One of our investments is in the Burnt Mountain Forest Project, located just shy of the Canadian border in the heart of Vermont’s Northern Green Mountains. 

This project, designed by Bluesource and carried out by The Nature Conservancy, will create an 11,000 acre block of un-fragmented forest that will be protected in perpetuity. The land involved in this project is located in a part of Vermont known as “The Northeast Kingdom” which is noted for industrial, large-scale timber management utilizing more aggressive harvesting practices. This beautiful part of the state is also known as a draw for recreational activities, and is home to important headwater streams that provide clean drinking water for around 250,000 people. 

The Burnt Mountain Project is the largest carbon offset project in the state of Vermont, and will remove an estimated 236,772 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere over the course of the first decade of operation – this represents the equivalent of taking 38,000 cars off the road. By maintaining forest CO2 stocks above the regional baseline, the project will provide significant climate benefits through carbon sequestration. This project is expected to have additional net positive impacts on water quality, the protection of a wide array of indigenous songbirds and other forest inhabitants, and as a community resource for research and education. The management of the Burnt Mountain Project under the “forever wild” easement will ensure that old growth once again exists in northeastern Vermont. 

The net proceeds from this project will go towards future forest conservation efforts in Vermont.