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FOR IM MEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Randall Beren510.452.8000 | [email protected]

- more -

Scientific Certification Systems Validates Conservation Fund’s

Latest Go Zero Carbon Offset Project to Gold Level

Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge Restoration Initiative in Kansas

Meets Highest Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance Standard

August 4, 2009 – Emeryville, CA – The

Conservation

Fund's

Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife

Refuge Restoration Initiative has been validated by Scientific Certification Systems as meeting

the requirements of the Climate, Community & Biodiversity standards.

The SCS Greenhouse Gas Verification program conducted both desk and field‐based assessment

activities in its evaluation of the Fund’s project. SCS found that, in addition to conforming to the

15 required CCB criteria, the Marias des Cygnes Initiative meets eight additional, optional‐CCB

criteria qualifying the project for Gold Level status.

"The

Marias des

Cygnes

Initiative

is

the

second

CCB

project

Scientific

Certification

Systems

has

validated for The Conservation Fund," says Dr. Robert J. Hrubes, SCS Senior Vice President.

"With the experience the Fund gained from their previous Red River Initiative and the diligence

they put toward developing this one, we were able to conduct a thorough audit in a very

efficient manner.”

Over the next 100 years, the recently restored Marais de Cygnes refuge, a 776‐acres native

bottomland hardwood forest in eastern Kansas, is projected to sequester 336 metric tons of

CO2e per acre. In addition to combating climate change, The Conservation Fund’s most recent

Go Zero project helps conserve biodiversity and support local communities.

"Go Zero donors are providing critical, private capital that will help address two of the most

extraordinary environmental challenges of our time – climate change and habitat loss," says

The Conservation Fund's Go Zero director, Jena Meredith. "The CCB Gold Level validation by

Scientific Certification Systems ensures these donations result in real, measurable results to



help stabilize climate change and restore important wildlife habitat on behalf of the National

Wildlife Refuge System and the American people."

# # #

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) has been providing global leadership in third‐party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing and standards development for

more than 25 years. SCS programs span a wide cross‐section of industries, recognizing

achievements in green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, retailing

and more. The SCS Greenhouse Gas Verification Program provides verification of project‐based

emissions reductions, project design validation and pre‐assessment analysis. SCS is accredited

to ISO 14065 for GHG validation and verification by the American National Standards Institute

(ANSI) and, under this accreditation, offers Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate Action

Reserve (CAR) offset verification services. SCS also offers offset verification services under the

Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) standards.

http://www.SCScertified.com

The Conservation Fund is dedicated to advancing America's land and water legacy. With our

partners, we conserve land, train leaders and invest in conservation at home. Since 1985, we

have helped protect more than 6 million acres, sustaining wild havens, working lands and

vibrant communities. We're a top‐ranked conservation organization, effective and efficient.

http://www.conservationfund.org

Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards evaluate land‐based carbon mitigation projects in the early stages of development. The CCB Standards foster the integration of best‐practice

and multiple‐benefit approaches into project design and evolution. The Standards identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and conserve

biodiversity; promote excellence and innovation in project design; and mitigate risk for

investors and increase funding opportunities for project developers.

http://www.climate-standards.org

###



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Randall Beren 510.452.8000 | [email protected]

- more -

Scientific Certification Systems Validates

First Climate, Community and Biodiversity

Carbon Offset Project in Tasmania

Redd Forests Project Reduces C02 Emissions and

Protects Endangered Tasmanian Devil Habitat

July 20, 2009 - Emeryville, CA – Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) has validated an improved

forest management project in Tasmania, Australia, to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB)

standard. Logging and carbon sequestration rights were acquired by Redd Forests to protect 790

hectares of privately owned native forest in the Tasmania Macquarie River Basin.

With much of the forestland on the island of Tasmania being lost to unsustainable forestry practices and

development, the Redd Forests Tasmania Project has been designed to prove the commercial viability of

utilizing revenue from the sale of carbon offsets to generate a viable alternative to traditional logging

income.

“Scientific Certification Systems provided excellent support. Their professional, independent auditing

services ensures that our project offers investors’ true multi-benefit carbon credits,” says Stephen Dickey,

founder and managing director of Redd Forests, the project developer.

The Redd Forests Tasmania Project is the first CCB project on the island of Tasmania and aims to

prevent the loss of carbon and wildlife habitat associated with clear-fell logging and land conversion.

According to the SCS Lead Auditor Mike Thompson, research and evidence from adjoining properties

shows that the area – which is home to a healthy population of the endangered Tasmanian Devil – is

under immediate threat of being cleared and replaced with a monoculture plantation project.

