American Forest Foundation Statement on California Budget Passage
Washington, D.C. (June 16, 2021)—The American Forest Foundation, a national conservation organization that works to deliver conservation impact through the empowerment of family forest owners, releases the following statement in response to the California State Legislature passing the state’s 2021-2022 budget.
American Forest Foundation (AFF) President and CEO, Tom Martin said:
“Addressing the wildfire crisis in California requires a new approach to reducing wildfire risk and increasing resiliency across a patchwork of lands that are owned by a range of public and private owners. The investment in wildfire prevention and resilience that the state is making in forest health will be critical to supporting California’s 200,000 family forest owners in reducing wildfire risk on their lands. This budget will have wide-reaching benefits for the state’s economy, infrastructure, and public health and safety.
Family forest landowners manage over seven million acres of the state’s woodlands and want to implement risk reduction projects on their lands, but often lack the resources required to see a project through from start to finish. According to California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, “Significantly increasing the pace and scale of forest management across the state can only be achieved through significant contributions from small private landowners.
We applaud the state’s plan to invest $1 billion in wildfire prevention and resilience over the coming year and look forward to seeing the detailed spending proposals to be released in the coming weeks.”
Learn more about AFF’s Work to Reduce Wildfire Risk in California.
Contact: Elizabeth Greener; (202) 253-1096; egreener@forestfoundation.org
About the American Forest Foundation
The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a forest conservation organization, works exclusively to empower family forest owners to make a meaningful conservation impact around wildlife habitat, clean water, carbon sequestration and storage and sustainable wood supplies. We work across a broad coalition of conservation partners, corporations, and policymakers to empower family forest landowners and make sure everybody understands, supports and values the work of these landowners. Learn more: forestfoundation.org
Related Articles
December 16, 2025
Family Forest Carbon Program's First Ever Credits Delivered to REI Co-op
Today, REI becomes the first buyer to receive carbon credits from the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP), a high-integrity forest carbon project designed for small-acreage landowners.
December 4, 2025
Forest Carbon Project Issued First Ever Credits
Conservation organizations the American Forest Foundation (AFF) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced today the issuance of improved forest management (IFM) carbon credits to the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) from standards setter Verra under its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. This marks the first issuance of credits produced using Verra’s VM0045 improved forest management (IFM) methodology, which was co-developed by Verra, AFF, TNC, and TerraCarbon.
November 20, 2025
New Film Showcases Carbon Project’s Impact on Family Landowners and Nature
The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a national organization committed to empowering family forest owners to create meaningful conservation impact, announced today the release of a new film that tells the story of the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) and its impact on people and the planet.