Big news from Hawaii: Lawmakers just passed a 0.75% tax on hotel rooms, timeshares, and other short-term stays—plus an 11% tax on cruise bills. The goal? Raise $100 million for environmental protection and climate resilience. (via CNN) This story kicks off a new monthly feature in in ASLA's THE DIRT, spotlighting: • Landscape architecture projects that advance climate and biodiversity goals • Climate and biodiversity policies — from the global to local levels • Opportunities to take action • Developments among allied professions • Research and scientific studies Catch the full roundup for May: (fb)

“Land stewardship has always been important to our Tribe, and the emerging [carbon] market gives us an invaluable opportunity to continue to protect and preserve our forested tribal lands and address our children’s educational needs,” said Cyrus Ben, Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. ASLA has announced a new partnership with the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC) to offset greenhouse gas emissions from its #ASLA2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans, October 10-13. While it pursues its goal of achieving zero emissions by 2040, ASLA has committed to purchasing up to 3,750 metric tons of positive climate contributions from NICC this year. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will use the income from the offsets -- which would otherwise come from harvesting trees -- to: • Build a new 35-acre K-12 school campus • Steward a native, growing forest • Enhance biodiversity and protect habitat • Support long-term carbon storage • Create measurable climate benefits Learn more about the offsets with NICC and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians: https://bit.ly/4k3BmLi Make a contribution when you register for the ASLA Conference or through this form: https://bit.ly/4k2xREM The lead sponsor of ASLA 2025 conference carbon offsets is KOMPAN Inc Americas. Image credit: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ stickball game on their Tribal lands, Mississippi / © National Indian Carbon Coalition; New school campus under construction on Tribal lands of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi / © Stephen Taglieri, National Indian Carbon Coalition; Tribal lands of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi / © Stephen Taglieri, National Indian Carbon (fb)