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States Are Growing Fewer Trees. Forest Owners Say That’s a Problem.
Rows of conifers grow in a greenhouse at the Webster Forest Nursery, operated by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Washington produces about 8 million seedlings a year for reforestation on state and private lands, but many other states have closed nurseries or cut production in recent years, leaving small forest owners without a crucial supply of trees.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
When wildfires ripped through Oregon last Labor Day, they burned huge swaths of forest, including 63,000 acres of smaller, private lands.
Oregon state law requires forest owners to replant their land within two years of a wildfire, but many haven’t been able to: They used to rely heavily on state-run tree nurseries, but Oregon closed its nursery more than a decade ago.
Farmers, ranchers and foresters know very well the value of soil carbon for the health and water holding capacity of their soil. But economic barriers limit adoption of practices that build soil carbon. No-till equipment is costly, and cover crops donât generate revenue.
Fortunately, soil carbon also has an economic value beyond its impact on crop productivity. A ton of carbon added to the soil is a ton of carbon pulled out of the atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas, warming the planet and causing economic disruption.
For carbon emitters concerned about or required to mitigate climate change, it costs less to pay another party to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it than to invest in reducing the carbon they emit. The demand for such carbon credits from companies and individuals is growing rapidly as they pledge to become ânet-zeroâ emitters and reduce their carbon footprint. Globally, the number of carbon credits produced by forestry and