Senate Bill 1534 would establish a state policy of increasing carbon sequestration in natural and working lands and waters and require the State Department of Forestry, the State Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and the Department of Land Conservation and Development to monitor progress implementing state carbon sequestration policies. SB 1534 defines “natural and working lands and waters” broadly to include, among other uses, land used for forest product operations, ranching, farming, and outdoor recreation. The directive of SB 1534 is for governmental entities to encourage monitoring activities on natural and working lands and develop a carbon sequestration inventory for these lands and waters.

The inventory is to be derived from field-based data developed using methods similar to those used for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas and sinks inventory. Once developed, Oregon’s inventory would be updated every other year and set forth in a report to the Oregon Global Warming Commission.