The Role of Trees in Global Warming

By wpdev December 7, 2009

The New York Times did a recent story on the possibility of using the trees of the Deschutes National Forest as living storage mechanisms to offset our nation’s carbon footprint. Specifically, the article focuses on the Forest’s Three Sisters Rangers District, where Wilderness Ventures has been leading teen summer adventures for the past 37 years.

From Last Week’s Article in The Times:

The giant evergreens of the West have long been proclaimed essential, whether the cause was saving salmon and spotted owls or small towns and their sawmills. Now, with evidence showing that American forests store 15 percent or more of the carbon gases produced in the nation, expectations are growing for them to do even more.

As the premiere wilderness adventure program for teenagers (and the only teen adventure camp with access to the beloved Three Sisters Wilderness), we recognize that we have a responsibility to educate our students about the breathtakingly beautiful settings (we call them our Last Best Places) that our wilderness adventures visit.

One of our primary goals is to teach respect for wild lands. Our teen adventure camp participants learn that outdoor admiration by living and having fun in the outdoors. We believe in making positive associations with wild lands — by having fun in a safe manner in the most breathtaking settings on the planet. Our exclusive permits allow us to bring our teen wilderness adventures into 30 of the most desirable outdoor locations in North America; many of these (including the Three Sisters Wilderness, Grand Teton National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness) are inaccessible to other teen adventure programs.

To learn more about our ecological and social contributions, please visit wildernessventures.com/givingback