In August, the Noble Research Institute hosted the third in-person steering committee meeting, which was focused on the advancement of the go-to-market business plan and the economic assessment of the aggregate value of ecosystem services.

The protocol development team completed their first deliverable and is on track for meeting their deadline for their second deliverable by the end of September. Debbie Reed and Rori Cowan have been working with Kieser & Associates to craft supporting materials and research to use in drafting the first version of the protocol that will be used in the pilot test phase beginning in 2019. The protocol modules for carbon, water quality and water quantity will be completed during October, and the final protocol draft will be completed by the end of the year.

Informa has shared its first pass of its economic assessment. We anticipate a report addressing the demand side by the end of September. Informa will then turn to the supply side and complete that portion of the report by the end of the year.

Bruce Knight and his team have drafted a series of policy papers on national initiatives that have the potential to be applied to producers or landowners who enroll in the Ecosystem Services Market.

Based on strong corporate interest, we have drafted participation agreements that we are sharing with those parties. We are also working diligently on formalizing collaborative relationships with many of the industry groups as interest in the Ecosystem Services Market program is growing.

A number of steering committee members were afforded the chance to share an update on the Ecosystem Services Market program in San Francisco at the Global Action Climate Summit, where it was well received.

The selection and award of the communications RFP has been delayed until the end of September. Steering committee members are currently working on scoring the submissions received.