Rangeland Carbon Sequestration Program

The purpose of this award is for the grantee to pioneer a new tool that rewards ranchers for implementing sutainable grazing management practices that enhance range productivity and carbon sequestration rates.Overwhelming scientific evidence linking the build-up of greenhouse gases to global warming and the resulting negative consequences have spurred efforts to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases. Here in the United States, CCX was developed to broker voluntary yet legally binding transactions between these parties, thereby helping lower the net volume of CCX members’ greenhouse gas emissions. Rangeland has not been eligible for CCX sequestration programs in the past, but Beartooth is working with CCX to enable ranchers to generate carbon credits by taking steps to enhance the rate at which their land sequesters carbons. Beartooth is working with CCX to advance the science behind carbon sequestration on rangelands and to develop the Rangeland Carbon Sequestration Program. A panel of soil and rangeland scientists has developed sequestration rate estimates for use in the program, and Beartooth Capital’s Rangeland Carbon Sequestration Program is currently the only CCX approved aggregator in the country to have received approval to generate revenue by implementing voluntary changes in management by a working cattle operation which improved range condition and thus, decreased atmospheric CO2 levels. As a result of Beartooth and CCX’s work, ranchers across the West will soon be able to profit from the sale of the carbon credits generated by implementing grazing management practices that restore rangeland health. Our overall goal is to apply market-based economic incentives to foster environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production.