“Our many years of experience certifying international forest management projects under Forest

Stewardship Council guidelines allow us to apply our expertise to validate multi-attribute projects under

the Climate, Community and Biodiversity standard,” says SCS Senior Vice President Robert J. Hrubes.

Photo credit: Wayne McLean



Page 2

SCS’ previous experience validating carbon projects to the CCB standard include reforestation projects

developed by The Conservation Fund in Louisiana and Kansas and a Ducks Unlimited avoided grassland

conversion project in the Dakotas.

# # #

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) has been providing global leadership in third-party

environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing and standards development for more than

25 years. SCS programs span a wide cross-section of industries, recognizing achievements in green

building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, retailing and more. The SCS Greenhouse

Gas Verification Program provides verification of project-based emissions reductions, project design

validation and pre-assessment analysis. SCS is accredited to ISO 14065 for GHG validation and

verification by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and, under this accreditation, offers

Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate Action Reserve (CAR) offset verification services. SCS also

offers offset verification services under the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and the Climate, Community

and Biodiversity (CCB) standards.

http://www.SCScertified.com

Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards evaluate land-based carbon mitigation projects in the

early stages of development. The CCB Standards foster the integration of best-practice and multiple-

benefit approaches into project design and evolution. The Standards identify projects that simultaneously

address climate change, support local communities and conserve biodiversity; promote excellence and

innovation in project design; and mitigate risk for investors and increase funding opportunities for project

developers.

http://www.climate-standards.org

Redd Forests was incorporated in December of 2008 as a “profit for purpose” business designed to

apply commercially viable methodologies to replace activities that degrade or destroy the world’s forests.

Redd Forests seeks to acquire the logging and carbon sequestration rights from landowners of native and

old growth forests that are under threat from destructive logging or conversion to monoculture

plantations.

http://www.reddforests.com

###

http://www.scscertified.com/

http://www.reddforests.com/

http://www.reddforests.com/

http://www.scscertified.com/



Press Release – The Pacific Forest Trust

1

March 12, 2007 Contact: Randall Beren, Communications DirectorThe Pacific Forest Trust – 415.561.0700

Governor Schwarzenegger to Reduce Carbon FootprintUsing Emissions Offsets from Forest Conservation Project

Climate Benefits of Working Forests are Key to Combating Global Warming

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to offset the

carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by his jet travel (both personal and official) by

supporting the Pacific Forest Trust’s Van Eck Forest Project – a forest conservation and

stewardship project that will permanently reduce approximately 500,000 tons of CO2

emissions over a 100-year period. This is the first emissions reductions project registered

with and following the rigorous standards of the California Climate Action Registry.

"California is a leader in the fight against global warming. I look forward to working

with organizations like the Pacific Forest Trust because it is important that we continue

to focus on innovative ways to reduce our society's carbon footprint," says Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Owned by the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation, the 2,200-acre Van Eck Forest in

Humboldt County is a working redwood forest conserved and managed by the PacificForest Trust (PFT) to increase carbon stores, restore biodiversity and old growth

qualities, and provide habitat for endangered species. Therefore, in addition to helping

cool the climate, the Van Eck Forest Project helps protect wildlife habitat, safeguard clean

water and sustain rural communities and jobs for the benefit of all Californians.

Forests like Van Eck provide climate benefits by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and

storing it as carbon in trees for hundreds of years. California’s coastal redwood forests –

which grow the fastest, largest and for the longest period of time – are especially vital as

they are among the most productive forest carbon “sinks” in the world. Because older

forests store more CO2 in their trees than do younger forests, managing the Van Eck

Forest to store more carbon will result in substantially greater stores of carbon sooner

than could be achieved by planting trees or from conventional management practices –

a major climate benefit.




2

"Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere comes from two sources: fossil fuels and forest loss,"

says PFT President Laurie Wayburn. “To successfully address climate change, we must

work on both sources, complementing the major focus on fossil fuels with actions for

forests. We applaud the Governor’s leadership in backing the conservation and carbon

management of working forests.”

The Governor will pay the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation from his own personal

funds to acquire the Van Eck Forest Project offsets. The Pacific Forest Trust will represent

the landowner.

Forest loss, scientists agree, is responsible for roughly 25% of all man-made, global CO2

emissions today (and more than 40% in the past when forestlands were cleared for fuel,cities and farmlands). In the U.S., for example, roughly 1.5 million acres of forests are

currently lost to development and conversion each year. Figured conservatively, this

forest loss results in the release of 275 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere –

a release equivalent to one year’s emissions output by 53 million vehicles.

