Pledge by American Forests
Reforest America
Total Trees Pledged: 100,000,000Supporting actions: Nursery Development, Data and Technological Tools, Science and Technical Assistance, Tree Protection through Management, Workforce Development, Conservation Finance,
American Forests is – and has been for nearly 145 years – the leader in creating healthy and resilient forests across the United States so people and wildlife can thrive. And, while we may be the oldest national conservation organization, our work today is more important than ever. Since 1990 alone, we have planted nearly 60 million trees in forest restoration projects in all 50 states. These projects recover hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, safeguard vital watersheds, absorb millions of tons of greenhouse gases and protect some of the most stunning landscapes in America. Across North America, millions of acres of native forests have been lost or degraded by disasters like wildfires, pests, and disease, as well as actions like mining, development, and widespread clearing for unsustainable practices.
Implementation Partners (2020)
US Forest Service (Specific long-term partnerships listed below)
Eldorado National Forest, US Forest Service
Hoosier National Forest, US Forest Service
Sierra National Forest, US Forest Service
Lincoln National Forest, US Forest Service
Rio Grande National Forest, US Forest Service
Custer-Gallatin National Forest, US Forest Service
Flathead National Forest, US Forest Service
US Fish and Wildlife Service (Specific long-term partnerships listed below)
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge
US Bureau of Land Management (Specific long-term partnerships listed below)
Redding (California) Field Office
State and Local Partners
Butte County (California) Resource Conservation District
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Essex Region (Ontario) Conservation District
Florida Forest Service
Missouri Department of Conservation
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Friends of the Wildlife Corridor (Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX)
La Cruz Habitat Protection Project (Mexico)
Michigan DNR Wildlife Division
Mojave Desert (California) Resource Conservation District
Simcoe County Forestry Department (Ontario)
Washington Department of Natural Resources
Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada
Financial Supporters
Bank of America Foundation
Salesforce
Travelers Insurance
Timberland
FrontRunner Professional
Eddie Bauer
Microsoft
LightStream
American Tower Corporation
Clif Bar
Trees: 100,000,000
Trees: 80,000,000
Trees: 5,000,000
Trees: 1,000,000
Trees: 14,500
Nursery Development: American Forests will partner with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and members of the Thornforest Conservation Partnership to develop new nursery capacity to support reforestation goals in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. This includes providing funding and technical assistance to support the collection of native seed. Over the next 10 years, we will also support seed collection efforts in Northern California, Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.
Data and Technology: American Forests will develop a series of tools to support targeted reforestation across the country and in our priority landscapes. This work includes hosting a nation-wide reforestation opportunities mapper with The Nature Conservancy; Forest Carbon Map with the Trust for Public Land; producing priority restoration actions in the Southern Sierra Nevada with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy; implementing a targeted restoration plan in the Lower Rio Grande Valley with the Thornforest Conservation Partnership; and implementing a core area National Whitebark Pine Restoration Plan with the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, US Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and other partners.
Science and Technical Assistance: To support our Reforest America pledge and the goals of 1t.org, American Forests is leading a number of supportive efforts. These include assessing nursery capacity and opportunities to scale up with the Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources network (RNGR) and The Nature Conservancy, analysis of reforestation costs across the United States with The Nature Conservancy, advancing research on activities that protect and increase forest soil carbon with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and University of Michigan, providing climate informed forestry planning and workshops for land managers with NIACS, and testing novel watershed forestry practices with the University of Vermont Extension and Vermont Watershed Forestry Partnership.
Tree Protection Management: American Forests is collaborating with the US Forest Service and other partners to improve forest health of whitebark pine forest communities across the western United States. Actions include planting white pine blister rust resistant seedlings, installing pheromone packs to discourage mountain pine beetles, and removing competing vegetation to reduce competition for genetically important “plus” trees.
Workforce Development: American Forests will expand its Career Pathways initiative to build new sector partnerships aimed to increase reforestation and forestry employment in under-resourced rural communities. This includes helping advance the Sierra Corps in California with the Sierra Nevada Alliance and other partners.
Conservation Finance: American Forests is working with partners to increase the inclusion of reforestation projects in existing voluntary carbon registries using new protocols and tools.
To meet the challenges posed by climate change, American Forests will implement our Reforest American pledge with the latest science on climate informed forestry. This includes experimenting with planting designs, species mixes, site preparation actions, etc. All of our actions will include planting the right tree in the right place as well as in ecologically appropriate locations. American Forests works with partners that provide long-term stewardship and monitoring capacity.
30,807,244 MT CO2e