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Other Forest and Environment Resources

Other Forest and Environment Resources

Key Points



References

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/humble-plant-could-save-world-100000135.html


Peat bogs hold 5X the carbon per acre compared to forest - Canada has the most















Key Concepts

 

forests-who-owns-them-2025



Maine Forests and Outdoor Economy

Potential Value Opportunities


Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT)

Our mission is to advance the conservation of lands and waters in Maine to ensure ecological wellbeing and foster thriving communities. 

Since 1970, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) has helped conserve over 180,000 acres and 337 islands, including over 160 places open to the public offering over 100 miles of hiking trails.

We’ve partnered with individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities to conserve iconic islands, critical wildlife habitat, coastal watersheds, water access sites, downtown greenspaces, and epic places for people to explore.

Our priorities are mitigating the impacts of climate change on the coast, protecting vulnerable plants and animals, expanding access to the coast, and serving Maine’s coastal communities and network of over 80 land trusts.

 

Maine Land Trust Network

what is the maine land trust network? what does it do? how does it operate? how is it funded? what has it accomplished? what are it's next goals? where is there more information on it?

 

The Maine Land Trust Network (MLTN) is a central support and coordination hub for Maine’s land conservation community. [1]

It is not a standalone land trust that buys land itself; rather, it is a coalition and service bureau that empowers over 80 individual land trusts across the state to work more effectively. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

What It Is & How It Operates

  • Structure: MLTN is a program of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT). While it serves the entire state, it operates under the administrative umbrella of MCHT. [1, 6]

  • Leadership: It is guided by a Steering Committee representing up to 25 member land trusts. This committee sets priorities to ensure the network meets the needs of both large, staffed organizations and smaller, all-volunteer trusts. [1, 6, 7]

  • Function: It acts as a "trade association" for land conservation, facilitating collaboration so trusts don't have to operate in isolation. [1, 6, 8]

What It Does

The network's primary mission is to build the capacity of its members through: [9]

  • Training & Education: It hosts the annual Maine Land Conservation Conference, a key event for training staff and volunteers in legal, technical, and community engagement skills. [10]

  • Resources & Information: It serves as a clearinghouse for technical bulletins, legal templates, and policy updates, ensuring trusts follow best practices. [1, 11]

  • Advocacy: It coordinates a unified voice for conservation policy in Augusta, such as advocating for the Land for Maine's Future (LMF) program. [5, 12]

  • Grant Administration: It manages regranting programs to distribute funds to local trusts for capacity building and projects. [6, 13, 14, 15]

How It Is Funded

MLTN is primarily funded as a program of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, meaning it relies on MCHT's fundraising infrastructure (donations, grants, and endowment income). [1, 6, 16, 17]

  • Specific Grants: It also secures outside funding to pass through to its members. For example, it administers the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program and partners with the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation for capacity-building grants. [13, 16]

Accomplishments

Through its support of the state's 80+ land trusts, MLTN has helped facilitate a massive conservation footprint: [3]

  • Conserved Land: Network members have collectively conserved over 2.93 million acres, which is nearly 15% of Maine's total land area.

  • Public Access: These lands host over 2,500 miles of hiking trails and hundreds of water access points.

  • Legislative Wins: MLTN played a key role in securing dedicated, ongoing state funding for the Land for Maine's Future program in 2026, ensuring long-term financial support for conservation. [5, 6, 18]

Next Goals & Future Focus

According to recent reports and pilot programs, MLTN's forward-looking priorities include:

  • Organizational Health: In 2026, it is piloting a new Organizational Assessment and Capacity Support Program to help land trusts audit their operations and become more sustainable. [19, 20]

  • Climate Resilience: A major focus is helping communities adapt to climate change, using conserved lands to mitigate storm damage and protect biodiversity. [11]

  • Justice & Equity: Through funding partners like Momentum Conservation, there is an increasing emphasis on centering justice and equity in conservation work. [21]

Where to Find More Information

  • Official Website: www.mltn.org (The primary source for member directories, job boards, and technical documents).

  • Member Directory: You can find a specific land trust near you using their Land Trust Map. [7]

If you are looking to volunteer or protect your own land, the best first step is usually to find the specific local land trust that covers your town via the MLTN directory.