Schwarzenegger’s commitment to offset the impact his air travel has on global warming

expands upon similar efforts by other high-ranking California officials and demonstrates

growing, bi-partisan support for forests and their climate benefits.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D), who shares the Governor’s desire to see California

lead the climate change movement and who authored AB 32, has worked with PFT to use

Van Eck Forest carbon to offset travel to various climate-related events including his

recent trip to Washington D.C. to testify before the Senate’s Environment and Public

Works Committee.

“Forests are one of the amazing environmental treasures California holds in trust for the

future and carbon offsets are an important new tool in our fight against climate change,”

states Speaker Núñez. “Being able to lower our carbon footprint and lessen global

warming at the same time we’re boosting our forests and their benefits, that’s an easy

win-win for California and the world.”




3

Secretary Linda Adams of the California Environmental Protection and her deputy

secretary, Eileen Tutt, also used Van Eck forest carbon last December to offset the CO2

emissions generated by their trip to attend the United Nations Climate Change

Conference for the 2nd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Kenya.

“This is a new concept that we are pioneering in California with the Pacific Forest Trust,”

comments Secretary Linda Adams of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

“This is something the Governor personally feels is the right thing to do.”

Van Eck Forest Project emission reductions are highly credible, high-quality offsets

because:

• the Project follows the rigorous, standardized accounting requirements called for

in the California Climate Action Registry Forest Protocols that will include

third-party verification and yearly monitoring

• their permanence is assured by a conservation easement (held by PFT) that

guides long term forestry and prevents the forestlands from being developed or

converted to other uses

• the sustainable forestry practiced on Van Eck will result in more carbon beingsequestered than could be attained through conventional management, as

measured against a baseline of “business as usual” practices

”The Van Eck Forest Project meets the highest standards, providing real, significant and

durable sequestration,” says California Climate Action Registry President Diane

Wittenberg.

Studies by Oregon State University scientists Mark Harmon and Olga Krankina show

that forests managed to achieve increased carbon stores could lead to an additional 25

billion metric tons of carbon stored globally over the next 50 years. Matched by

reductions in fossil fuel use, investments in the conservation, restoration and carbon

management of working forests would enable the US to become carbon neutral and

begin repairing the climate.




4

For Van Eck Forest Project maps, photos and charts, please visit http://www.pacificforest.org/news/GovernorOffsets.html

––––––––

The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is the leading non-profit organization dedicated to protecting

America’s private working forests for all their public benefits and is a leading advocate for the

climate benefits of forests. In California, PFT has been instrumental in crafting legislation and

policies that ensure the role of forests in the State’s climate change programs and has registered

the first emission reductions project with the California Climate Action Registry. Nationally, PFT

published the landmark “Forest Carbon in the United States” report and is advising state

governments and federal leaders about the inclusion of forest conservation and sustainable

management in climate policies, markets and best-practices. To learn more about the Pacific Forest

Trust and our campaigns, please visit www.PacificForest.org .




1

December 18, 2006 Contact: Connie Best, Managing Director

Randall Beren, Communications DirectorThe Pacific Forest Trust – 415.561.0700

First Sale of First California State-Backed Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reductions Announced at Forest Fete 2006US Forest Service Associate Chief Sally Collins Gives Keynote,

"Outside-the-Box" Innovators and Forest Champion of the Year Honored

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) held it's annual forest

celebration – Forest Fete 2006: The Gift of Working Forests – last week at the Presidio

Officers' Club and announced the first sale of the first California state-registered

carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions. Linda Adams, Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency

(Cal/EPA), and her deputy secretary, Eileen Tutt, were recognized for making the

historic purchase. The two purchased 14 tons of forest carbon from the van Eck

Forest in Humboldt County to offset the CO2 emissions generated by their trip to

Nairobi, Kenya to attend the United National Climate Change conference on the

Kyoto Protocol.

“It cost them $10 per ton, paid out of their own pockets, for the first forest credits

registered by the California Climate Action Registry,” said EPA spokeswoman

BreAnda Northcutt. ”As the leader of California's Environmental Protection Agency,

it's important they lead by example,” Northcutt said. In addition to announcing this first purchase at the event, PFT introduced its Gift of

Climate Benefits program. The Gift of Climate Benefits program makes van Eck Forest

emission reductions available to the public by offering individuals and businesses

the opportunity to offset their own CO2 emissions or those of family and friends for

$10/ton. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Sean O'Sullivan (415.561.0700

or [email protected]) at the Pacific Forest Trust for further details and

ordering information.




