Ecosystem Services

People have long depended on nature to provide wood, clean air, water, wildlife, and rich soils. In addition to providing these important products, forests and other natural areas also do things that sustain our health and quality of life: they filter and clean water, absorb floods, produce oxygen, regenerate the soil, and—by processing carbon dioxide—accumulate carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere. Collectively, these products and services are called ecosystem services.

In a world concerned with carbon control and water supplies, society is paying new attention to the economic value of ecosystem services. In the Northern Forest, The Center’s goal is to create models with small-scale and large-scale landowners to demonstrate the viability of generating income from these natural services. At the same time, The Center will help create the technical tools to sustain a regional ecosystems marketplace.