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Wyden, Smith announce $50 million in tax credits
for Ecotrust
to develop sustainable forest management projects
in rural communities
May 11, 2005
Portland, OR — U.S. Senators
Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith today announced that Ecotrust, a Portland-based
non-profit organization focused on sustainable economic growth
in the Northwest, has been awarded $50 million in federal tax
credits to invest in sustainable forest management projects in
rural communities under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program.
The awards were officially announced this morning.
“Ecotrust’s experience
shows that ecological forest management can create sustainable,
environmentally sound jobs in rural, timber-dependent communities,”
Wyden said. “These tax credits will enable Ecotrust to develop
long-term forest management programs with economic and environmental
benefits for rural communities in Oregon and throughout the West
Coast.”
“Tax relief can help organizations
achieve the common good,” said Smith. “Oregonians
understand the value of our environmental treasures, and the need
for increased economic opportunity. These tax credits service
both.”
Ecotrust will receive $50 million
in tax credits to make investments in businesses in the forest
products sector employing management practices that emphasize
both strong job creation for economically marginalized rural communities
and long-term ecological restoration. Its investments will focus
on rural communities that are suffering from long-term unemployment
higher than the statewide average.
These investments will allow
degraded forest lands with significant habitat value to be purchased,
restored, and put in long-term harvest rotations. Investments
will be repaid through timber harvests, non-timber forest products,
and a variety of ecosystem services, including carbon storage.
Restoration of degraded lands will also result in an increase
in land value as well as an increase in the inventory of merchantable
timber.
“New Market Tax Credits
are perfect mechanisms to stimulate private investments in triple
bottom line initiatives designed to improve social, economic and
environmental conditions,” said Spencer B. Beebe, President
of Ecotrust. “We were delighted to have bipartisan support
from representatives across the region; this is good news for
all of us, particularly rural communities in the Pacific Northwest”
The New Markets Tax Credit Program
is administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury and promotes
investment in low-income communities. Wyden and Smith have actively
supported Oregon’s awardees throughout the application and
award process which began in 2001.