PROVIDENCE – Legislation that will create a forest conservation committee in Rhode Island has been passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Daniel J. McKee.
The commission will seek new funding and identify incentives for landowners in the state to maintain their land as a forest. It will be coordinated and staffed by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
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Members will seek to assess and recommend new funding sources; identify incentives; encourage forest conservation as a means to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change; help increase and create new markets for Rhode Island forest products; assess impediments to the expansion of the state’s forest product industry; asses means to encourage the improvement and expansion of urban and community forestry; and to coordinate input from stakeholders to identify other science-based initiatives to promote the conservation of the state’s forestland.
“Especially at a time when property is so valuable, there is a lot of financial pressure on people who own forested land to sell it for development. Fortunately, many owners recognize that forests are a tremendously valuable resource that benefits all of us by providing us clean air, animal habitats and green open space,” said Rep. June S. Speakman, D-Warren, who sponsored the legislation in the House of Representatives. “We need this commission to identify ways we can help and encourage owners to preserve their woodlands, because we all benefit from forest protection.”
The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III, D-Providence, in the Senate.
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Shuman@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @CassiusShuman.
