Funding: USDA Conservation Innovation Grant of $ 1.2 million

Partners: EcoAsset Markets, Inc. and the University of Rhode Island

Establishing community-based markets for wildlife habitat protection and other ecological services is a promising innovation, particularly at the urban-rural fringe where residents in or near rural communities value the quality of life provided by sustaining a farmed landscape that supports wildlife.  Non-farm residents are also often willing to pay to sustain the rural character of their communities.  This project developed a market in which community residents pay farmers to adopt farming practices that enhance wildlife habitat services from fields currently in production.  Specifically, this project created a market around grassland nesting birds, targeting bobolinks and hay production on Conanicut Island in Newport County , Rhode Island .  Increasing residential and tourism development threaten this coastal landscape.  Hayfield cutting endangers bobolink-nesting habitat.  The project developed a new product that farmers can sell from hayfields to consumers willing to pay to improve nesting success of birds. Additionally, it is creating a market template for expansion to other urban-rural fringe communities and for application to other ecosystem services through the website www.natureservicesexchange.com.

Chesapeake EcoFinance Corporation

EcoAsset Markets is consulting/partnering with The Biophilia Foundation to develop a business plan and an organizational structure for the Chesapeake EcoFinance Corporation (CEFC).

CEFC implements land use restoration and conservation practices on agricultural lands to create improved farm economies that also clean the waters of the Chesapeake Bay .

CEFC is currently engaged in a pilot “proof of concept” phase (Pilot Phase) as an unincorporated entity sponsored by and fiscally housed under the Biophilia Foundation (BF). Under this pilot structure the Spencer Farm (190 acres), Chic Farm (400 acres), Mudford Farm (275 acres), Riverbend Farm (380 acres), Hutson Trails (1477 acres), Bennett Point Farm (360 acres), the Zoeter Farm (160 acres) and the Rash Farm (225 acres) have been restored and conserved.

Chipuset River Watershed EcoExchange

Funding: USDA Rhode Island Conservation Innovation Grant

The Chipuxet River Watershed is a source of water for the University of Rhode Island (URI) and the Kingston Water District (KWD).  Other than URI and KWD, there are numerous agricultural operations in the watershed that are withdrawing water for irrigation as well as domestic well withdrawals and industrial use withdrawals.  Water demands in the Chipuxet Basin are so severe that the River has been known to dry up at times.  Additionally, water quality issues exist because of nutrient loading. This undoubtedly has a profound impact on water security in Rhode Island as well as on the delivery and maintenance of ecosystem services. 

This project will determine the feasibility of applying an innovative market based approach to adjusting water withdrawals and creating incentives for water quality improvements.  It will build upon previous water usage studies, incorporate current hydrologic models, and apply EcoAsset Markets’ experience with community based environmental markets to prototype successful water/ecoservice management in the watershed. 

New England EcoServices Trust (NEST)

CLF Ventures Inc. and EcoAsset Markets Inc., with the cooperation of Clark University and The Nature Conservancy, propose a new financial vehicle for forestry & farmland conservation in New England .

The goals of the project are threefold:

We plan to develop new money flow for conservation by creating a new financial vehicle, the New England EcoServices Trust (NEST). Our ‘green bank’ will make low- or no-interest loans to farmers and forest landowners for conservation practices. It will support sustainable forestry, promote clean water, increase biodiversity through habitat improvements, and be a catalyst for a number of other important conservation practices.

Second, the Trust will support small green business development through loans and micro-investments. Economic development will occur as forest landowners and farmers earn additional income with cottage industries growing and producing traditional as well as specialty items such as witch hazel or bio-energy crops – an array of new local products and services. Farmers will be able to transition to organic farming, add small scale poultry and live stock operations, restart local slaughterhouses, and meet the high demand of specialty products.

Last, and undoubtedly the most complex, is to create an Exchange for ‘green credits’. The Exchange will trade credits for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and water quality - linking conservation practices to a regionally regulated credit marketplace. Landowners implementing conservation practices (e.g., reduction in manure runoff from farm operations) would generate credits and receive revenue from credit buyers (e.g., a town unable to reduce non-point runoff to regulated levels). This revenue would help to support the conservation and economic development activities of ‘green bank’ loan recipients, allowing funds to be returned to the bank in a self-replenishing system. Similar markets are in development in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Willamette Valley in Oregon with some success - but this project has the potential to be a national innovator through the integration of the Trust and Exchange components.