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.

  • Exploring Carbon Markets - 11/26/12

    The Center co-hosted the workshop "Carbon: A Viable Forest Product?" in Norwich, VT on November 16, 2012 for 70 foresters, natural resource professionals, landowners, and loggers. The session covered the current status of forest carbon markets, opportunities and challenges for the future, and tools and local examples to help understand this complex topic. Presenters included Dylan Jenkins (Finite Carbon), Peter Stein (Lyme Timber), Laury Saligman (Conservation Collaboratives), Chris Pryor (New England Forestry Foundation) and John Gunn (SIG-NAL). Visit the Center's forest carbon resource page for additional information on forest carbon offsetting.
     
  • Publication- Selling Forest Carbon: A Practical Guide to developing forest carbon offsets for Northeast forest owners - 11/06/12

    Where timber-based income from forestlands is insufficient or a landowner simply wishes to diversify income streams, additional sources of forest revenue, such as carbon offsets, may be an option for landowners to keep forests as forests.This updated publication is intended as a practical “how-to” for Northeast landowners of all sizes who are exploring the revenue potential of the forest carbon marketplace. Download Selling Forest Carbon.
  • Capitalizing on Nature’s Benefits: New Incentives for Private Forest Landowners - 06/07/11

    Northern Forest Center policy director Joe Short chairs the ecosystem services working group of the Coalition for Eastern Forests & Communities, which developed this issue paper for meetings with federal agency and delegation staff in Washington, D.C. in May 2011. 
  • Northern Forest Carbon & Ecosystem Services Network- October, 2010 Concept Paper - 12/30/10

    This concept paper, developed by Joe Short and Laury Saligman, outlines the opportunity for a regional ecosystem services network and draft goals and objectives. Click here to view.
  • Network Meeting Notes - 10/21/10

    Twenty-three network participants met in Montpelier, Vermont to exchange updates and information on ecosystem services projects around the region and consider public policy opportunities to advance payments and markets for ecosystem services, particularly in the 2012 Farm Bill. Meeting notes.