Belhaven, N.C. – Investors and scientists are teaming up to restore a 23‑square‑mile (60‑square‑kilometer) tract of peatland in North Carolina’s Inner Banks. The effort, led by Colorado‑based Pantheon Regeneration, aims to raise the water table, reduce carbon‑dioxide emissions and revive native ecosystems.
Why peatlands matter
Although peatlands cover only about 3% of the planet’s land surface, they store roughly one‑third of global carbon dioxide—more than all the world’s forests combined. When intact, water‑logged conditions trap gases and allow vegetation to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Degraded peatlands, however, release large volumes of greenhouse gases, now accounting for about 6% of annual global emissions.
Decades‑old drainage threatens the site
Fifty miles (80 km) of ditches were dug decades ago for an abandoned farming venture, draining water from thousands of years of accumulated peat up to 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. The dried peat makes the area vulnerable to drought, wildfires and habitat loss, and it currently emits an estimated 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Restoration plan
Pantheon Regeneration intends to block the historic ditches, allowing water levels to rise and carbon emissions to drop dramatically. The company will also remove invasive species and replant native grasses, flowers and other vegetation.
To fund the work, Pantheon plans to sell carbon credits to technology firms and other corporations seeking to offset their own greenhouse‑gas footprints. Revenue from those sales will support a broader goal: restoring and preserving one million acres of peatland from Virginia to northern Florida over the next decade.
Broader context
North Carolina alone has roughly 11,000 miles (17,702 km) of canals that drain peatlands into coastal estuaries, making the region’s peatlands among the most threatened in the world. Restoring them can also help store fresh water, control flooding and reduce the severity of wildfires.
While boreal peatlands in Canada and Russia remain about 90% intact, temperate peatlands in the U.S. and Europe have largely been de‑watered for agriculture, mining and other uses. The Belhaven project represents a significant private‑sector step toward reversing that trend in the Southeast.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
