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Formed in the mid-1990s, UtiliTree Carbon Company's goal is to sequester carbon dioxide through tree planting, forest preservation and innovative forest management. Kansas City Power & Light is one of the 41 utilities that comprise UtiliTree. Along with the other members, KCPL contributes funds for UtiliTree-sponsored rain forest preservation and other habitat restoration projects. UtiliTree sponsors several projects both in the United States and abroad. For example, UtiliTree sponsored a reduced-impact logging project in Malaysia that taught local workers to log an area of forest without destroying trees unsuitable for harvest. UtiliTree taught reduced-impact logging practices that allow workers to build roads and cut vines without destroying the surrounding forest. Already, reduced-impact logging techniques have been used on 2,500 acres of Malaysian forest. Another UtiliTree project focused on preserving rain forests in Belize. The Rio Bravo project, a private conservation effort, and Nature Conservancy will acquire 14,400 acres of rain forest as an addition to its 120,000-acre holding. Rio Bravo will also establish a sustainable forestry management program for the entire area. Ecotourism, protection of Mayan cultural sites and better regional employment also will result from this effort. In addition, planting efforts are under way in the Mississippi River lowlands in Louisiana, which will result in the reforestation of 1,000 acres of hardwood forest on public land. This forested land had been cleared for farming, but the crops failed due to seasonal flooding. This bottomland should be forested to take the best advantage of its natural state.
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