MARIN CARBON PROJECT

The Marin Carbon Project is an ongoing effort led by a non-profit organization to organize farmers and provide tools to farm carbon first, and graze rangeland second. Marin County, located just north of San Francisco, includes hills, coastal bluffs and interior valleys, all of which have degraded, non-prime soils and a lack of reliable water supplies. The soil quality prevented the introduction of intensive annual agriculture, and instead the grasslands have been used as rangeland, primarily for cattle ranchers. The Marin Carbon Project uses intensive land use planning and mapping through a process of research, demonstration and implementation across the county. The project is a consortium of independent agricultural institutions in Marin County, with partners from across California and the United States, including research institutions. On each participating farm and ranch, the project begins with an inventory of natural resources, and focuses on increasing the capacity of the farm to capture and storm carbon as soil organic matter within the soil, and in permanent vegetation, like perennial plants and standing woody biomass. The project's methodology emphasizes the use of compost to build soil and sequester carbon, as well as intensive, rotational grazing. Throughout the development of the Marin Carbon Project, a number of tools and templates have been developed that are publicly available, as well as scientific reports. While the project does not engage in policy development or advocacy, its partner organizations rely on its scientific contributions to advance programs and policies at the local, regional and state levels. 2013 - ongoing
91605 acres
1893 feet above sea level