Quebec's Caisse pension plan to build portfolio of forestland in U.S. Pacific Northwest

financialpost.com:

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is launching a new investment platform through which it plans to build a portfolio of forestland in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

The public pension manager announced the partnership with Chinook Forest Partners LP on Monday.

“By investing in forestland, we are not only protecting valuable natural assets but also contributing to the transition towards a greener economy,” Emmanuel Jaclot, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) executive vice-president and head of infrastructure, said in a press release.

Jaclot said the partnership with Chinook will contribute to the preservation and sustainable management of lands in the Pacific Northwest, which is the world’s second largest forest area.

CDPQ said the deployment of capital and management of assets will be carried out by Chinook, a natural capital investment manager. CDPQ will then become a minority shareholder in Chinook.

Chinook’s team, established in 2018, specializes in natural capital and landscape investment, and includes a vast network of landowners, forest products manufacturers, external partners and natural capital investors across the U.S.

“We could not be more excited about our partnership with CDPQ,” said Chinook founding partner Kelly Droege.

CDPQ said this investment is part of its sustainable land management initiative established in 2020. The mandate seeks to deploy capital in land-focused assets.

Over the past four years, the Caisse has partnered with industry leaders in sustainable timberland, agriculture, wetlands restoration, carbon capture and species protection across the U.S. and Australia, it said.

CDPQ is not the only Canadian pension manager that has taken a stake in