MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 26, 2021
Trees cover nearly 90 percent of Maine. They act as a giant carbon sponge, sucking up an estimated 60 percent of the state’s CO2 emissions from cars, buildings and factories. But as extreme weather makes the impact of a warming planet more apparent and immediate, policymakers say that’s not good enough. They wonder: What changes in management practices could sequester more carbon on Maine’s 17.6 million acres of forestland? What technical assistance or financial incentives would be needed to make it happen as soon as possible? These questions are being studied now on two fronts. One is through a state task force focused on woodland owners of between 10 and 10,000 acres. The second effort is a research project aimed at large timberland owners, mostly in the working forests of northern and eastern Maine. It’s being overseen by John Hagan, chairman of the Maine Climate Table.