Meyring Farm

rewarding good forest stewardship

March 2009

Mike and Brenda Meyring are the proud owners of 90 forested acres in Estill County, Kentucky. They bought the land in 1996 thinking it would serve as a great retirement property in 10 years or so. “But the more we came to visit the property, the more we fell in love with it,” says Brenda. Two years later they made the decision to relocate and make it their permanent home.

To become better stewards of their forestland, the Meyrings turned to the Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF). Mike explains, “We didn’t want to cut a lot of trees because we like the forest the way it is. We were interested in increasing the value of our forest, and we also wanted to help make our forest healthier and to provide a better habitat for wildlife, too.” KDF helped them prepare a stewardship plan and become certified tree farmers under the American Tree Farm System. The KDF also helped them conduct timber stand improvement activities as part of their certification and stewardship plan.

Through their involvement with the Kentucky Woodland Owners Association, the Meyrings learned about MACED’s Forest Opportunities Initiative (FOI), which provides new income options for private forest landowners through the trade of sequestered carbon. Since they had just completed a stewardship plan and certification, they were already on their way to meeting the core requirements for participation in the FOI. They completed a third requirement by hiring a consulting forester to do a detailed inventory of their property. Finally, the Meyrings signed a contract with MACED, agreeing to keep their lands under certified management for 15 years.

Through the FOI, the Meyrings will receive additional income rewarding them for making a long-term commitment to sustainably manage their land. They are included in the first pool of landowners from Kentucky whose carbon credits will be traded on the Chicago Climate Exchange.

“The FOI supports landowners who manage their land sustainably, and also provides an economic incentive to practice sustainable forestry for landowners who have not yet taken steps to properly manage their forests,” says MACED President Justin Maxson. “The FOI increases the economic value of our forests and protects one of the largest sources of carbon sinks in the nation while providing a new revenue source for private landowners.”

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