2

The van Eck Forest Project will achieve more than 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions

reductions by ensuring significant climate benefits are achieved from the sustainable

management of 2,200 acres of working forestlands managed by PFT and owned by

the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation. These climate benefits are accounted forusing the rigorous practices required by the California Climate Action Registry.

California’s forest carbon program is important to the fight against global warming

because forest loss is the second largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Converting forestlands to other uses accounts for 20-25% of all human-caused CO2

emissions annually, a pollution effect equal to the emissions generated by 1.4 billion

cars. Forests provide climate benefits by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it

as carbon in trees for hundreds to thousands of years. California’s forests – which

grow the fastest, largest and for the longest period of time – are especially vital as they

are among the most productive forest carbon reservoirs or “sinks” in the world. And

California’s program ensures the state’s remarkable forests are conserved and

managed for increased carbon stores.

PFT holds a permanent working forest conservation easement on the van Eck forests,

ensuring these lands will never be lost to development. Further, the easement ensures

the use of sustainable forestry practices that will, in turn, result in more carbon being

sequestered than otherwise.

Sally Collins, Associate Chief of the USDA Forest Service, gave the keynote address

and described the critical ecosystem services provided by the nation’s working

forests: clean water flows, biodiversity and, most notably, carbon sequestration.

“Carbon markets appear to hold huge potential. There’s a growing consensus on the

need for a national approach to regulating greenhouse gas emissions and, thanks to

California, action may be taken sooner rather than later,” said Collins. “And we have

to be sure that forestry is on the table as offsets are being discussed.”




3

Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Director of Environmental Policy Wendy

Pulling were honored with an Outside-the-Box Award in recognition of the utility's

leadership in the business community to reduce greenhouse gases and combat global

warming. They were also honored for their exemplary stewardship of theirwatershed forestlands. “We’re honored by this recognition and we look forward to continuing our

partnership with the Pacific Forest Trust to provide our customers with innovative

ways to combat climate change and preserve California’s forests,” said Pulling. Forest Systems, a national forest investment management leader, and President Rick

Smith also received an Outside-the-Box Award. Theirs was given in recognition of

the company's partnership with PFT in creating the landmark McCloud Project

working forest conservation easement – the first forestland easement in California on

lands owned by a major commercial timber interest. Richard N. Goldman – founder and president of the Goldman Environmental Prize

and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund – was honored as the 2006 Forest

Champion of the Year for his commitment to creating a legacy of protected natural

lands in California by supporting forest conservation that yields both environmental

and economic benefits. The Goldman Fund contributed nearly $1 million toward the

acquisition of the McCloud Project in 2006.

________

The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is the only conservation organization in the nation solely

dedicated to protecting America’s vital private forests for all their public benefits. Since 1993,PFT has been implementing a comprehensive conservation strategy through education,

innovation and collaboration. To date, PFT has directly conserved more than 50,000 acres of

working forests in the Pacific west valued at over $150,000,000. To learn more about the

Pacific Forest Trust and our forest campaigns, please visit www.PacificForest.org .




1

Contact: Connie Best, Managing Director August 24, 2006 Randall Beren, Communications Director

The Pacific Forest Trust – 415.561.0700

Historic Public-Private Partnership KeepsThreatened Forests Working for All Californians

The Pacific Forest Trust completes largest working forest conservation easementin state on 9,200 acres of commercial timberland at base of Mt. Shasta

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – With forests across California increasingly being lost to residential

development, the Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is proud to announce the completion of a

landmark working forest conservation easement (WFCE) on 9,200 acres of prime forestland

located at the base of majestic Mt. Shasta, along eight miles of the famed McCloud River. TheMcCloud Project is a historic public-partnership among PFT, landowner Bascom Pacific,

forest managers Forest Systems, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the National

Fish & Wildlife Foundation and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

The McCloud Project creates the largest forest conservation easement west of the Rockies. It

protects 15 square miles of forestland – an area twice the size of Yosemite Valley – that lies

in the heart of the state’s commercial “wood-basket” where residential and recreational

development threatens the integrity of the forested headwaters of the Sacramento River. The

McCloud Project is also the first WFCE in California on lands owned by a major commercial

timber interest.

