1

Minnesota Statewide Conservation and

Preservation Plan

Forest Values & Carbon Markets: Opportunities for

Minnesota2/26/09

A comprehensive inventory and assessment of Minnesota’s environment and natural resources

• Status check on our natural resources

• Identify drivers causing change in our resources

• Identify key issues affecting our natural resources

• Recommendations for actions to change course for better outcomes for our natural resources

What is the Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan?

• LCCMR strategic planning/RFPs

• Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council

• Agency planning

• New legislation

• Local governments

Why was the Plan created and how is it being used?

Page 8 Final Plan

Status of Natural Resources

Strategic FrameworkStrategic Framework

Mapped to Key Issues

Habitat LossLand Use Practice

TransportationEnergy Use,

Mercury

Resulting in Strategic Areas for Action

Integrated Planning

Critical Land Protection

Land & Water Restoration

Sustainability Practices

Economic Incentives for Sustainability

PHASE II:

Soil Erosion

Nutrient Loading

Solids Loading

Toxics Loading

Habitat Fragmentation

Consumptive Use

Hydrologic Modification

Invasive Species

GHG emissions

Affected by Drivers of Change

Air Water Land FishWildlife Recreation

PHASE I:

Page 7 Final Plan

Value of the Recommendation for Climate Change Mitigation or

Adaptation

• UM Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) research has shown a large potential for producing cellulosic ethanol from forest biomass

• Potential for 0.5 to 1 billion gallons of ethanol

• Hybrid poplar plantations have the potential to produce approximately 5 tons/ac

• Other potential sources include thinning of aspens and red pines, roundwood, harvest residue from logging operations, and brushlands harvesting

Biomass and carbon sequestration research

• Another study by the UM for the DNR (UM 2008) shows that perennial crops sequester more carbon than annual row crops

• Producing cellulosic ethanol from perennial tree crops would sequester more atmospheric carbon than any other production technique

• Converting row crops to short rotation woody tree crops (such as hybrid poplar) would sequester nearly 2 tons of carbon/year

• Converting row crops to perennial grasses would only sequester about 0.4 tons carbon/ year

Biomass and carbon sequestration research

• Land Use - Forestry 1: Protect large blocks of forested land for ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change

• Land Use - Forestry 3: Support and expand sustainable practices on working forested lands, including developing and testing new management practices for forest management as a carbon sequestration tool

Resilience to climate change and Carbon sequestration

• Energy 3: Invest in perennial biofuel and energy crop research and demonstration projects on a landscape scale

• Energy 4: Develop policies and incentives to encourage perennial crop production for biofuels in critical environmental areas

Carbon sequestration

• Habitat 1: Protect priority land habitats

• Habitat 2: Protect critical shorelands of streams and lakes

• Adaptation to climate change must be considered

• In the face of climate change we should still protect critical areas, however, the nature of these critical areas may change

• Research is needed

Adaptation to climate change

Vulnerable key habitat by

township and by Ecological

Subsection

High/Green = higher habitat

value and higher threats

Low/Yellow = lower habitat

value and lower threats

How will these key habitat

priorities change with climate

change?

Mitigation of climate change

• Energy 16: Provide incentives to transition a portion of Minnesota’s vehicle fleet to electrical power, while simultaneously increasing renewable electricity production for transportation

• Energy 17: Encourage carbon-neutral businesses, homes, communities

• Transportation 2: Reduce per capita vehicle miles of travel (VMT) through compact mixed-use development and multi-modal and intermodal transportation systems

Project Goal

To achieve a better future

for Minnesota’s

natural resources

Access the plan at:www.lccmr.leg.mn/

Questions about the Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan

or this presentation:

Jean Coleman

612-588-4904

jcoleman@crplanning.com