February 3, 2021
For more information contact: Jim Britt at:
jim.britt@maine.gov
Task force will consider forest carbon storage incentives for small-to-medium size woodland owners to help protect their property while fighting climate change
AUGUSTA, Maine - As part of Maine s ambitious effort to fight climate change by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions, Governor Janet Mills has signed an Executive Order to create the Maine Forest Carbon Task Force.
The Task Force is a recommendation from the state s new four-year climate action plan,
Maine Won t Wait, and aims to develop a voluntary program for small-to-medium size woodland owners in Maine of who want to utilize their land for long-term storage of carbon emissions, a process known as carbon sequestration. Forest carbon programs provide financial incentives to preserve forests, thereby storing carbon emissions. However, today, most existing programs are not accessible or economically feasible for smaller woodland owne
Grant Invests in Logger Certification to Support Green Economy
CONCORD, NH The Future Forest Economy Initiative is investing $250,000 to enhance markets for certified wood and to strengthen the supply chain for wood in the Northern Forest region through a grant to the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands (TCNEF).
“Only a fraction of the forestland in our region is green certified,” said Joe Short, vice president of the Northern Forest Center, which manages the Future Forest Economy program. “Certifying logging companies through TCNEF’s Master Logger program will increase the volume of certified, sustainably harvested wood available to the region’s mills. Certified lands alone are not enough to meet demand for certified wood in the region.”
Northern Forest Center grew out of a congressional mandate to support the development of markets for wood products. This is the fourth grant in a three-year program that will invest $2.6 million to expand innovation, create market demand and create conditions that will allow businesses and communities to benefit from these innovations.
The Northeast Master Logger program is a performance-based certification for logging companies in seven Northeastern states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It provides a unique third-party certification of a logging company’s work in the woods rather than certifying the forestland, as other programs do.
Commentary: Modern wood heat finally achieves federal tax equality
Maine’s congressional delegation fought to get wood heat treated fairly by federal tax credits.
By Dana Doran and William BellSpecial to the Press Herald
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On behalf of our members, their employees, rural Maine and Maine citizens concerned about climate change, we would like to applaud and thank the Maine congressional delegation for obtaining passage of key portions of The BTU Act (HR 1479/S.628) in the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which passed Congress on Dec. 21. This common-sense legislation finally provides Maine homeowners with the opportunity to install highly efficient modern wood heating appliances with the same federal tax credit (previously 30 percent, a federal income tax credit of 26 percent commences with systems purchased in 2021 and phases down to 22 percent in 2022 and 2023) afforded to other renewable technologies such as solar, wind, fuel cells and geothermal heati
COVID-19 relief may include federal aid that would benefit Maine loggers and timber harvesters
For the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Maine loggers are hoping to receive federal assistance. Author: Hannah Yechivi (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 6:51 PM EST December 24, 2020 Updated: 6:51 PM EST December 24, 2020
MAINE, Maine We ve kind of been left holding the bag of again being told you are essential but you are not treated with the same parity as farmers and fishermen, says Dana Doran,
Executive Director at the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine.
After almost 11 months, financial aid may be on the way to Maine s professional timber industry.