Carbon Credits Available

As the world takes action to prevent global climate change, the market for carbon offset credits has been established. Wonder Earth Partners of Southern Oregon have altered our management strategy and now wish to offer our carbon to this emerging marketplace. The original plan had cordoned the land into 50-acre homesteads, but the new philosophy is to maintain the entire property as a carbon sink. Calculations are in progress to determine the quantity of carbon offset in metric tons.

One 40-acre segment, known as Wonder Earth, will be an old growth domain. Individuals that care about the preservation of nature will be able to sponsor a tree into perpetuity. Roughly, 70 acres of prime Fir/Pine timberland will have its harvest rotation extended from 30 years to 40 years. Numerous large Madrone and White Oak scattered on the land will remain standing, as sustainable forestry techniques is used to create the Safe Harbor Wildlife Refuge. The land features six man-made ponds and a road system designed to allow access for fire suppression and timber harvest with a minimum of land disturbance. All trimmed slash will remain on the ground to provide habitat and to increase the soil organic carbon content. A 15-mule team roams the property reducing the grass and brush to manageable levels. To purchase these carbon assets, please contact John Garbini at

In addition, our management team is available to support sustainable timberland management and to provide second or third party verification for your own carbon accounting. If you plan to keep independent lands available for carbon sequestration, to provide natural sufficiency in food, water and habitat, please contact Dr. Leonard J. Schussel @ lenny@howdt.com

Carbon Management - Why bother?

Land stewardship involves managing portions of land outside of equilibrium in order to relieve pressure from other areas of land. By dedicating a portion of the landscape to production of high value product, other areas can be left fallow to make more fertile for future occupation.

The carbon cycle works best when each amount of carbon released into the cycle is replenished by the same amount of carbon being removed from the cycle. These values can be calculated from existing information. For instance, a 10.0 gram cigarette releases 11.7 grams carbon dioxide equivalents (40% by CH2O x 44/12 to convert to CO2 x 80% (20% filter weight)).

Good land management practice takes into account the net carbon flux on the landscape and attempts to increase the amount of carbon sequestered (stored) on the landscape. In a global sense, all the carbon is involved in the cycle, and the intermediates involved in change in the process are more important than the stored ends of the cycle - CO2 and CxHx+2 or CH2O.
The latter two describe fossil fuels and plant materials. The former is 85-88% carbon, the latter 40%, to a first approximation.

At the moment, there is no big stick that requires the players to play the game. However, the game is well played in the water arena with wetlands mitigation and wetlands banking. If we take the process that connects water buyers and water sellers to create no net loss of water, then we can apply the same exact system, as the first ones out there when the carbon system does come into the spotlight.

So what do we need to happen? First, we need to establish the current baseline. How much carbon do we have? Our methods, planting empress trees and developing organic grasses for organic cattle product both bank more carbon than they consume by a wide amount. Our soil fertility management, relying on ‘rare earth products’ developed in the Wonder Earth Soils and soils byproduct systems (cattle waste management as compost) also enhances landscape carbon production. Building upland satellite controlled gated ponds that release water in series to keep fish habitat in water supply through the dry summer months also benefits net carbon production (stronger fish run). All the new carbon produced by land management is additionality - the key ingredient that corporations pay to mitigate. If you store 3 tons of carbon in an empress tree, the mechanism pays you for that carbon.

Since there is a mechanism for wetlands using existing CSP rewards, let’s look at our land and see what we qualify for with existing agriculture conservation programs. We can get the local NRCS guy and a few others out for a tour and show them some empress trees in action. (Today, I will take some preliminary measurements and photographs and also do a quick measure of Edie’s pair, our year zero trees.) By going through CSP and Dept. of Ag, we may need to tie up property in a conservation easement. We should define the terms of such an easement now, and see that when planting Empress under a 50 year, 5 harvest contract, (less than 12 yrs to ensure agriforest tax benefits) that at least 75% of the projected carbon value based on growth is the ‘management guarentee’.
hope not hype

Safe harbors are a new form of conservation.

Wonder Earth - we show the grass roots how to blossom

Our focus is on results, not rhetoric

Our goals are purchase, protection and restoration of land. We hope to make commerce and conservation work together

Wonder Earth - so that our legacy will be one that we can have pride in.