The latest science coming from a partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the University of Washington (UW) highlights ways nature can help Washington achieve its net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by midcentury.

 The study—”Leveraging the potential of nature to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State”—centers on how Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) harness the capacity of forests, wetlands and farmlands to absorb and store carbon dioxide that’s in the atmosphere, lessening the impacts of climate change.

What are Natural Climate Solutions?

Worldwide, nature’s power to breathe, filter and store carbon can provide more than 1/3 of emissions reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement target. Natural Climate Solutions harness the tremendous capacity of forests, wetlands and farmlands to combat climate change. Changing how we manage, protect and restore our natural resources to be more sustainable and have a climate benefit is essential to slow the pace of climate change and its impacts on people and nature.

According to the new study, which focuses on Washington, the state’s natural spaces have the potential to capture up to 8.8 million metric tons of CO2 annually by midcentury, accounting for over 9 percent of the state’s net-zero goal. How much of the goal is met depends on how quickly and effectively solutions are implemented in these next few years before 2030 and continued over the following two decades.

What’s unique about the study is that it offers county-level insights into which NCS options offer the greatest potential in those counties. These insights will allow local communities and leaders across the state to identify and prioritize the most effective ways to work toward the state’s net-zero emissions goal.

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“Every effort matters when it comes to climate. Giving nature the chance to soak up and naturally store carbon is one, easily attainable way to make a difference.”

 Three big ways to better enable nature to capture and store carbon dioxide emerged in the study as having the most potential in supporting the state’s net-zero goal:

1. Deferred timber harvest—logging is delayed so that trees can grow bigger and capture and store more carbon.

2. Cropland management—the use of cover crops, no-till practices, and nutrient management in agricultural practices.

3. Avoiding forest conversion—avoiding cutting down forests for urban, suburban and/or rural development.

Not only do natural climate solutions help address the climate crisis, they also often provide many other benefits to people, communities, economies, and nature itself. These “co-benefits” are particularly relevant for communities adapting to, and persisting through, climate change. For example, improved cropland management practices could reduce the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, in turn reducing nitrates seeping into and contaminating groundwater (nitrate-contaminated water has been directly linked to high cancer rates, low fertility rates, increased water treatment costs and devaluation of property). Reduced use of those fertilizers would also benefit marine, freshwater and soil environments. And, if multiple NCS strategies are employed in combination with each other, the co-benefits are similarly amplified.

Further, the NCS strategies that offer the greatest impact largely coincide with and complement major economic sectors of given geographic regions—for example, cropland management is a key strategy with great potential in Eastern Washington, where agriculture is a major economic driver. This knowledge may support efficient, cost-effective and equitable approaches to NCS strategies.

It is important to note that while this scientific study from TNC and UW highlights tangible and very achievable ways to contribute toward the state’s net-zero emissions goal, NCS strategies won’t address our state’s climate goals alone—they must also be complemented by rapid and widespread emissions reductions in transportation, energy and industry sectors. When it comes to addressing the climate crisis, though, every bit of effort matters.

The opportunity to harness the power of nature through natural climate solutions shouldn’t be passed up. Not only can NCS strategies account for over 9 percent of Washington’s net-zero emissions goal, but this study opens routes to better understanding the long list of NCS co-benefits and complementary economic opportunities that NCS may provide. This supports and informs actions that give plenty of reason for hope in addressing the climate crisis.

Learn More About Our Work on Climate Change

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Header photo © Peter Dunwiddie / TNC

UPDATE SEPT 16: With the return of precipitation and cooler temperatures, TNC lands in Eastern Washington are now reopened for normal recreation and public access—just in time for hunting season. These lands initially closed on July 23 due to extreme fire danger. This summer, Washington faced a historic drought and record-breaking heat, and Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency. The closure included Central Cascades Forest lands on both sides of I-90 around Cle Elum and stretching south to Highway 12, the Moses Coulee/McCartney Creek, Beezley Hills preserves and other preserve lands scattered through Eastern Washington.

Visitors to Cle Elum Ridge should also be aware that specific trails and public access areas may be temporarily closed throughout the fall and winter due to forest health treatments. These treatments include prescribed burning and mechanical thinning. The Cascadia Prescribed Fire Training Exchange will be hosting the prescribed burns and more information can be found on washingtonnature.org next week. Closures will include the Rat Pac mountain bike trail, which will be closed on weekdays. For up-to-date information on these closures, please reference trail signage. For advanced planning you can contact Katie Pofahl, Eastern Washington Community Relations Manager, at katie.pofahl@tnc.org.

