LARGE SCALE COMPLIANCE FOREST CARBON
Groundbreaking Compliance Market Forest Carbon Project Implemented on Over 200,000 Acres
The Bluesource – Bishop Improved Forest Management Project (Bishop) marked a rare opportunity – to be the first compliance project ever successfully conducted on land owned by a Timber Investment Management Organization (TIMO). Conducted on over 200,000 acres of timberland in Upper Peninsula Michigan owned by The Forestland Group (TFG), the potential impact was tremendous.
Sustainable harvesting practices implemented throughout the property result in enhanced sequestration of carbon. The process, known as Improved Forest Management (IFM), generates carbon credits by sequestering carbon at a rate above the regional average. Its practice also ensures that future landowners will commit to maintaining high carbon stocks on the property for the next century and beyond.
Ultimately, with over 1.7 million credits issued in June of 2014 (100% of which have been sold to compliance buyers), Bishop became one of the largest domestic forest carbon projects by acreage ever registered with the California Air Resources Board (ARB). Throughout its life, the project will continue to sequester significant amounts of carbon, producing a projected three-million-plus credit in its first decade alone. The project’s impact extends beyond carbon sequestration, as the Bishop property provides habitat for diverse mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian wildlife, as well as recreational access for hiking, hunting, snowmobiling and birding. Mammals occupying the impacted property include white-tailed deer, moose, black bears, wolves, cougars, gray and red foxes, martens, fishers, bobcats, snowshoe hares, and several species of bats.
