Focus Areas Working Lands Working Forests

Working Forests

Working forests are essential to our future, yet experts anticipate losing as many as 13 million acres in the coming decades.

1,047,805
acres of forests secured
$862M
generated in annual economic impact
2,447
miles of rivers and streams protected
256M
metric tons of CO2e stored

Advancing Working Forests

The ongoing loss of forestland has far-reaching implications to climate, our communities, water quality, recreation and wildlife that call forests home. The Conservation Fund is the leading organization in America working to address this challenge, taking action to sustain America’s vast network of working forests and the environmental benefit and economic vitality that they represent.

Every year, private landowners sell hundreds of thousands of acres of forests, often through auction. Once they are sold, these forests are broken up into smaller and smaller pieces – never again will they resemble the vast canopied spaces that once defined our landscapes. When we lose large intact forests, we lose their environmental benefits as well as their ability to support local timber-based economies.

There is a Solution

By acting quickly through our Working Forests initiative when forestland becomes available, TCF can purchase these at-risk forests and create permanent protections that prevent them from being broken up or developed in the future.

Our model is simple and effective. We buy forests of high conservation value, manage them sustainably, then secure public and private funding to permanently protect them. We resell these forests back to the private market, forever protected as working forests. Using this model, we have protected more than 1 million acres of working forests in 21 states, with a total annual economic contribution of more than $850 million. These forests sustain an estimated 10,000 American jobs and store more than 250 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Goal: Protect 5 Million Acres of Forest

  • Generate $5 billion in economic impact
  • Protect 6,500 miles of rivers and streams
  • Avoid forest loss that would be as damaging as burning over a trillion pounds of coal

Our Approach

  • Identify and buy at-risk private forests
  • Restore habitat and wildlife while sustainably harvesting timber
  • Secure a permanent conservation easement
  • Resell the permanently protected forest to a private or public buyer

More Projects

Project

Protecting Forests, Climate and Jobs in ...

Deep River Woods in Washington provides environmental benefits and economic vitality. That’s why we helped protect ...

Project

Protecting Minnesota’s Heritage Forest

We’re protecting tens of thousands of acres of working forests, supporting Minnesota’s long tradition of timber productio...

Project

Conserving Ten Mile River Forest in New ...

Our solution allows the Boy Scouts of America to continue using the land in keeping with its charitable mission — all whi...

Project

Protecting Forests, Climate and Jobs in ...

Deep River Woods in Washington provides environmental benefits and economic vitality. That’s why we helped protect ...

Project

Conserving Ten Mile River Forest in New ...

Our solution allows the Boy Scouts of America to continue using the land in keeping with its charitable mission — all whi...

Project

Protecting Minnesota’s Heritage Forest

We’re protecting tens of thousands of acres of working forests, supporting Minnesota’s long tradition of timber productio...
See more

North Coast Forests

Since 2004, we have been sustainably managing over 74,000 acres along California’s North Coasts. We use sound environmental strategy and economics, including a “light touch” harvest regimen, sales of carbon offsets and a supply of local jobs.

Learn more

Forest Certification

Third-party forest certification is a critical component of sustainable forest management. When we own properties for more than one year we seek independent certification.

Program Staff

Brian Dangler
Senior Vice President
Lindsay White
Senior Land Protection Specialist
Kevin Harnish
Director, WFF Analysis and Carbon Development
See all Working Forests staff

Latest News & Insights

Insights | June 17, 2024

A Look at 4 of Our Spring Projects

Join us for a tour through a few of the special places where our hardworking conservation experts have sprung into action...

Insights | May 15, 2024

Tackling the Greatest Challenge in Land ...

For the past decade, The Conservation Fund has pioneered an effective and financially sustainable model to ensure at-risk...

Insights | May 7, 2024

Conserving Critical Amphibian Habitat

Amphibian species are declining at an alarming rate. Frogs, toads, salamanders and newts share an acute susceptibility to...

Insights | June 17, 2024

A Look at 4 of Our Spring Projects

Join us for a tour through a few of the special places where our hardworking conservation experts have sprung into action...

Insights | May 7, 2024

Conserving Critical Amphibian Habitat

Amphibian species are declining at an alarming rate. Frogs, toads, salamanders and newts share an acute susceptibility to...

Insights | May 15, 2024

Tackling the Greatest Challenge in Land ...

For the past decade, The Conservation Fund has pioneered an effective and financially sustainable model to ensure at-risk...
More News & Insights

Photo credits (from top of page): Carl Heilman II, Jay Brittain, Carl Heilman, Jay Brittain, Ian Shive, Ivan LaBianca, Chad Rileu, Jay Brittain

Make a Difference

Help protect America's priceless natural landscapes and ensure that we have healthy environments, places to work and play, and real economic opportunity.

Donate Today
Close up of white fungi