Family Forest Blog

AFF Fly-In Pennslyvania

August 15, 2023

Advocating for Family Forest Owners in 2023

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) hosted its first in-person legislative fly-in since 2019. Landowners came to Washington, D.C. to meet with Congressional lawmakers.

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AFF CO2 Carbon Cheat Sheet

August 8, 2023

Your Carbon Cheat Sheet: The Fundamentals

Forestry, Climate Change, Natural Climate Solutions, and the Voluntary Carbon Market is an evolving world with new best practices, scientific findings, and innovations.

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American Forest Foundation Biodiversity Black Bear

July 28, 2023

Carbon + Biodiversity – A New Opportunity for the Market

Forest carbon has increasingly become a vital piece of the climate mitigation puzzle and one vital co-benefit of forest carbon projects is biodiversity.

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ICVCM Release Through the Forest

July 27, 2023

ANALYSIS: ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles for the VCM

AFF’s Manager of Environmental Markets Calvin Tran breaks down the ICVCM's Category-level Assessment Framework as part of their Core Carbon Principles.

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Looking Upwards to Trees

July 7, 2023

The VCMI Claims Code and What It Means for Family Forests

Late last month, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) launched their Claims Code of Practice, which aims to heighten integrity of the carbon credits sold on the voluntary carbon market. The Claims Code provides companies with a rulebook on how and when to utilize carbon credits and the claims they can make following their use.

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Ferns next to a stone wall in a forest

June 5, 2023

FEATURE: Keep on Moving – Dynamic Baselines Seen Driving Accuracy in Forest Carbon Accounting

In the context of accusations of widespread over-crediting in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), one emergent accounting approach could tackle some of the challenges with auditing of forestry projects, offering real-time and dynamic monitoring of climate impact via remote sensing technologies.

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Family in the Forests (Carbon 101)

April 28, 2023

Carbon Markets 101

When we say we are selling “carbon," we’re not speaking literally. We don’t come to your property and extract a tonne of carbon, the element, put it in a box and ship it to a corporation. What we’re really selling is a claim — specifically, the claim that a tonne of carbon dioxide has been kept out of the atmosphere as a result of a specific action — in this case, a carbon program.

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Sue and TNC Forester

April 18, 2023

Defining High Integrity

“What is a high-quality carbon credit? What makes a carbon credit ‘real’ as opposed to ‘hot air?’” And, perhaps most importantly, “Why does this issue of high-quality matter to me?” So let’s dive into this topic and try to clarify what quality is and why it’s important.

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IPCC Forests Image

March 30, 2023

We Must Activate All Climate Solutions Now

Last week, the world passed a new jarring threshold. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced on March 20 that the world is on track to miss our goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next 10 years.

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Graphical depiction of pieces of land delineated by thin lines; some pieces of land have pins with check marks; some pieces of land have plain pins.

March 10, 2023

VIDEO: Our Carbon Accounting Methodology Explained

Learn more about the Family Forest Carbon Program's carbon accounting methodology that improves accuracy and transparency — and ensures our program is having a real impact.

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Close up of yellow leaves in a forest.

February 21, 2023

Unlocking Private Financing for Small Landowners in Maryland

Senior Policy Manager James McKitrick recently spoke with experts at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center about AFF's innovative use of a State Revolving Fund loan guarantee to finance climate action.

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A person in a forest facing away from the camera with their hand on a tree trunk.

February 9, 2023

The Carbon Markets Are Calling For Higher Quality Carbon Credits: America’s Family Forests Are Answering

President and CEO Rita Hite writes about the American Forest Foundation's new strategic direction and goal of working with family forest owners from all walks of life to capture and store one billion tonnes of carbon by 2050.

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Aerial view of Tim Stout's tree-filled property in Vermont.

February 9, 2023

American Forest Foundation’s New Strategic Direction Answers Calls for Higher Quality Carbon Credits

The American Forest Foundation announces its new strategic direction that will focus on unlocking the power of family forests as a climate solution while helping thousands of rural landowners care for their land and improve forest health.

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A mobile phone with the COP27 logo on it and bright lights in the background.

November 7, 2022

COP27: Advocating for America’s Family Forest Owners

AFF is attending COP27 to advocate for the substantial opportunity that new policies and commitments offer to the voluntary carbon market, nature-based solutions and American family forest owners.

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It's Official

October 27, 2022

New Approach to Forest Carbon Accounting Aims to Enhance Accuracy & Transparency

A first-of-its-kind carbon accounting methodology for Improved Forest Management (IFM), designed to provide more measurable proof of climate impact and to solve access challenges for small forest landowners, has officially been approved for use in the United States and around the world.

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