 

[1] https://www.mltn.org

[2] https://downeast.com

[3] https://www.mltn.org

[4] https://www.mcht.org

[5] https://www.mltn.org

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org

[7] https://www.mltn.org

[8] https://www.mltn.org

[9] https://grokipedia.com

[10] https://www.mltn.org

[11] https://www.mltn.org

[12] https://www.mcht.org

[13] https://www.mltn.org

[14] https://grokipedia.com

[15] https://www.mltn.org

[16] https://www.mcht.org

[17] https://www.mltn.org

[18] https://www.mltn.org

[19] https://www.mltn.org

[20] https://www.mltn.org

[21] https://www.mltn.org

 

Maine's Environmental Protection uses wood-rot fungi mycelium to break down PFAS

Facebook link

The "forever chemical" met something older.

PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are the most stubborn pollutants humans have invented. They don't break down in sunlight, water, soil, or human bodies. They accumulate in blood, in liver tissue, in groundwater, and they stay there for decades. Maine's farm soils were contaminated by sludge spreading, firefighting foam, and industrial discharge. The state had thousands of acres where PFAS levels exceeded safety thresholds, and conventional remediation was a joke. You can't filter what doesn't degrade. You can't dig up what has already spread through the soil profile.

Maine's Department of Environmental Protection funded a project using wood-rot fungi mycelium to biologically break down PFAS. The mechanism is enzymatic. White-rot fungi — species like Phanerochaete chrysosporium — evolved to decompose lignin, one of the most complex and resistant organic polymers on Earth. Their enzymes, called laccases and peroxidases, cleave carbon-fluorine bonds that other organisms can't touch. The mycelium in this photo, spreading through mulch in a contaminated Aroostook County field, is literally digesting PFAS molecules and converting them into harmless byproducts.

The turkey in the background, foraging in the mist, is the proof. Before the mycelium treatment, this soil was too contaminated for agricultural use. Wildlife avoided it. The fungi broke down the PFAS over 18 months of managed treatment, and the soil now tests below detection thresholds for the most common PFAS variants. The turkey doesn't know about enzymatic degradation. It just knows the ground is safe to scratch again.

The second-order effect is agricultural. Maine's dairy industry was devastated by PFAS contamination in feed crops grown on sludge-amended soils. Farmers faced bankruptcy, herd culling, and permanent land loss. The mycelium treatment offers a path to recovery. It's not fast — it takes one to two growing seasons — but it's permanent. The fungi don't just bind PFAS. They destroy it. And the byproduct is improved soil structure, increased organic matter, and restored microbial diversity.

Other states are watching because Maine proved that the oldest technology on Earth — fungal decomposition — might be the only one capable of undoing our newest mistake.

 

 



Savimbo - Fair Trade Forest and Carbon Credits

We’re a social enterprise, created by, and for, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to access climate markets directly.

image-20250710-183419.png

“…putting a financial value on Forest Preservation”

 

Butler Parklands

With a belief in the transformative impact of spending time outdoors, Butler Parklands was founded in 2005 to promote aerobic recreation, encourage meaningful connections to the outdoors, and create passionate stewards of the natural world.

Across its eight parks, Butler Parklands illuminates the rich natural and cultural history of each setting, and thoughtfully designs low impact, high caliber infrastructure. From New York, Maine and South Carolina, to Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, Butler Parklands builds and operates parks in partnership with local organizations. Together they preserve stunning landscapes and enable more Americans to experience the awe of nature’s power.

 

NCX, the Natural Capital Exchange

Discover your land’s potential for carbon.wildlife.water.timber.solar energy.recreation.carbon.

NCX helps private forest landowners track threats, discover opportunities, and make management decisions with confidence. Sign up today to start achieving your vision for your land.

https://ncx.com/learning-hub/

https://ncx.com/forest-carbon-guide/

https://ncx.com/timber-guide/

https://ncx.com/tree-planting-programs-guide/

 

Landgate

Landgate - NCX land market.pdf


LandGate® Mission
LandGate®’s mission is to digitize U.S. energy & infrastructure, providing the best data, analytics, and online marketplace in order to accelerate development and lower investment costs

LandGate® Vision
LandGate’s vision is to digitize the world’s energy & infrastructure and merge it with real estate (The New Real Estate)

 

 

Ocean Farming - Many Benefits

 

Benefits of Ocean Farming

  • preserves forests rather than clearing for land farms helping the environment, wildlife

  • provides sustainable food production in smaller ocean areas with higher yields

  • kelp farms generate food but remove tons of carbon automatically

 

Kelp farming off Norway coasts

 

Forest farming. models

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17aZsPWET2/

image-20251121-141147.png

 

graphic (from Permaculture Education) breaks down four powerful systems that work with nature, not against it. This isn't just a nice idea; it's a tested, proven, and highly effective set of practices called Agroforestry.

