Key facts
- North Carolina's peatlands, up to 15 feet deep, are being restored to combat carbon emissions.
- Ditches dug for a past farming venture have degraded the peatlands, causing significant CO2 release.
- Pantheon Regeneration plans to rewet and replant the peatlands, selling carbon credits to fund the work.
- The project aims to preserve a million acres of peatland across several East Coast states.
- Peatlands store one-third of the Earth's carbon dioxide, more than all forests combined.
In North Carolina's Inner Banks, a race is underway to restore critical peatlands before they are irrevocably damaged by draining or development. These ancient ecosystems, some up to 15 feet deep, store vast amounts of carbon but are vulnerable when their water tables are lowered.
Decades ago, ditches dug for an abandoned farming venture drained much of the water from thousands of years of accumulated peat. This degradation not only alters native habitats but also causes the peatlands to emit approximately 130,000 tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide annually. Peatlands, though covering only 3% of the Earth's land surface, store one-third of its carbon dioxide, more than all forests combined.
Colorado-based company Pantheon Regeneration plans to reverse this damage by blocking ditches to control the water table, reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The company will also cull invasive species and replant native vegetation. This restoration effort is modeled after projects at the adjacent Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which supports threatened species and migrating birds.
What sets Pantheon's project apart is its plan to sell carbon credits to corporations seeking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. The revenue generated will fund the restoration and preservation of an ambitious one million acres of peatland across Virginia to northern Florida over the next decade, aiming for permanent conservation and rewilding.