The rich, alluvial soils of the Mississippi River Valley have made it the country’s most fertile agricultural region. While the valley was covered in 25 million acres of forestland until World War II — providing a habitat for cougars, black bear, bison, red fox and of course, waterfowl — industrial farming has led to widespread deforestation and today the forestland has dwindled to just five million acres.
Deforestation not only means loss of wildlife habitat, it is also a major contributor to climate change. When forests are cut down, the CO2 they store is released into the atmosphere. Which means that maintaining and restoring healthy forests is key to combating the effects of carbon emissions.
Sustainable Travel International has teamed up with United Airlines to allow passengers to offset their carbon emissions, and for Earth Month the airline is offsetting the emissions for all passengers flying on board their United’s Eco-Skies 737-900ER aircraft.
The funds generated from the Earth Month offset program will support the GreenTrees’ Advanced Carbon Restored Ecosystem (ACRE) project in the Mississippi River Valley. The long term goal of ACRE is to plant one million acres of cottonwood and other native hardwood species over the next 40 years.