The Nature Conservancy, maine

Climate Change Challenge: direct effects on species

Grant Award: $77,000; Year Awarded: 2015

Within the most heavily forested state in the nation, Maine’s north woods form the core of the Northern Appalachians, the largest intact temperate forest in the northern hemisphere. Decades of opportunistic logging has significantly altered tree species composition and forest structure across millions of acres in Maine. At the same time, stored carbon has been reduced to half of the natural capacity of the forest. The Conservancy will plant native red spruce, white pine, and cedar seedlings to enrich habitat on 500 acres of degraded mixed-wood stands as part of their St. John forest project.