Landowners in eastern Kentucky have long realized that there was money to be made from the trees that cover the region’s hillsides. But to turn the trees into cash required that they be harvested and made into wood products, which, if done properly, can be a rather costly process and, if not done properly, can cause long-term damage to the region’s environment.
It is doubtful that few area landowners ever thought there was money to be made from trees just being trees soaking up carbon dioxide. Not just any trees, mind you, but trees that are part of large, well-managed forests.
For the last 2 1/2 years the Berea-based Mountain Association for Community Economic Development has been instructing landowners on what they need to do to sell carbon credits. Justin Maxson admits that it has not been an easy sell. He said it is difficult to convince Appalachian landowners that “there’s an odorless, colorless gas that is sucked out of the air by your trees, and somebody’s going to pay you for that.”
Who would pay for trees doing what they have always done? Industries that produce carbon dioxide — like coal-burning power plants, for example — and want to reduce their carbon footprint, says Maxson.
However, industry is only interested in large forests, and the average forest in eastern Kentucky is only 26 acres. So MACED is attempting to group many parcels together, and, when the price is right, sell their credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange. To date, MACED has signed up 30 people who own altogether more than 16,000 acres of woods.
To be attractive to industry, the forests must be well-managed, and for the most part, the forests of eastern Kentucky — 89 percent of which are on private land — are not well managed. Maxson believes carbon credit trading will lead the better managed and sustainable forests, which will benefit wildlife and improve water quality.
To date, no money has changed hands, mostly because the program is voluntary and the recession has lowered the amount of money that companies are willing to spend. But legislation is looming that could limit CO2 emissions and push up prices.
Jack Stickney, who has committed the 133 acres he owns in Estill County to the project, said he thinks carbon credit will get woodland owners to say, ‘“Hey, maybe there’s a reason to manage my woodlands,”’ Stickney said. “You know how it is when it comes down to money. That gets people’s interest.”
In Elliott County, Frank Olson also says he sees a lot of high-grading. “Contrary to what people believe, there’s not a lot of money for the landowner in logging,” Olson said. “It makes sense to help replace the tobacco income with carbon credits.”
The process of getting landowners certified so their credits can be traded takes time. There has to be a plan to manage the forest, and an inventory of what is there. The plan can be done by the state Division of Forestry at no charge, but a consulting forester charges for the inventory. MACED will lend money for the inventory.
The jury still is out on whether selling carbon credits will be profitable for eastern Kentucky landowners. But there is a real potential here for making forest lands a source of revenue without harvesting the best trees. MACED is to be commended for getting an early start on recruiting landowners.Mountain Association
