Cutting less yields more

In July 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) contracted with Ecotrust to provide estimates of potential carbon sequestration volumes on the Elliott State Forest based on three different proposed harvest levels — 30, 35, and 40 million board feet of timber cut annually. The greenhouse gas impacts of these three scenarios were striking for what they say about the potential of Pacific Northwest forests to store carbon. We calculated the annual average carbon storage potential of each harvest scenario over the next 40 years and converted this value into additional tons of carbon dioxide stored. If the state of Oregon reduced the harvest on the Elliott State forest from 40 million board feet to 30 million board feet a year, it would reduce the total emissions of greenhouse gases by the same amount as removing 10,000 cars from U.S. highways each year.

The full report can be found here.