner to shape a
carbon market to the benefit of tribal economic
development and natural resource conservation.
Representatives from tribes such as
Hoopa, Colville, Coeur D’Alene and Yakama
joined the meeting to learn more about carbon
sequestration. Nez Perce kicked off the meeting
with a presentation about why they entered the
carbon market, the lessons learned and the
benefits Nez Perce has seen. On parts of the
Nez Perce Reservation, land that was cleared
for farming in the 19th century is now being
returned to forest, to both sell carbon offset
credits and provide habitat for wildlife.
The market for carbon credits is
potentially an economic boon for some of the
land-rich but cash-poor tribes. Selling carbon
credits early in the growth of a forest allows
the tribe to earn more income quickly rather
than waiting decades for profit from harvest.
NativeEnergy, a company that has
historically worked with tribes on renewable
energy projects, also attended the meeting to
present information about existing carbon
markets and the high quality standards tribes
must meet for sequestration projects.
At the invitation of NWF’s Tribal
Program, NativeEnergy has developed a new
program to work with tribes on sequestration.
The market in the United States is currently
voluntary. Therefore the demand for offsets has
been low compared to the European market, where
emissions are restricted. The U.S. market also
lacks uniform standards. NativeEnergy is
creating strong and uniform standards so that
tribal projects are high quality and meet the
tests of the market.
The second day of
the meeting began with a tour of one of the Nez
Perce projects, the Tramway. We saw an early
stage of the project (it was a cleared
agricultural field that now is planted with
acres of trees) and another stage where the
trees are more mature and are actively
sequestering carbon. In addition to observing
deer and other wildlife at the site, we learned
that the project area can potentially be used
for gathering traditional plants for tribal
ceremonies and subsistence. The Tramway Project
is a remarkable example of reforestation and
the benefits to wildlife, cultural resource
preservation, and greenhouse gas reduction.
As a result of the meeting facilitated
by NWF’s Tribal Program, NativeEnergy will be
working with interested tribes to pursue
certifying forestry projects for the carbon
offset market. Nez Perce and NativeEnergy hope
to develop a partnership and begin to show
other tribes the benefits of growing trees for
wildlife habitat and sequestering carbon and
thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
NWF’s Tribal Program is excited to facilitate
this new partnership that confronts climate
change, while protecting tribal natural
resources and generating much-need
income.