Big Changes in land management in far northern NH

[peakbagger]

Northern NH (Pittsburg) is split into two watersheds, The former Brown Company along with Dartmouth owned the Magalloway watershed which drained the east side of NH and the Connecticut River Lumber company owned the Connecticut River watershed to the west. The CRL land went through a couple of owners before being "protected' by the state and conservation groups as a mix of high value conservation lands and lands that were to be sustainably logged. At the time, it was thought to be way of supporting the remains of the NH timber industry but turns a recent sale to of the timberlands to Bluesource Sustainable means the law of unintended consequences has come to roost. Effectively the entire area is going to turn into a carbon sequestration project for out of state interests. The towns and several sawmills depend on forestry so this pulls the rug from under their feet. The road system used by hikers and other recreationalists is maintained by forestry dollars so odd are access will be reduced.

https://indepthnh.org/2023/08/08/pa...orth-country-forestry-land-to-carbon-credits/
This is not new to region, large swaths of Vermont and blocks of Maine are also being sold into carbon sequestration projects. The tough part is that the definition and rules of carbon sequestration are not necessarily agreed upon at this point, so some programs target new growth while others target old growth. The problem is that much of the Northern NH is a spruce fir mix that goes through natural predation cycles. The trees tend to be large monocultures that mature at the relatively same time. A natural predator, the spruce budworm (that actually prefers firs) are always in the ecology but when the stands get over mature the budworm population explodes and wipes out the forest. Quebec has been in epidemic stage for a couple of years and to date it really has not hit the bordering states but the forest management approach since the last epidemic in the seventies, the goal has been to keep woods cut while the trees are still healthy to avoid them going into decline and bringing in another epidemic, which will inevitably cause a major carbon release.

 

[NHClimber]

Most initiatives like this simply trade one problem for another. Hate to be a downer but that’s what I’m increasingly seeing. So, very simplistically and with no further analysis, this sounds like another instance of the high density area population telling the low density populations that their natural resources need to be managed in a manner that atones for the massive carbon footprints created by the high density populace. Just feels that way in the very big picture. Not saying what is right or wrong. But just sayin’.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Most initiatives like this simply trade one problem for another. Hate to be a downer but that’s what I’m increasingly seeing. So, very simplistically and with no further analysis, this sounds like another instance of the high density area population telling the low density populations that their natural resources need to be managed in a manner that atones for the massive carbon footprints created by the high density populace. Just feels that way in the very big picture. Not saying what is right or wrong. But just sayin’.

Rural populations have a higher carbon footprint per capita than city populations. Just sayin'.

 

[NHClimber]

Rural populations have a higher carbon footprint per capita than city populations. Just sayin'.

Interesting if true but not sure it matters. Urban environments are a carbon wasteland. In fact, pretty sure studies demonstrate that semi-urban environments have the largest carbon footprints.

 

[Scubahhh]

Rural populations have a higher carbon footprint per capita than city populations. Just sayin'.

And the population of Coos County is about 39,000 spread out over 1800 square miles.

 

[peakbagger]

Remove the logging jobsm and support jobs and that population goes down (unless Les Otten gets his project going).

 

[John H Swanson]

One point mentioned in Bill Gates book on climate change grounded my impression of trees as a solution for carbon capture. paraphrasing here:

If you covered the entire land mass on the earth with trees, it would only offset the CO2 produced by the US.

He then says: Yes trees for capture carbon and are good and should be protected, however they are not the solution but they are part of the solution.

I assume his facts to be true. Meaning: he isn't making this stuff up.

Of course. perhaps, the NH land in question could be used for something like sub-terrain carbon injection. I did not read into it, just going with the comments of this thread.

 

[skiguy]

Of course. perhaps, the NH land in question could be used for something like sub-terrain carbon injection. I did not read into it, just going with the comments of this thread.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/11/occ...mrSajEphM5Q-UX-XM-P0Ucfo2m9jKiSOT1Qm4qJ5nJl9s

 

[peakbagger]

Biochar is a lot easier and cheaper Biochar : USDA ARS.

 

[egilbe]

The Human race will be extinct soon enough and the Earth will continue to go through its normal warming and cooling trends.

Because of all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, photosynthesis is increasing, pulling even more carbon out of the atmosphere. All the warming will melt the ice caps and the warmer waters will host plant and algae blooms that die off and create the future coal and oil fields for whatever species succeed humans.

 

[skiguy]

The Human race will be extinct soon enough and the Earth will continue to go through its normal warming and cooling trends.

Because of all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, photosynthesis is increasing, pulling even more carbon out of the atmosphere. All the warming will melt the ice caps and the warmer waters will host plant and algae blooms that die off and create the future coal and oil fields for whatever species succeed humans.

Time to upgrade The Delorean!

 

[Andrew]

An update after a response from the new landowner. They do plan to continue some cutting; a 50% reduction is mentioned. May actually be better informed forest management in the future?
https://indepthnh.org/2023/08/31/bl...maximizes-carbon-capture-on-headwaters-tract/
Everyone gets so worked up in Pittsburg sometimes, and I used to hear all kinds of wild stuff before someone just asked and waited for an answer. I used to work for a hay farmer/dealer when I was a teen growing up in CT; when all the fields were getting bought up to be developed for housing in the 1980's, there was no huge state/federal response to save my and the farmer's job. We moved to where the work was.

 

[NH2112]

Interesting if true but not sure it matters. Urban environments are a carbon wasteland. In fact, pretty sure studies demonstrate that semi-urban environments have the largest carbon footprints.

Right, who’s generating more carbon - Norway, or China? And since the power needed to run a large city almost always comes from plants in rural areas, is that being taken into consideration when calculating the per capita carbon emissions in those rural areas? What about carbon emissions due to rural areas having to produce food for the cities instead of just for themselves?