Focus on the Massachusetts Special Study Commission on Financing Forest Conservation

1. Focus on the Massachusetts Special Study Commission on Financing Forest Conservation James N. Levitt Director, Program on Conservation Innovation at the Harvard Forest Fellow, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy LTA Rally 2010, Hartford, Connecticut October 4, 2010

2. The Special Study Commission on Financing Forest Conservation was created by the Massachusetts legislature • Will meet in 4th Quarter of 2010 • Will prepare recommendations for the administration, the legislature and the conservation community • Already generating interest in other states, and among potential philanthropic supporters

3. A recently completed study commissioned by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust will serve as our springboard

5. The Commission will focus on aggregation, mitigation and complementarystrategies • Aggregation: generates a supply of relatively small parcels that can be aggregated into a larger package for funding, stewardship • Mitigation: a new generation of mitigation practice puts emphasis on strategic coordination with wildlife action and other statewide plans, and stresses contiguity and corridors, enhancing resiliency in the age of climate change • Complementary strategies include using state clean water revolving fund, facilitating low impact conservation development, encouraging forest-based economies and enterprises, and exploring the use of “optimization” techniques

6. Thank you. Questions?