The health of forests and their owners are directly connected, an insight that has generated an innovative Oregon program to increase forest carbon.
The program is the Forest Health Human Health Initiative, put together by Catherine Mater of Pinchot Institute for Conservation.
Mater looked at studies indicating that one of the most likely reasons family forest owners would sell their land is to pay for health care expenses of aging family members. So she devised a plan through which forest owners can sell the carbon accumulation of their forests into carbon emissions offset systems. In return, money is deposited in accounts to pay the health care of owners.