PowerTree Carbon Company
In April 2004, Cleco joined a diverse group of public, private and non-profit organizations in launching an initiative to address the climate change issue, restore critical wildlife habitat, improve water quality and reduce flooding all by planting trees. The national announcement of PowerTree Carbon Company LLC, a consortium of 25 U.S. power generators, was made in Alexandria and coordinated by Cleco. This new company is an initiative to plant trees in critical habitats in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Members have committed more than $3 million to establish six bottomland, hardwood reforestation projects in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. These projects will remove from the atmosphere and store more than 2 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the projects' 100-year lifetime. PowerTree Carbon Company will create new forests on what is currently marginal agricultural land, thus restoring natural ecosystems while reducing fertilizer inputs on waters and stabilizing soils. In addition, these projects have an important environmental significance by restoring habitat for a vast variety of wildlife, including migratory birds and waterfowl species, threatened and endangered species like the least tern and Louisiana black bear, as well as resident species like turkey and deer. Several projects will involve purchasing land that will be donated to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The other projects involve easements for tree planting on private land. Partners, locations and acreage are:
- Old South Woodlands LLC, Walsh Lake, Catahoula Parish, La., 500 acres
- The Conservation Fund, Spanish Lake, Red River National Wildlife Refuge, La., 825 acres
- Central Arkansas Resources Conservation and Development Council, White River, Arkansas Delta, 1,100 acres
- The Nature Conservancy, Bayou Pierre, La., 500 acres
- Ducks Unlimited, Bayou Bartholomew near White River National Wildlife Refuge, Ark., 400 acres under negotiation
- The Carbon Fund, 200 acres under negotiation
Collaborating organizations include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wild Turkey Federation, Black Bear Conservation Committee, Ducks Unlimited, Winrock International and Environmental Synergy, Inc.
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