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems. The result? A system that is more profitable, more resilient, and far better for the planet.

Let's break down what's in the image:

  1. Silvopastoral

What it is: Just like the image shows, this is a combination of trees, forage (pasture plants), and livestock (like sheep, cattle, or chickens) all in one space.

Why it works (Real-World Info):

Animal Welfare: Trees provide shade, which is critical. Studies show that shade can reduce heat stress in cattle, leading to better weight gain and milk production. It also provides shelter from wind and rain.

Better Forage: The microclimate created by the trees can help pasture grasses stay green and nutritious longer into a dry season.

Extra Income: The trees themselves can be a source of income (e.g., nuts, fruit, or high-value timber), and some trees (like locusts or mulberries) provide high-protein "tree fodder" that fattens livestock for free.

 

  1. Silvoarable (or Alley Cropping)

What it is: The image shows this perfectly—planting rows of crops (like wheat, corn, or vegetables) in the "alleys" between widely-spaced rows of trees. (The image calls it "Silvorable," but the common term is Silvoarable!).

Why it works (Real-World Info):

Free Fertilizer: If you plant nitrogen-fixing trees (like black locust or alder), they literally pull nitrogen from the air and put it in the soil, reducing fertilizer costs for the crops.

Pest Control: The tree rows act as a "habitat highway" for beneficial insects, spiders, and birds that prey on crop pests.

Protects Crops: The trees act as a windbreak, which stops soil from blowing away (erosion) and protects delicate crops from wind damage, leading to more stable yields.

 

  1. Forest Farming

What it is: This is the practice of growing high-value, shade-tolerant crops under an existing forest canopy. You aren't clearing the forest; you're using it.

Why it works (Real-World Info):

High-Value Niche Crops: This is a proven market. Think of things like gourmet shiitake mushrooms grown on logs, valuable medicinal herbs like ginseng and goldenseal, or wild foods like ramps (wild leeks).

Conservation & Profit: It allows a landowner to earn an income from their forest while keeping it intact. This makes conservation economically viable.

 

  1. Food Forests (or Forest Gardens)

What it is: This is a designed ecosystem that mimics the layers of a natural forest, but everything is useful for people. It's the ultimate edible landscape.

Why it works (Real-World Info):

It's a complete system: You have 7+ layers!

Tall Canopy: Chestnut, Walnut

Low Tree: Apple, Pear, Plum

Shrub Layer: Blueberries, Currants

Herbaceous: Comfrey, Mints, Perennial Veggies

Groundcover: Strawberries, Creeping Thyme

Rhizosphere: Potatoes, Sunchokes

Vines: Grapes, Kiwis

Self-Sustaining: After a few years of establishment, these systems largely take care of themselves. The plants work together to build soil, attract pollinators, and shade out weeds. It's a massive amount of food production for minimal long-term labor.

Why does this matter?

Because modern monoculture (endless fields of one crop) is fragile. It's dependent on massive amounts of chemicals, fuel, and water, and it destroys soil.

These agroforestry systems are tested and proven to:

Fight Climate Change: They pull huge amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and store it in trees and, most importantly, deep in the healthy soil.

Build Topsoil: They reverse erosion and create rich, fertile, living soil.

Protect Water: The deep roots prevent chemical runoff and help recharge groundwater.

Create Resilience: They are far more resistant to drought, floods, and pests.

Boost Biodiversity: They become a thriving habitat for pollinators, birds, and wildlife.

Be More Profitable: By diversifying income (nuts, fruit, timber, animals, AND crops), farmers are no longer at the mercy of one single crop price.

This is smart, resilient, and regenerative farming. This is the future

 

 

Potential Challenges

Candidate Solutions



Recommended Next Steps



Step-by-step guide for Example



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