ORIGINAL POST JULY 21: Due to extreme fire danger and ongoing drought, The Nature Conservancy is temporarily closing all recreational and public access to lands it manages in Eastern Washington, effective July 23. This includes Central Cascades Forest lands on both sides of I-90 around Cle Elum and stretching south to Highway 12, the Moses Coulee/McCartney Creek, Beezley Hills complex of preserves, and other preserve lands scattered through Eastern Washington.

The Conservancy is following the lead of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in closing these lands. Washington is facing a historic drought and record-breaking heat, and Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency. The Red Apple Fire alone has burned more than 12,000 acres. Across our state, more than 900 fires have burned more than 140,000 acres, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz noted in announcing the DNR closure.

In addition to DNR, Umatilla National Forest and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have also closed their lands in eastern Washington to public access. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife has closed its wildlife areas to overnight use and is allowing day use only.

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Banner photo © Caleb and Ariana Babcock

Our country has an unprecedented opportunity to take coast-to-coast action against climate change, and it’s imperative we act now. This year’s budget reconciliation process is an excellent opportunity — the best chance we’ve had in decades — to act.

And we mean business. We’ve joined a dozen other nonprofit organizations in calling on corporate America to publicly support strong climate provisions in the budget reconciliation package currently under consideration in Congress.

Read the Letter

What’s at stake?

The legislation includes the most comprehensive climate proposals to be considered by Congress in over a decade, such as:

• tax credits for clean energy, manufacturing, and zero-emission vehicles

• a clean electricity payment program that moves the electric power sector to 80% clean electricity by 2030

• a fee on methane pollution

• investments in grid modernization, transmission and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure

• funding for agricultural and forestry programs that achieve carbon removal through soil conservation and reforestation on private and public lands

• significant investments in environmental justice and support for overburdened communities

The policies under consideration could help achieve the vast majority of the emissions reductions in the U.S. 2030 commitment under the Paris Agreement.

Why business?

The reconciliation bill is a broad and complex package that affects businesses in many ways. This is an essential moment for companies and investors, especially those who have made climate and equity commitments, to match those pledges with consistent actions and advocacy.

The political roadblocks to passing the ambitious federal policies we need to address the climate crisis are significant. The corporate tax provisions in the reconciliation package are leading to some opposition to the entire piece of legislation. Individual companies and their trade associations have been lobbying against the reconciliation package as a whole, including the climate provisions, threatening the success of this once-in-a-decade opportunity to advance meaningful climate action.

What can you do?

Even if you’re not a CEO, you still have a very important role: as a current or potential customer, your priorities matter to companies that want your business. Contact the business leaders you know, and the Customer Service departments of anywhere you shop, to share the letter and urge them to publicly support the climate provisions in the reconciliation package.

This is the moment — our best chance in a decade to make real progress as a country, not just on climate policy at home, but globally too, as world leaders prepare for COP26 in Glasgow this fall. Use your voice to urge the business community to speak up today.

Read and Share the Letter

Banner photo: Seattle Climate Strike on September 20, 2019 by Djordje Zlatanovic.

Fire professionals and trainees from across Washington state are planning on conducting prescribed burns in Kittitas County from Sept. 20 through October. These burns will increase the ability of fire professionals to mitigate the risk of unplanned summer fires that put nearby communities at risk of catastrophic impacts. These prescribed burns also build fire management skills for local fire practitioners.

Prescribed burns are planned in several locations in the forests surrounding the towns of Cle Elum, Roslyn and Ronald, Wash., including planned burns in the Roslyn Urban Forest, on Nature Conservancy-managed lands, and on additional private lands in parthership with local landowners.

Stay up to date with TREX information:

• Roslyn Fire Department Facebook

• Washington Prescribed Fire Council Facebook

• Subscribe to the Cascadia TREX Mailing List

• Map of TREX Burns

“This year’s cross-ownership and collaborative burns showcase what’s possible when we work together to put more good fire to use,” said Washington Prescribed Fire Council Coordinator Kara Karboski. “Fire knows no boundaries, and the solutions to our wildfire management problems will require everyone, from state agencies to private landowners, to collaborate on proven solutions like prescribed fire.”

