John G. Rogers

Estimates have been made that as much as 50% of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last 50 years may be due to the effects of land use change.  Land use change not only contributes to global climate change, but also has decreased fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, the ability of the land to retain and retard flood water as well as opportunities for outdoor recreation. 

The Conservation Fund, as a land conservation organization, is working in a unique partnership with  the US Fish and Wildlife Service,  state wildlife management agencies, and some forward-thinking companies from industries that may face regulation in the future to voluntarily mitigate the effects of land use change.   In recognition of these multiple impacts, projects emphasize sequestering carbon in restored forest ecosystems to offset GHG emissions.  Projects have restored degraded land and added lands to the system of conservation units at the state and federal levels.

The mitigation projects are voluntary, but they follow a set of principles developed by the partners.  The principles assure that the project is designed to sequester carbon pursuant to established guidelines and that it also produces the full range of ecological benefits.

This presentation will focus on how the partnership developed by The Conservation Fund among companies, the FWS, and States to take these voluntary steps in mitigating their carbon dioxide-emitting actions while at the same time increasing the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat.