The Carbon Credit Trap: 92,000 Acres Locked Up While Price C

The Carbon Credit Trap: 92,000 Acres Locked Up While Price County Families Lose Their Homes

In December 2021, Price County locked 92,000 acres of forest into a carbon credit contract. As of 2023, no payments had been received. Meanwhile, the county is foreclosing on tax-delinquent properties. The math does not work in residents’ favor.Read more Price County stories from across the web.

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Here is the contradiction at the heart of Price County’s finances: the same county government that signed away development rights on 92,000 acres of county forest land to a carbon credit company is also pursuing tax foreclosures against families who cannot pay their property taxes.

The carbon credit contract, executed in December

The carbon credit contract, executed in December 2021 with Bluesource (now Anew Climate), was supposed to generate revenue for the county by selling carbon offsets on the voluntary carbon market. The idea is straightforward in principle: Price County agrees to manage its forest land in ways that sequester more carbon than business-as-usual practices, and a carbon credit company sells the resulting offsets to corporations looking to offset their emissions.

But as of June 2023, no payments had been received by the county from this contract, ing by My Northern Wisconsin. The contract terms, including payment schedules, exit provisions, and revenue-sharing arrangements, have not been publicly disclosed by the county.

Meanwhile, the county’s In Rem foreclosure process continues on schedule.

How the Foreclosure Process Works

Price County’s own website explains the timeline plainly: when property taxes go unpaid for two years from the date a Tax Certificate is issued, the Tax Deed/In Rem Foreclosure process begins with a publication in the local newspaper in April. Title searches start six months after publication. All fees get added to the unpaid taxes.

The most recent Amended Verified Petition and List of Tax Liens, filed onApril 20, 2026, covers delinquent 2022 taxes. This is not a historical document. This is happening right now.

The county website also flags a specific risk: the USPS postmark issue. If a payment is mailed on time but the postmark is late or missing, the county treats it as delinquent. For families on the financial edge, a postal delay can be the difference between keeping their home and losing it.

The Carbon Contract Problem

Carbon credit contracts for forest land work through a mechanism called “additionality.” The county must demonstrate that its forest management practices under the contract sequester more carbon than would have occurred without the contract. In practice, this means committing to longer harvest rotations, reduced harvesting, or other management changes that reduce the timber revenue the county forest normally generates.

For a county like Price, where forestry is both a significant economic driver and a core part of county revenue, locking 92,000 acres into a contract that restricts timber harvests has real economic consequences. Those consequences fall on the community that depends on forest industry jobs, logging contracts, and the county services funded by timber revenue.

And then there is the question of what the county gave up. Carbon credit contracts typically run 20 to 40 years. During that period, the land is committed. If market conditions change, if the carbon market collapses, or if the county needs to access those forest resources for economic development, the contract may not allow it without significant financial penalties.

What Jason Hastings Said

Former District 5 Supervisor Jason Hastings, in his April 22, 2026 resignation letter, specifically called out the carbon credit deal as one of the reasons he was leaving. He described it as a “fantasy world carbon credit financial entanglement” and an “unjustified financial maneuver” that relocated tax dollars to projects with “no accountability or benefit” to residents.

Hastings’ characterization is blunt, but the underlying question is legitimate: what has the carbon contract actually delivered for Price County residents, and what has it cost them?

The Foreclosure Numbers

The U.T.A.V. Proposal to the May 19 County Board meeting referenced “nearly 60 families” facing tax foreclosure. This figure needs verification against county tax records, but the April 20, 2026 filing of the Amended Verified Petition confirms that the foreclosure process is active and current.

Each tax foreclosure is a family or individual who fell behind on property taxes. In a county where median household income trails the state average, where seasonal employment creates income volatility, and where property tax burdens can be significant relative to income, the margin between current and delinquent is thin.

The Policy Collision

Here is where the two issues connect: if the carbon credit contract had generated the revenue it was supposed to, could some of that revenue have been used to reduce property tax burdens or create programs to help delinquent taxpayers avoid foreclosure? If the county’s forest assets are locked up in a contract that is not producing revenue, does that constrain the county’s fiscal flexibility to address the foreclosure problem?

