11-12-2008 - Biodiversity

sagar: Author=’Lindsay Patterson, Beth Lebwohl’ program=” video=”Good stewardship by private forest landowners in the U.S. can be a heroic effort since it can require the rejection of sometimes lucrative financial offers. EarthSky spoke with Robert Bonnie, vice president of land conservation and wildlife at the Environmental Defense Fund. He said that outside Washington D.C., developers will pay up to $30,000 per acre of forested land. Harvesting timber on that same acre yields only $1,000 – $5,000 each year.

Robert Bonnie: If you’re a landowner, that’s a big gap between continuing to practice forestry, or to sell your land for development. And that’s the fundamental challenge.

Bonnie said that financial incentives could make it more viable for landowners to preserve their land.

Robert Bonnie: Americans care deeply about wildlife. They care deeply about protecting the great American landscape. So much of that landscape, in fact about three-fourths of it, is owned by private landowners. And therefore what landowners do with their land is vitally important to that core American value.

Forestry education helps, too.

Robert Bonnie: For so many species, we need landowners to go out and practice good stewardship, to do more than put a fence around their land.

Good stewardship might mean planting certain kind of trees, or the use of controlled fires to encourage healthy forest renewal.

Our thanks today to the American Forest Foundation, leading the way in conservation and education.

Our thanks to:
Robert Bonnie
Vice President
Land Conservation and Wildlife
Environmental Defense Fund
Washington, D.C.

Written by Lindsay Patterson

2 Responses to “Robert Bonnie on financial incentives for preserving forests”

1. Steven Earl Salmony says:

   November 11, 2008 at 6:15 am

   Dear Deborah,

   This thread on good stewardship is a wonderful idea. Thanks for all you are doing to protect biodiversity from mass extinction, to preserve Earth’s body from wanton dissipation, to halt relentless degradation of the environment and, with a bit of luck and a great deal of work, to save the family of humanity from reckless endangerment as well as to spare the human species from an even worse threat.

   Sincerely yours,

   Steve

   Steven Earl Salmony
   AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population, established 2001

   Reply
2. N Marcus says:

   November 12, 2008 at 2:01 pm

   It is nice to know that there are incentives out there for landowners to tap into for the purpose of forest stewardship. I think it is key for us to try not to preserve but to conserve our resources. If we choose to live amongst our natural resources then it should be our responsibility to conserve, live wisely, manage soundly, and become stewards of our natural landscapes. So, where are these incentive programs? Try contacting your local state and/or private forestry agency or your natural resources conservation service district office. Tap into your resources, use sound science, re-invest into your land, and stewardship will be practiced.

   Naomi

   Reply