Red River Pilot Project - Carbon Accretion and Riparian Benefits (CARB)

The Red River Valley and associated tributaries has experienced substantial deforestation over the past 100 years as commercial agricultural operations expanded across the region. As a result, ACEP easements are prevalent across the 4-states region; however, our group project aims to connect various private lands, including marginal farmland, ranches, existing and new afforestation project areas to existing native bottomland timber. These conservation corridors will protect, enhance or restore resilient bottomland timber stands. The project design creates an opportunity to collaborate with USDA-NRCS to assess, improve and promote additional mixed native hardwood plantations within and adjacent to tracts enrolled in various USDA-ACEPs. New afforestation project activities will transform marginal farmland and other degraded working lands into sustainable forests over time with Carbon Rho's project team guiding landowners, including those in USDA-ACEP, through afforestation activities. The Project's cobenefits include improvements to water quality, soil erosion control, recreation, and aesthetics and other intangible riparian benefits not quantified in baseline study. It also upholds and advances 5 sustainable development goals: GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; GOAL 13: Climate Action; GOAL 14: Life Below Water; GOAL 15: Life on Land; and GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions.