This story was co-published with MIT Technology Review.
The Massachusetts Audubon Society has long managed its land in western Massachusetts as crucial wildlife habitat. Nature lovers flock to these forests to enjoy bird-watching and quiet hikes, with the occasional bobcat or moose sighting.
But in 2015, the conservation nonprofit presented California’s top climate regulator with a startling scenario: It could heavily log 9,700 acres of its preserved forests over the next few years.
The group raised the possibility of chopping down hundreds of thousands of trees as part of its application to take part in California’s forest offset program.
The state’s Air Resources Board established the system to harness the ability of trees to absorb and store carbon to help the state meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Mass Audubon promised to preserve wildlife. Then it made millions claiming it could cut down trees
By Lisa Song and James Temple ProPublica and MIT Technology Review,Updated May 10, 2021, 3:31 p.m.
Email to a Friend
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive
This story was originally published by
.
The Massachusetts Audubon Society has long managed its land in western Massachusetts as crucial wildlife habitat. Nature lovers flock to these forests to enjoy bird-watching and quiet hikes, with the occasional bobcat or moose sighting.
But in 2015, the conservation nonprofit presented Californiaâs top climate regulator with a startling scenario: It could heavily log 9,700 acres of its preserved forests over the next few years.
Copy Link
Thick coastal forests with redwood trees can store double the amount of carbon per acre compared to shrubbier, smaller forests in inland areas of California.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
Along the coast of Northern California near the Oregon border, the cool, moist air off the Pacific sustains a strip of temperate rainforests. Soaring redwoods and Douglas firs dominate these thick, wet woodlands, creating a canopy hundreds of feet high.
But if you travel inland the mix of trees gradually shifts.
The Climate Solution Actually Adding Millions of Tons of CO2 Into the Atmosphere ProPublica 4 hrs ago
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.
This story was co-published with MIT Technology Review.
Along the coast of Northern California near the Oregon border, the cool, moist air off the Pacific sustains a strip of temperate rainforests. Soaring redwoods and Douglas firs dominate these thick, wet woodlands, creating a canopy hundreds of feet high.
But if you travel inland the mix of trees gradually shifts.
Beyond the crest of the Klamath Mountains, you descend into an evergreen medley of sugar pines, incense cedars and still more Douglas firs. As you continue into the Cascade Range, you pass through sparser forests dominated by Ponderosa pines. These tall, slender trees with prickly cones thrive in the hotter, drier conditions on the eastern side of the state.
The Climate Solution Actually Adding Millions of Tons of CO2 Into the Atmosphere propublica.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from propublica.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.