Scientists have demonstrated that carbon sequestered in coastal wetlands is significant and offers a newly recognized climate mitigation benefit. The restoration of coastal wetlands can jump-start carbon sequestration, reduce methane emissions and help governments and other entities achieve their climate change mitigation and adaptation targets. The carbon sequestered in coastal wetlands (sea grasses, mangroves and salt marshes) is commonly called "blue carbon". Massachusetts is a nationwide leader in wetland restoration having restored approximately 2,000 acres of coastal wetlands and the state's Division of Ecological Restoration, together with its partners, have thousands of acres of wetland restoration in planning and design, making it potentially a prime state for developing a blue carbon market. The presenter will explore the role of blue carbon in assisting Massachusetts meet its climate change targets and how to calculate, using the best available science, the green house gas budget (methane and carbon) for a wetland or river restoration project using the new "Blue Carbon Calculator". The "Blue Carbon Calculator" is an innovative tool developed by industry experts for estimating an important ecosystem service associated with ecological restoration.

Nick Wildman is a Restoration Specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration. As part of this work, Nick is the Division's lead on eight restoration projects across the state and serves on the Management Committee of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. Since 2010, he has co-led the Division's work examining the economic effects of restoration. Nick has a decade of private and public sector experience directing river and wetland projects in the northeast. He holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University.