Woodland Owners Represented on Climate Council

Governor Mills has made climate change – reducing it when we can and mitigating its effects when we can’t – a priority for her Administration. With strong bi-partisan legislative support she established the Maine Climate Council and appointed policymakers and administrators to determine strategies and initiatives to help the state meet its greenhouse gas reductions and renewable energy generation targets. The Council is supported by a number of sector-specific “working groups” to review the science and wrestle with the practicalities.

Tom Doak and I were asked to represent small landowners on the Natural and Working Lands Working Group, which convened for the first time in late October. There are more than twenty members in the group, so much of the first meeting was consumed with introductions and addressing initial organizational questions. Time will tell where we collectively go with this, but it is clearly a broadly representative group of articulate and accomplished Maine citizens.

Our organization’s interests in this work is significant as forests in Maine sequester 70% of all of the state’s carbon emissions. Board member Nate Webb also sits on the working group, representing his job as Director of IF&W’s Wildlife Division. In addition, former Vice President, Tom Abello, now an aide to the governor, co-chairs the group.

The working group will meet again December 6 to develop their scope of work. To learn more about the Council visit: www.maine.gov/future/initiatives/climate/climate-council

Doug Baston serves as Board Vice President of Maine Woodland Owners. He lives in Alna.