In addition to preventing all development, the easement protects water quality and important

fish and wildlife habitat, provides public recreational access to the popular McCloud Falls and

Pacific Coast Trail – all while promoting sustainable forest management. Bascom Pacific’s

conserved forests will remain in private stewardship and productive use, thereby providing

jobs to the local community and quality timber products to consumers.

“Bascom Pacific is demonstrating that forestry and conservation, private ventures and public

values are complimentary, not contradictory,” notes PFT Managing Director Constance Best.

“The great challenge of protecting California’s private forests in the face of burgeoning

development requires more partnerships like this one, now, before the landscape loses its

economic and ecological vitality from further forest loss and fragmentation.”




2

Funding for the $7.3 million acquisition and associated costs of the McCloud Project came

from a consortium of public and private sources united by a desire to set a precedent for

conserving California’s working forests. The state Wildlife Conservation Board’s contribution

of $5.6 million was matched by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ($1

million through their Wal-Mart-sponsored Acres for America program) and the Richard andRhoda Goldman Fund ($800,000).

“After decades of timber wars, PFT’s landmark McCloud Project represents a new era of

cooperation and partnership between forest owners, conservationists and the state,” says Al

Wright, Executive Director of the California Wildlife Conservation Board. “With

development escalating rapidly, we can’t take working forests for granted anymore. If we are

to keep California’s private forests productive and providing the public with vital resources

such as clean water, abundant fish and wildlife and inspiring recreational opportunities, we

will need more working forest conservation easements like this one.”

Rick Smith, President and CEO of Forest Systems explains the landowner’s perspective:

“Working forest conservation easements are an important part of our long-term investment

strategy as they give private landowners an extra financial incentive to practice high standards

of stewardship. We hope this project helps set a conservation precedent in California and

beyond – because we all have a vested interest in seeing working forests continue to provide

the public with the wood, water and other resources on which we depend.”

Bascom Pacific’s property is located within the remarkably rich Klamath-Cascade region

where the conifer forests rate among the most biodiverse in the world. The mixed conifer

forests, oak and aspen stands, varied meadows and numerous trout streams on the property

support more than 250 species of birds, fish and mammals including special-status species

such as the northern spotted owl, bald eagle, Pacific fisher and the imperiled redband trout.

Specific terms in the easement provide added safeguards for water quality that will protect

flows from these forests to the faucets of more than 20 million Californians through the

Sacramento system. Further, the McCloud Project easement links critical habit across 2.1

million acres of the surrounding Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Preventing development andensuring model forest management here will also enhance the forest’s long-term ability to

store carbon, in turn providing Californian’s with increased climate benefits.

State Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman has championed the McCloud Project from its

inception. “The Pacific Forest Trust is setting a very high standard for the kind of

conservation activities we are embarking on here in California,” explains Chrisman “Their




3

McCloud Project is a creative approach to conservation and the protection of fish and wildlife

habitat. It is also emblematic of the shifting role of government in conservation, where

government acts as a partner with private landowners and non-profits to share in the costs and

responsibilities of stewardship in the public interest. This project is a prime example of that

new cooperative effort.”

This project, and WFCEs in general, represent an innovative new model for saving working

forest landscapes. In return for their commitment to conservation and high standards of

stewardship, private forest landowners are financially rewarded. Working forest conservation

easements are a good investment for the public, too, as they protect valuable resources at a

fraction of the cost of buying a property outright – in this case half as much. Plus, because

Bascom Pacific and PFT will share stewardship responsibilities, government does not have to

bear the financial burden of managing the property in perpetuity.

Richard Goldman, president of the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund describes their interest:

“Conservation easements are a promising tool to protect forests,” says Goldman. “We are

excited to take part in this unique opportunity and hope it serves as a model for forest

protection throughout the West.”

In November, California voters will have the opportunity to help ensure the state’s forests do

in fact continue to provide invaluable public benefits. Proposition 84, the Clean Water, Parks

and Coastal Protection Bond, designates $450 million for the conservation, protection andrestoration of forests, wildlife and working landscapes. The proposition is supported by

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Treasurer Phil Angelides, Senator Dianne Feinstein,

legislative leaders, the Pacific Forest Trust and more than 200 state environmental, business

and civic groups.

________

The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is the only conservation organization in the nation solely

dedicated to protecting America’s vital private forests for all their public benefits. Since 1993,

PFT has been implementing a comprehensive conservation strategy through education,innovation and collaboration. To date, PFT has directly conserved more than 50,000 acres of

working forests in the Pacific west valued at over $150,000,000. To learn more about the

Pacific Forest Trust and our forest campaigns, please visit www.PacificForest.org .

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