Conservation Incentives

Conservation Incentives (CI) works with partners to promote and develop incentives and market-based solutions for family forest owners to sustainably manage their lands by conserving and enhancing a multitude of ecosystem services.

Over 10 million family forest owners hold 262 million acres in the United States. Development and land use change on these lands is occurring at an alarming rate. The best means of combating these pressures and advancing conservation on private lands is through voluntary efforts. However, many family forest owners interested in managing for ecosystem services and declining wildlife species often lack the necessary resources and have concerns regarding regulations and lack of future management options. 
 
Market-based conservation initiatives and regulatory assurances provide effective incentives for active forest management in the form of financial and technical assistance to encourage family forest owners to sustainably manage their forests. In addition to wood products, actively-managed forests provide important ecosystem services such as species habitat, water quality and quantity, and carbon sequestration.  
 
Until recently these ecosystem services were not properly valued, creating a system that benefited the public, but cost the providers — family forest owners. CI works to promote conservation incentives and develop and implement markets, such as conservation mitigation banks, habitat credit trading systems and water trading markets. These market-based tools have proven to be effective, enabling landowners to become better stewards of their lands while realizing new income opportunities. Innovative conservation incentives will turn private forests into an even greater asset, encouraging sustainable forestry, and combating biodiversity loss, fragmentation and land use change.

Development of these markets would not be possible without working in partnership with state and federal resource agencies, non-profit organizations, landowner associations, military installations, family forest owners, and other stakeholders. Through collaboration, CI works to raise the level of demand for ecosystem services and increase the awareness of the benefits of active forest management for conservation-reliant species and water quality. Through landowner outreach, demonstration projects and market development, CI will promote models that properly compensate family forest owners who offset the unplanned impacts of development and military projects.

For examples of 2008 Conservation Incentive projects, please click here.