WVFA Mountain State Forestry Summer 2021

T R E E F A R M N E W S www.wvfa.org Summer 2021 | West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry 21 The Family Forest Carbon Program is taking a different and advanced approach to measuring the carbon generated by the program in order to improve the integrity of its carbon credits. This new forest carbon accounting methodology will be approved by Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard in the coming months. Traditionally, carbon benefits has been measured by costly carbon inventories, the cost and time- intensiveness of which exclude the typical family landowner. In the Family Forest Carbon Program’s approach, enrolled landowners will be monitored to ensure that they are implementing the practices they agreed to. The carbon benefit will be measured based on the changes in carbon stock levels on enrolled properties, compared to properties that are not enrolled in the program (and likely not implementing these practices). In other words, the program will be measuring the performance of the forest practice. “The program pays family forest landowners to implement carbon- friendly forest management practices that result in additional carbon sequestered and stored on the landscape. This provides landowners with new revenue streams to help care for their land and keep it in trees.”

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