Northwest US receives $30m to innovate economic, social and environmental change

5 November 2009

The US Treasury has selected Ecotrust to allocate $30m in federal tax credits to innovative initiatives that create economic, social and environmental benefit in the Northwest’s rural and disadvantaged communities.

Ecotrust will aim to help finance the purchase and long-term management of forests by entities who wish to further the public benefits. Second, Ecotrust will assist tribes in repatriating former tribal forestlands and to implement long-term management plans that improve forest health and provide economic benefits to the tribe. Third, the company will help finance the start up or expansion of wood pellet, biomass and other facilities that create economic opportunities and provide a market for waste wood, logging slash, and other materials.

Through an affiliate, Ecotrust will make investments in businesses in the forest products sector and employ management practices that emphasise both job creation and long-term ecological restoration.

The $30m in tax credits to the Northwest is part of $5bn allocated across the country to stimulate investment in communities suffering from poverty and unemployment. $1.5bn of these funds is said to come from the 2009 stimulus package. Historically, these credits are applied to urban areas, making awards for rural community development especially significant.

Ron Wyden, Senator, Oregon, said, ‘This access to capital will not only help jump start new investments, it will help breathe life into the struggling construction trades and help create family-wage jobs for Oregonians.’

Based in Portland, Oregon, Ecotrust claims to have converted $60m in grants into more than $300m in capital for local people, businesses and organisations from Alaska to California. Their notable accomplishments include co-founding the world’s first environmental bank and starting the world’s first ecosystem investment fund.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: policy

This story was published on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 6:39 pm and is filed under North America, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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