Bringing Wetlands to Market: Expanding Blue Carbon Implementation - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

Blue carbon storage – carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands – can help coastal managers and policymakers achieve broader wetlands management, restoration, and conservation goals, in part by securing payment for carbon credits. Despite considerable interest in bringing wetland restoration projects to market, the transaction costs related to quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon storage in restored marsh has been a significant limiting factor to realizing these projects. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve has been at the forefront of blue carbon research and end user engagement. Building on the efforts of a previous project, Bringing Wetlands to Market in Massachusetts, this project developed a verified and generalized model that can be used across New England and the mid-Atlantic East Coast to assess and predict greenhouse gas fluxes and potential wetland carbon across a wide

environmental gradient using a small set of readily available data. Using this model, the project conducted a first-of-its-kind market feasibility assessment for the Herring River Restoration Project, one of the largest potential wetland restoration projects in New England. The project team developed targeted tools and education programs for coastal managers, decision makers, and teachers. These efforts have built an understanding of blue carbon and the capacity to integrate blue carbon considerations into restoration and management decisions.

Blue carbon storage-carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands-can help coastal managers and policymakers achieve broader wetlands management, restoration, and conservation goals, in part by securing payment for carbon credits. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve has been at the forefront of blue carbon research, working with end users to provide the information and tools needed to bring blue carbon projects to the carbon market. While end users are becoming more interested in the opportunities that carbon markets present, they are limited by uncertainties, particularly the potential transaction costs associated with bringing a wetland restoration project to market. End users have suggested that using models that incorporate readily available data such as temperature, vegetation type, and salinity may greatly reduce transaction costs.

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James Rassman

Stewardship Coordinator

Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

131 Waquoit Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536

Phone: 508-457-0495

Email: james.rassman@state.ma.us

Tonna-Marie Surgeon Rogers

Manager and Coastal Training Program Coordinator

Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Phone: Phone: 508-457-0495

Email: tonna-marie.surgeon-rogers@mass.gov