Family Forest Carbon Program first U.S. small-acreage landowner carbon project to enroll 100,000 acres and more than 750 small landowners

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 22, 2024) – This week, the American Forest Foundation, a nonprofit organization that empowers family forest owners to create meaningful conservation impact, announced its enrollment of 100,000 acres in the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP), the first of its kind to achieve this milestone.

Since 2019, FFCP has worked with small-acreage landowners across the country to provide technical and financial support to implement climate-smart forest management practices, improving the health and wellbeing of our country’s woodlands. The Program has now partnered with 750 landowners across 19 states to grow healthier forests. At the completion of these 20- and 30-year contracts, 1.9 million verified carbon credits will have been produced, the equivalent of removing over 440,000 gas-powered vehicles from the road for one year.

“Family forest owners are an often overlooked but essential key to caring for our country’s forests, communities, and the planet,” said Rita Hite, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation. “This milestone is a clear indication of both these landowners’ commitment to sustainably stewarding the largest portion of U.S. forests, as well as the potential of the voluntary carbon market to bring investment to support climate action while improving the health and productivity of our woodlands and rural American economies.”

FFCP learned early on the importance of public-private partnerships to reach more landowners and de-risk and incentivize private investment in the voluntary carbon market. The program was piloted in central Pennsylvania in tandem with a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – an investment that grew on a national scale, producing innovative approaches that allow landowners improved access to the voluntary carbon market. These types of partnerships also expanded USDA’s impact, providing additional ways for forest owners to offset the cost of sustainable management.

“Partners such as the American Forest Foundation help expand the reach of conservation to the many acres of privately owned forestland in the U.S.,” said Robert Bonnie, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “It’s encouraging to see the impact that this is already having on rural communities as we continue to build markets that can sequester carbon and improve forest health across the landscape.”

U.S. forests and forest products currently offset 15% of the country’s annual carbon emissions, and studies suggest this could be doubled with the right actions. The voluntary carbon market is one of the most viable financial mechanisms to scale natural climate solutions. Through the Family Forest Carbon Program, AFF empowers small-holding landowners to implement sustainable, climate-smart forestry practices by unlocking access to the voluntary carbon market to maximize the climate impact of nature-based solutions and help the planet.

Since its inception, FFCP has:

• Expanded eligibility across 19 states in the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions of the United States

• Co-developed a first-of-its-kind non-predictive dynamic baseline carbon accounting methodology to ensure the program’s highest integrity and maximize climate impact

• Launched the American Forest Foundation Carbon Auction — the first of its kind for a U.S. nature-based carbon project — that will offer buyers a transparent and streamlined way to secure high-quality carbon credits while supporting rural communities and family forest owners

• Launched Fields and Forests, a landmark reforestation project within FFCP that help Southeast small landowners to grow native trees on unproductive croplands and diversify their farm income

• Received more than $65 million in funding from the USDA to develop and expand climate-smart forestry practices for family forest owners from all walks of life

Read more about the Program’s success and learnings on our journey to 100,000 acres enrolled in our latest blog post.

For more information about the Family Forest Carbon Program, please visit www.familyforestcarbon.org.

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About The American Forest Foundation

The American Forest Foundation is a national conservation organization that empowers family forest owners to make meaningful conservation impact. The organization’s flagship program, the Family Forest Carbon Program, helps landowners implement forest management practices to protect the health of their woodlands and help the planet. To learn more about the American Forest Foundation and the Family Forest Carbon Program, visit www.familyforestcarbon.org.