These are not hypothetical questions. They are the questions that Hastings raised, that U.T.A.V. Raised, and that the County Board will face on May 19 when U.T.A.V.’s proposal is on the agenda.

What the Carbon Market Looks Like Now

The voluntary carbon credit market has been under significant scrutiny since 2021. Multiple investigations by Bloomberg, The Guardian, and other outlets have found that a substantial portion of forest carbon offsets are effectively worthless because the additionality claims are unverifiable or exaggerated. The science of measuring forest carbon sequestration is imprecise, and the verification systems have been criticized as inadequate.

If Price County’s contract with Bluesource/Anew is based on additionality claims that cannot be independently verified, the county may have committed 92,000 acres of forest land for revenue that never materializes, while the restrictions on timber harvest remain in effect regardless.

What Needs to Happen

1.Full public disclosure of the carbon credit contract terms.Price County residents have a right to know what was agreed to, what the payment schedule is, what the exit provisions are, and what restrictions have been placed on county forest management.

2.An independent audit of additionality claims.Before the county commits more land or extends the contract, the carbon sequestration claims should be verified by an independent third party, not just the carbon credit company selling the offsets.

3.A comparison of lost timber revenue versus carbon credit income.If the county is restricting timber harvests on 92,000 acres, the lost timber revenue should be calculated and compared against actual carbon credit payments received. The net fiscal impact may be negative.

4.Foreclosure prevention tied to carbon contract revenue.If and when carbon credit payments do arrive, a portion should be dedicated to property tax relief or foreclosure prevention programs.

5.Board discussion on May 19.The County Board should use the U.T.A.V. Agenda item as an opportunity to have a transparent, on-the-record discussion about the carbon contract’s performance and the foreclosure crisis.

The Bottom Line

A county that locks up 92,000 acres of public forest land in a carbon credit contract that has produced zero revenue while simultaneously foreclosing on tax-delinquent properties has a fiscal priority problem. The residents losing their homes are not abstract statistics. They are the same people whose county government committed their forest assets to a market that has not delivered.

The carbon contract needs sunlight. The foreclosure numbers need context. And the County Board needs to explain how both can exist at the same time in the same county.

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This article is part of an ongoing investigative series by Northwoods Explorer covering Price County governance, transparency, and accountability. Related coverage:The Hastings Resignation,Carbon Credits, Brownfields, and Foreclosures,U.T.A.V. Proposal Analysis.

Sources: Price County official website (co.price.wi.us), My Northern Wisconsin, U.T.A.V. Proposal documents, Bloomberg and The Guardian investigations into voluntary carbon markets, Price County Amended Verified Petition filed April 20, 2026, Jason Hastings resignation letter (public document).

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Related Coverage

This investigation connects to our ongoing series:

Last updated: May 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

What are carbon credits and how do they work in Wisconsin?

Carbon credits are tradable certificates representing one metric ton of CO2 reduced or removed from the atmosphere. In Wisconsin, landowners can sell carbon credits by committing to preserve forests that absorb CO2, though these agreements can restrict land use for decades or longer.

How do carbon credit programs affect rural counties like Price County?

Carbon credit programs can provide income to landowners who preserve forest land, but they can restrict public access, reduce taxable property, and limit economic development. Long-term commitments — often 40 to 100 years — raise concerns about community control over local land resources.

Can carbon credit agreements be reversed?

Most carbon credit agreements include long-term or permanent conservation easements that are extremely difficult to reverse. Landowners considering these programs should carefully review terms, understand the restrictions on future land use, and consult legal counsel before committing forest land.

How much Wisconsin forest land is in carbon credit programs?

As of 2026, tens of thousands of acres of Wisconsin forest land have been enrolled in carbon credit programs, with more under consideration. The trend has accelerated as carbon markets grow and landowners seek additional revenue from standing timber rather than harvesting it.

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