Astoria City Council on Monday approved two contracts aimed at managing the Bear Creek watershed and advancing a city forest carbon project.

City Manager Spence told the council the Springboard Forestry contract follows the watershed's annual operating plan and covers three principal parts of forest stewardship, including strategic timber harvest, a forest road inventory and assistance on a proposed carbon project. "The contract for you is 68,500," Spence said during the meeting.

The council also approved a separate $70,000 contract with L and C Carbon to plan and manage a 2025 reverification of the city's voluntary forest carbon project. The reverification will include an updated forest inventory, site visits and a monitoring report required by the American Carbon Registry program. Spence said prior credit sales generated net proceeds of about $837,000; staff estimated a new inventory could confirm roughly 40,000 additional credits, producing an estimated $400,000 to $600,000 in net revenue.

Jeff Harrington, Astoria public works director, joined staff to answer technical and budget questions. Ben Hayes, the city's contracted forester, described the balance between timber sales and carbon revenue: "the timber sales generate considerably more revenue," Hayes said, explaining that timber monetizes a portion of annual growth at a higher dollar value than carbon credits under current market conditions.

Councilors moved the items without extended debate. Councilor Davis moved to authorize the Springboard Forestry contract; Councilor Mozzarella seconded the motion, which carried. Councilor Lum moved to approve the L and C Carbon contract, seconded by Councilor Adams; that motion also passed.

City staff said the L and C Carbon contract will support biometrics and project development, and that two additional contracts for verification services and field data collection will return to council after procurement. Councilors and staff noted the carbon revenue would be used to build reserves for future watershed projects and ongoing forest management.

The contracts are intended to continue the city's long-running stewardship of Bear Creek, preserve drinking-water quality and potentially provide non-tax revenue through carbon credits to fund future watershed initiatives.