Family Forest Blog
August 13, 2025
First Improved Forest Management Methodology Designed for Family Forests Recognized by Global Body for High Integrity
Today, The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM) recognized the Verra Methodology for Improved Forest Management (IFM) Using Dynamic Matched Baselines (VM0045) with the globally-recognized Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label.
July 31, 2025
2025 Regional Inspectors and National Inspector of the Year
The American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) is pleased to announce the 2025 Regional Inspectors and National Inspector of the Year (IOTY).
July 29, 2025
What to Expect from Your Forest Management Plan
Did you know that only about 11% of forest owners have a Forest Management Plan? Programs like the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) are helping change that—making it easier for families to care for their land with confidence. By supporting more landowners in creating these plans, we’re growing a more connected community of people who are committed to the health of their woods—and the future of our forests.
July 25, 2025
Carbon Contracting Cheat Sheet: Part 1
Whether you are leaping into the brave new world of legal contracts or simply just refreshing your vocabulary, here are some common components to carbon offtake agreements and why they matter in layman’s terms.
July 18, 2025
The Journey of a Philanthropic Dollar
In this blog post, we try to demystify carbon projects and show how donors can catalyze their impact by contributing to them. These opportunities exist across many different types of carbon projects, but we will be focusing on the ones we know best – forest carbon projects.
July 3, 2025
AFF CEO Statement on Passage of Reconciliation Bill
Federal support of family forest producers, through tax provisions and conservation programs, provides some of the tools they need to strengthen local economies while improving the health and productivity of our nation’s woodlands.
July 1, 2025
Forester Spotlight: Sarah Cawood
We’re excited to highlight Sarah Cawood, a dedicated forester with the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) who brings enthusiasm, experience, and a strong commitment to conservation to her work.
June 30, 2025
Why Voluntary Carbon Markets Are a Smart Investment for Companies Tied to Forests and Water
Extreme weather events are intensifying across the U.S.—from wildfire to prolonged drought and flooding—and our forests are often at the center of these impacts. While these challenges ultimately affect everyone, certain industries increasingly face direct, material exposure to these effects—but they also have unique tools to reduce that risk.
June 12, 2025
“I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything”: An Alabama Landowner Shares the True Meaning of Forest Ownership
Nestled in the hills of central Alabama is landowner David Horsley’s off-grid sustainable cabin—where the air conditioner is powered by the sun, the showers smell like fresh rain, and his most bothersome neighbor is a very chatty Chuck-Wills-Widow bird. He can see 27 miles across from the porch where hummingbirds gather at the feeders hung on the overhang, to lakes filled with Trophy Bass and fields covered in diverse trees.
June 3, 2025
Why Wildlife Loves Loblolly—And How These Pines Can Benefit Your Land
A quiet stretch of pine trees can offer more than just scenery—it can provide vital habitat for wildlife across every season. Loblolly pine, the most common native tree species in the Southeast, plays a particularly important role in creating habitat for a wide variety of game and non-game species, from wild turkeys and rabbits to songbirds and squirrels.
May 30, 2025
FFCP By The Numbers: The Impact of 1,000 Landowners
The Family Forest Carbon Program started with a few small properties and now boasts 1,000 landowners enrolled, with a combined 143,000 acres of forests. The program’s growth has been exponential, seeing a 112% increase in enrollment over the past year. Piloted in Pennsylvania, where it now supports 237 landowners with 40,537 acres, it has made its way across 20 states with the thousandth landowner residing in Tennessee.
May 28, 2025
New Report Details Innovative Approach to Permanence for Natural Climate Solutions
The American Forest Foundation released today “A Trust for Permanence: Enabling a New Generation of Permanent Nature-Based Credits in the Voluntary Carbon Market,” a new concept paper that details an innovative approach to ensuring the quality and integrity of credits produced through natural climate solutions (NCS).
May 20, 2025
1 Mission Delivered 1,000 Ways
The Family Forest Carbon Program is celebrating the enrollment of 1,000 landowners across 19 states, providing improved forest management and reforestation practices to family forest owners and farmers who want to do right by their land, their families, and the planet. That’s 1,000 people creating healthier wildlife habitats, cleaner air and water, more biodiversity, stronger trees to withstand extreme weather, and sustainable forest products for rural economies.
May 20, 2025
In Historic First, Program Enrolls 1,000 Family Landowners in New Market Opportunity
The American Forest Foundation announced today that their Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) has reached a critical milestone, enrolling 1,000 landowners, who now have access to income through the voluntary carbon market. This is the first and only forest carbon program to enroll these many small-acreage landowners in the nation.
May 15, 2025
Statement: Committees Take First Step in Supporting Forest Landowners in Reconciliation
Today, the US House Agriculture Committee and Ways and Means Committees took the first steps in supporting the more than 21 million American family forest owners by protecting and growing voluntary conservation programs and maintaining important tax provisions.