Planting the way to a better, healthier future

Submitted Photo Steve Tochlin and Jaime Jewell, Delta Air Lines assist in the planting of more than 234,000 trees on 775 acres as part of a joint effort hosted by numerous corporations, The Conservation Fund and US Fish and Wildlife Service to help enhance wildlife habitats and fight climate change. The native forest land at Marais des Cygnes NWR on which the trees are to be planted, was dedicated to the program Tuesday.

PLEASANTON -- A group of nationwide organizations have joined forces in an effort to address two of the world's most pressing environmental challenges -- climate change and habitat loss.

About 30 people representing some of America's leading corporations joined other members of The Conservation Fund and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday to announce a plan to restore about 775 acres of forestland at the Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge near Pleasanton.

Officials planted about 234,000 new oak, hickory and pecan trees at the refuge in order to restore sensitive wildlife habitat, grow public recreation areas, and address climate change by trapping more than 230,000 tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the forest, according to Jena Thompson, the director of The Conservation Fund's Go Zero Program.

Thompson said about 20 percent of greenhouse emissions are caused by deforestation, so several corporations decided to create a partnership to raise the money needed to restore critical forestlands.

"After we measured the amount of carbon dioxide in the area, we determined the number of trees to plant to suck up the carbon dioxide," Thompson said. "It's a model for what could be done nationwide, and something we need now more than ever."

Private support for the initiative was made possible through a mix of donations from more than 30 partners, including corporations, foundations and individual donors, to the Go Zero Program.

The Go Zero Program works with individuals and companies to help reduce and then offset the effects of carbon from almost any activity, such as the electricity needed to power a laptop computer, the jet fuel used from an international airline flight, or the gasoline used by trucks during a long move.

To help trap the carbon dioxide that results from these activities, the Fund works with the FWS to identify protected natural areas where it can plant native trees that will restore ecosystems for wildlife and people alike.

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"It (the program) results in improved habitat, fewer carbon emissions, and a climate change, allowing people to connect with nature," according to FWS Mountain Prairie Region Deputy Regional Director Jay Slack. "The partnership is great, everybody is working together toward a common purpose."

One of the program's sponsors, Delta Air Lines, launched its partnership with the Fund in 2007 as part of its Force for Global Good initiative.

"Delta is committed to affecting positive environmental change on a global scale," Delta Air Lines General Manager of Marketing Jaime Jewell said in a statement. "Our partnership with the Fund has helped us continue our mission in a very visual and lasting way. Over the course of just one year, we launched the first carbon offset program offered by any U.S. carrier and raised enough funds to plant 102,000 trees; we remain committed to doing more."

The Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Refuge also benefits from customer donations made through the Dell Corporation's "Plant a Tree For Me" program. Dell also helps sponsor the Go Zero program.

Some of the Go Zero program's other participating sponsors, many of which are directly affected by environmental changes, include Allstate, Cambridge Systematics, the CarbonFund.org Foundation, Environmental Synergy, Inc., U-Haul International, and many others.

On Tuesday, the thousands of trees that will make up the newly restored forest in the Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Refuge were planted by Environmental Synergy, Inc., and will be managed by the FWS. ESI officials will monitor the forest for carbon accrual using on-site measurements over time. The project will then be verified by Environmental Resources Trust.

"We view this projects as a rewarding, win-win partnership with benefits for business, government, the public, the local ecosystem and the global climate," ESI President Carol Jordan said in a statement.

Since 2000, The Conservation Fund has restored nearly 20,000 acres of land with six million trees that are expected to capture more than 7.2 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the next century.

The 7,500-acre wildlife haven, located at 24141 Kansas Highway 52 in Pleasanton, was named after the Marais des Cygnes River, which runs through the heart of the protected landscape. Visitors may spot 30 species of mussels, 22 species of migrating warblers, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, sparrows, and other species of birds and wildlife animals.

The refuge, which was established in 1992 to restore and conserve bottomland hardwood forest, is located along a transition zone that changes from southern hardwood forest to tallgrass prairie. Today, the refuge supports a mix of wetlands, bottomland and upland forest and tallgrass prairie habitats.