For Foresters
Foresters & FCW Conserve
Forest Carbon Works (FCW) values the work consulting foresters do for their clients and the expertise they have in their regions. We encourage foresters to work with us to ensure that our carbon program, Forest Carbon Works Conserve, is a good fit for their clients and helps facilitate the enrollment of interested landowners. We offer referral payments of up to $2 per acre to participating foresters and individualized assessments of properties.
Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a referring forester!
How to Enroll Your Landowners
If you have a landowner interested in enrolling in FCW Conserve, you can either have them contact us directly, apply online at the getting started page on our website, or enter them into our Referring Forester Dashboard, which is a good option for foresters who have more than one interested client.
Harvesting & FCW Conserve
The Forest Carbon Works Conserve program supports climate friendly forestry practices that promote long-term carbon storage, forest health, and climate resiliency. This includes silviculture that extends rotation ages to promote long-term carbon sequestration, mixed-age classes, increased biodiversity, forest resiliency, sensitive habitat protection, and watershed security. Practices include intermediate and selective thinning treatments, group selection, and patch cuts functioning to extend rotation lengths and promote sustainable growth and regeneration.
When enrolled in Conserve, approximately 10% of total carbon of the standing forest is reserved from crediting to provide flexibility for members to engage in climate smart forestry practices while minimizing the impact on annual payments.
If you would like to harvest beyond the 10% set aside, this is also possible through our Harvest Offset Fee program – to learn more, reach out to forestry@forestcarbonworks.com. We have a team of professional foresters throughout the country that is available to answer questions about forest carbon management, local silviculture, and all things forestry. They also can help determine how forest management plans and harvest prescriptions will be compatible with our Conserve program and assist with making climate smart forestry recommendations.
It is required that harvest activities are approved by Forest Carbon Works in writing a minimum of six months prior to activity commencement. Forest Stewardship CouncilⓇ (FSC) Certification is also required for any commercial harvest. Forest Carbon Works will manage all requirements for certification for landowners enrolled in Conserve at no cost to the landowner. This includes revising and drafting management plans to meet FSC standards, audits, harvest inspections, and reporting.
View our Harvest Requirements for more information.
Firewood removals are allowed according to the acreage table below and do not require Forest Stewardship CouncilⓇ Certification.
Property Size | Annual Firewood Removal Allowance |
40-80 acres | 3 cords |
81-120 acres | 6 cords |
121 acres and up | 10 cords |
State Tax Programs & Conserve
Compatibility with FCW Conserve and state forest tax programs may be possible but is not guaranteed. If your property is able to meet the requirements of both programs, then compatibility is likely. To determine if your property qualifies for dual enrollment in both your state forest tax program and Conserve, please contact us to discuss your individual property. Our on-staff foresters can review your forest management plan and assess compatibility.
Carbon Friendly Silviculture
Carbon programs focused on improved forest management often require a different approach to forest management that is focused on ecological forestry promoting forest health and long-term carbon storage. The resources below may be helpful in determining management techniques that work for your clients while meeting these goals.
- Managing for Forest Carbon – Mass Audubon
- Forest Carbon – An Essential Natural Solution for Climate Change
- Healthy Forests for Our Future: a Management Guide to Increase Carbon Storage in Northeast Forests
- Securing Northeast Forest Carbon
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science
- Introduction to Forest Carbon, Offsets and Markets | OSU Extension Service
- Resources for Family Forest Owners: Carbon Markets and Climate-Smart Forestry