Solutions / Forest management
Through changes in management practices of private forestlands, we quantify carbon that otherwise would be unrestricted for harvest, and account for its continued growth.
We provide landowners across the region with an alternative source of income to transition working lands from harvest into a more stable conservation state.
This project is designed under the American Carbon Registry’s Methodology for Improved Forest Management in Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands (Version 2.0; July 2022).
This methodology accounts for the commitment of the landowner to reduce or eliminate the harvesting of timber, effectively avoiding deforestation and allowing trees to sequester carbon. Our regional model boosts transparency and trust between the buyer and landowner.
We require a commitment of low or zero harvest for 40 years of the project, and apply these restrictions to the property to ensure long-term performance in the event the property changes hands.
Integrity
Enrollment in our program represents an immediate change from previous practice and a legally binding and public-facing commitment to increase carbon stocks for four decades.
Carbon projects provide a legal certainty, that wasn't there before, that the land will increase its carbon stocks over time. Additionality is one of the key terms tied to high integrity carbon projects. It means there is a high level of confidence that a project action exceeds those that would have occurred in the absence of the carbon market incentives.
ACE landowners have been thoroughly vetted and are contractually obligated for a series of requirements that meet the standard for additionality, including:
01 / regulatory surplus test
Ensure there is no existing legal obligation to restrict harvest or change harvest activity
02 / common practice test
Forest management changes and carbon modeling are based on regional timber market trends
03 / implementation barrier test
Confirm an economic, institutional, or technological barrier to implementing harvest restrictions.
