AUGUSTA – Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District will host a “Marketing Carbon Credits for Agriculture and Forestry” meeting from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at City Hall.

Space is limited and preregistration is required. There is a $15 advance registration fee due before Wednesday, June 10; $20 after that up to Tuesday, June 16.

R. Neil Sampson, speaker, is technical adviser to the National Carbon Offset Coalition (NCOC), a career conservationist, private consultant and author/editor of numerous publications.

Sampson serves as an affiliate professor in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Idaho and a research associate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

The NCOC, comprised of seven Montana resource conservation and development councils and a nonprofit watershed group, is an aggregator of carbon credits.

The goal is to promote resource conservation while assisting in the development of economic opportunities for landowners.

The NCOC is seeking local affiliate members and/or a sub-aggregator.

Sampson will be available to discuss what that entails with interested individuals and organizations after the meeting, which will be a comprehensive overview of the carbon markets.

Sampson’s attendance has been funded by a Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Speaker Fund grant. The registration fee will provide a coffee break and lunch.

For more information, contact Susan Gammon at AVSWCD, 753-9400, ext. 404, or [email protected].