100,000. That’s the variety of acres, unfold throughout 19 states, stewarded by greater than 750 household forest homeowners, that at the moment are enrolled within the Household Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) and actively collaborating within the struggle in opposition to local weather change.
That’s 100,000 acres being managed or reforested to enhance the long-term well being, productiveness, worth and ecosystem advantages of our nation’s woodlands. That’s 100,000 acres with 20- and 30-year commitments to this stewardship from tons of of households. That’s greater than 750 household forest homeowners who now have entry to greater than $24 million in direct incentives whereas additionally having technical forestry help most have by no means had earlier than.
FFCP has reached this unimaginable milestone on account of high-impact partnerships, iterative science and accounting, tireless efforts of the AFF group and the relentless dedication of household forest homeowners to caring for his or her lands. On this journey to 100,000, the American Forest Basis continues to study what it takes to implement and scale a high-integrity forest carbon challenge, enhance the well being and productiveness of our forests and broaden market entry to rural landowners from all walks of life.
Meet Landowners The place They Are
A central factor of FFCP’s success is our dedication to environmental integrity and social integrity, guaranteeing the impression we’ve is all the time a internet optimistic for the communities with which we companion. Catering to every landowner’s distinctive forest, guaranteeing FFCP is the fitting match for every landowner, and sharing the advantages of our collective success is baked into FFCP’s design.
Common landowner funds, forester capability, technical information sharing and help and ongoing help past enrolled landowners’ contracts all assist increase rural economies, improve the worth of the forest, and guarantee an actual local weather impression of our program’s intervention as we develop. We are able to’t struggle local weather change with out listening to and assembly the wants of the communities the place we work.
When a landowner enrolls in FFCP, AFF foresters survey the property and accommodate any degree of landowner forestry expertise, permitting them to benefit from new alternatives whereas making educated selections about their land. Our foresters map the forest, file plant and wildlife species, measure tree well being and maturity and use these components to get an correct grasp of the land’s situation. From there, foresters collaborate with enrolled landowners to craft a Forest Administration Plan. For a majority of FFCP enrollees (60%) that is their first ever administration plan.
Photograph credit score: Drew Bennett, offered by the American Forest Basis
“FFCP is a core factor of my pressing objective to protect our forests and mitigate local weather change so my grandchildren (and their technology) can take pleasure in this farm and the remainder of Vermont the way in which that our household has loved them over the past 80 years.”
–Tim Stout, Jockey Hill Farm, Vermont Landowner
Science Drives Integrity
We’ve additionally realized that the newest science should drive measurable and verifiable impression in local weather mitigation. In an rising market just like the voluntary carbon market, it’s important to base our challenge on the very best science and carbon accounting accessible to make sure we are able to confirm our local weather impression.
The most effective carbon accounting means utilizing a non-predictive dynamic baseline methodology. Working with companions, AFF co-developed a primary of its form methodology accepted by way of the Verified Carbon Customary (VCS). Utilizing this modern methodology, we are able to examine forests enrolled in FFCP to neighboring unenrolled forests frequently to precisely isolate how a lot extra carbon is sequestered by FFCP’s interventions. Our dedication ensures further diligence on the permanence of our credit and helps us additionally mitigate leakage.
Landowners, credit score consumers and different stakeholders wish to belief that their funding is making a significant contribution to the local weather, and our dynamic baseline methodology helps make sure the Household Forest Carbon Program makes an actual, extra impression within the struggle in opposition to local weather change.
What’s Subsequent for FFCP
We have now realized a lot on our path to enrolling the primary 100,000 acres in FFCP and we proceed to study extra. AFF’s job is to make the planet higher in collaboration with household forest homeowners, and we’re actively preventing local weather change alongside our conservation heroes— household forest homeowners—who’re working on daily basis to higher the setting.
Need to study extra concerning the Household Forest Carbon Program? Go to familyforestcarbon.org.
