Forest Carbon Projects

Compliance Forest Carbon Projects

Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC®) owns and operates two Compliance Forest Carbon Projects developed under the guidelines set forth by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The Hollow Tree (2015) and Greenwood Creek (2016) Carbon Projects span a total of 28,927 acres of Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C031337) certified coastal Douglas-fir and redwood forest. These projects have verified and registered over 1.3 million credits. 

Project in the works: The Albion Carbon Project will cover approximately 27,000 acres of FSC® certified coastal redwood forests and is expected to generate about 1.8 million credits during its initial reporting period.

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Hollow Tree Project

• Improved Forest Management 
• 20,300 ac
• Compliance Carbon Market | Climate Action Reserve

About the Project

This improved forest management project is located in the coastal region of Mendocino County, California and spans on 20,300 acres of FSC® certified Douglas-fir and coastal redwood forests. The project grows over 7.7 million board feet of Douglas-fir and 4.1 million board feet of coastal redwood species. On average, the project stores over 290 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per acre and annually sequesters approximately 4.2 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per acre. This project has reported 1.2 million credits since its commencement in 2015. Click Here to see the Project Documentation.

Project monitoring

Our management efforts have led to improving and increasing the coastal redwood and Douglas-fir forests within the project area.

Timeline

2015	• Project commencement on June 13
2016	• First full on-site verification by third-party verifier (SCS Global)
2019	• Registered and credits issued for first 3 reporting periods by ARB
2021	• Revised, verified (SCS Global) and approved (ARB) new Inventory Methodology • Full-site inventory complete
2022	• Less-intensive Verification for reporting periods 4 - 6 (in progress) • Second full on-site Verification to commence (scheduled)

 

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Greenwood Creek

• Improved Forest Management 
• 8,627 ac
• Compliance Carbon Market | Climate Action Reserve

About the Project

Greenwood Creek is an improved forest management project located in the coastal region of Mendocino County, California. The project covers 8,659 acres of FSC® certified coastal redwood and Douglas-fir forests. The project grows over 2.9 million board feet of coastal redwood and 2.6 million board feet of Douglas-fir species. On average, the project stores over 275 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per acre and annually sequesters approximately 4.3 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per acre. This project has reported nearly half a million credits since its commencement in 2015. Click Here to see the Project Documentation.

Project Monitoring

Our management efforts have led to improving and increasing the coastal redwood and Douglas-fir forests within the project area.

Timeline

2015	• Project commencement on June 4
2017	• First full on-site verification by third-party verfier (SCS Global) • Registered and credits issued for first 3 reporting periods by ARB
2021	• Revised, verified (SCS Global) and approved (ARB) new Inventory Methodology
2022	• Full site inventory to commence (scheduled) • Less-intensive Verification for reporting periods 2-6 (scheduled)

 

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Albion Carbon Project (In the Works)

• Improved Forest Management 
• 27,000 ac

About the Project

The Albion Carbon Project is an improved forest management project that will cover approximately 27,000 acres of FSC® certified coastal redwood and Douglas-fir forests within Mendocino County, California. The project grows over 22.7 million board feet of coastal redwood and 9.5 million board feet of Douglas-fir species. On average, the project is estimated to store approximately 350 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per acre.

Project Development Timeline

2021	• Project area identification
2022	• Full site inventory ongoing • Register project  • Baseline modeling

 

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Co-benefits

Our carbon projects capture the magnificent coastal redwood species that thrive along the Pacific coast, from Big Sur to Oregon. Within the carbon project areas, our old growth policy protects over 180 individual trees that have been sited. Our largest old growth tree on the property, a 163 inch redwood, has been recorded within the Hollow Tree Carbon Project area. Old growth groves provide critical habitat for the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, both classified as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. These redwood forests also provide habitat for the threatened species like Chinook salmon and Steelhead trout as well as the endangered Coho salmon.

The proposed Albion Carbon Project area includes MRC's first conservation easement; a "forever wild" protection of 90 acres of mature redwood forest. The project will also include 138 acres of Pygmy forest; a rare ecosystem that features miniature trees and provides habitat for small species of wildlife like rodents and lizards. MRC classifies and protects these areas as high conservation value forest.

 

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Watershed Restoration

All three carbon project areas have undergone extensive restoration work since 1998. Within the total project’s area, over 260,000 cubic yards of sediment has been removed or stabilized, 180 miles of roads upgraded or decommissioned, 850 stream crossings upgraded, and over 4.3 miles of stream habitat opened for fish migration. In addition, 12 instream habitat restoration projects have been completed, with one ongoing project, and two projects that are already funded within these areas.