These burns are part of a collaborative training program, the Cascadia Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX), which is designed to increase shared stewardship and learning across agencies and local landowners.

TREX offers fire practitioners an opportunity to advance their professional fire qualifications across a wide range of roles. TREX is building long-term, local prescribed fire capacity and engaging communities to build understanding of the need for increased prescribed fire to meet local objectives of reducing wildfire risk and enhancing wildlife habitat and overall to increase the resilience and health of forests.

“One of the biggest benefits of the TREX program is the various agencies and local community members building relationships for the future when wildfire does break out,” said Kittitas County Commssioner Laura Osiadacz. “It’s great to work side by side with the state Department of Natural Resources and other agencies and take our learnings back to our fire department.”

Similar TREX events take place nationwide. In Washington, they are becoming more routine as the state and its partners implement the Washington State Wildland Fire Protection 10-Year Strategic Plan and a 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan to restore the natural wildfire resilience of our forests and reduce wildfire risk. With the passage this year of House Bill 1168, which created a first-of-its-kind $125 million Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration and Community Resilience funding account, the state is looking to scale up forest health and resilience treatments and put more prescribed fire to work.

“Prescribed fire is an important tool for not only reducing the amount of vegetation available to fuel wildfires, it also creates a healthier forest for our trees and wildlife,” said State Forester George Geissler, who oversees DNR’s wildland firefighting efforts. “The TREX program is a shining example of how DNR and our partner organizations are working together to increase the number of skilled professionals to put more prescribed fire to work creating healthier and more resilient forests in Washington.”

Forest restoration and fuel reduction work has been underway in and around the Roslyn Urban Forest (RUF) over the past few years. Since 2017, burns have been conducted nearby as part of TREX, relying heavily on support from local fire departments. To date, more than 120 fire practitioners have trained as part of Cascadia TREX.  

The 2021 Fall Cascadia TREX is hosted by the Washington Prescribed Fire Council and is funded by Bureau of Land Management, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the state Department of Natural Resources. Additional support by The Nature Conservancy, Fire Learning Network, City of Roslyn and Kittitas County Fire Departments.

Cascadia TREX is supported by an agreement between the USDA Forest Service and Washington Resource Conservation & Development Council and through the Promoting Ecosystems and Fire Adapted Communities Together (PERFACT), a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and the agencies of the Department of Interior.

Learn More About Our Work in Fire Management

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The climate crisis is here and, among many things we need to change, we need to rapidly and dramatically decrease planet-warming emissions.

Worldwide, nature’s power to breathe, filter and store carbon dioxide can provide more than 1/3 of emissions reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement target, according to a pioneering study by The Nature Conservancy and partners.

Trees are one of the natural solutions available.

Trees capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) through the process of photosynthesis. By conducting a series of a chemical reactions, trees convert light energy and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar, which is then used to make wood. When trees are allowed to grow for years, they build up their storage of carbon in both aboveground biomass–leaves, stems, trunks–and below ground in roots. Together, they pull carbon out of the atmosphere and store it, all for free.

Over decades and even centuries, forests can store many million tons of carbon dioxide.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, our forests are some of the best at storing carbon dioxide and they must be managed accordingly in order to maximize their ability to store carbon dioxide.

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If you’d like to learn more about how TNC researchers have been advancing the science around the impacts of climate change, we have been actively (1) researching the impacts of climate change and the potential of (2) natural climate solutions, such as forests, to capture and store carbon.

TNC is also working with partners across this region to promote and enhance the ability of forests to store more carbon and help reduce the impacts of climate change (Washington Rainforest Renewal Project).

1 Case, Michael J., Brittany G. Johnson, Kristina J. Bartowitz, and Tara W. Hudiburg. “Forests of the future: Climate change impacts and implications for carbon storage in the Pacific Northwest, USA.” Forest Ecology and Management 482 (2021): 118886.

2 Robertson, James C., Kristina V. Randrup, Emily R. Howe, Michael J. Case, and Phillip S. Levin. “Leveraging the potential of nature to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State.” PeerJ 9 (2021): e11802.

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Learn more about our science

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