Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MFRC), in partnership with the University of Minnesota Forest Resources Department, has announced the release of a MFRC commissioned report Carbon in Minnesota's Forests: Current Status and Future Opportunities. The report describes carbon and forest management relationships in Minnesota and identifies nine carbon related forest topics for future study.

“This report is a foundational piece of a larger MFRC strategic effort aimed at establishing common nomenclature, concepts, baselines, and methodologies for monitoring, evaluating, and understanding the carbon outcomes of alternative forest management and forest product development strategies,” says Eric Schenck, MFRC Executive Director. “The report also touches on carbon markets for Minnesota private land forest owners.”

According Schenck, the Council is forming an Ad Hoc Committee to further direct and prioritize follow-up work.  Schenck anticipates that MFRC will be able to make some early recommendations based on the report’s initial results while other important forest carbon topics and issues will require additional investigations.  The entire action and communication process will be stakeholder driven by the representative members serving on the MFRC.