Company Profile
Pacific Forest Trust, Inc
Company Overview
Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) delivers landscape-scale private forest conservation in the West and develops innovative incentives for forest conservation at the national level. We do so in ways that reward private landowners for managing for public benefits like clean water, a healthy climate, and abundant native wildlife. Our work reinvigorates and sustains rural economies and restores resilient forest landscapes across ownership boundaries. PFT is recognized nationally as a leader in developing new payment systems for ecosystems services, from climate to carbon, working forest conservation easements, watershed and habitat services, and sustainable, renewable biomass energy.
PFT has led the conservation of over 285,000 acres of forestland in California and Oregon overall, and developed, acquired and stewards conservation easements on 107,000 acres. We also manage 12,000 acres for timber, water and habitat values. We currently have over 30,000 acres of conservation projects underway. Our projects are outstanding not only for their scale, but for their landscape impacts and high standards for delivering multiple public benefits. PFT is accredited by the National Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
Company History
Pacific Forest Trust is a visionary “think-and-do” non-profit organization of scientists, conservationists, policy wonks, entrepreneurs, and outdoor enthusiasts that has helped shape forest conservation and climate policy since 1993. We work to align economic forces with ecologic realities to build a new resource economy grounded in conservation.
We have a proven track record of implementing tangible, practical and innovative solutions in partnership with landowners, agencies, and communities, including:
• Conserving over 285,000+ acres of vital forestland in the Pacific Northwest. We currently hold 33 conservation easements covering 106,000 acres in California and Oregon, and also manage four working forests as models of our forestry approach.
• Leading the inclusion of forests in California’s groundbreaking climate law (AB 32), both demonstrating the viability of forest-based emission reduction projects and leading the development of California’s emission reduction project protocols, and then also building a robust, sector-based state investment strategy in forest health and resilience.
• PFT’s work has been recognized by government agencies, philanthropies, and fellow nonprofit organizations. We’ve received the EPA’s Climate Protection Award for our landmark work in leveraging forests to help fight climate change, the Irvine Foundation Leadership Award and the Kingsbury Brown Award from the Land Trust Alliance.