Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Program

Chesapeake Forest Fund

Investing in Forest Restoration

The Chesapeake Forest Fund offers foundations, businesses and agencies an easy and transparent opportunity to invest in clean air and water, carbon storage, wildlife habitat and other natural benefits.

Our methodologies make it easy for organizations to report on their social and environmental responsibility accomplishments. The Alliance directs Fund contributions into forest restoration actions that produce quantifiable outcomes: tons of carbon uptake; pounds of reduced nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment; acres of improved habitat.

The Alliance uniquely delivers significant benefits for each dollar invested in the Chesapeake Forest Fund by using the Alliance’s experience, capabilities, and strong partnerships to leverage a wide variety of conservation programs including environmental markets, state and federal best management practice cost-share programs, conservation easement programs, and grant programs.

We are also using the Fund to test innovative opportunities to provide a return to impact investors through environmental markets.

Prioritizing Private Landowners

Family forest and private landowners own nearly 80% of forests in the Chesapeake watershed. Therefore, much of the Chesapeake region’s clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and jobs are provided by private forests.

The Fund prioritizes these private landowners and supports forest restoration and management efforts that help these private landowners retain, restore, conserve and sustainably manage for years to come the forests that keep the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed rivers and streams clean and healthy.

Our streamlined and leveraged approach works well in particular for the smaller acreage properties that are typically overlooked by traditional conservation programs and ecosystem markets.

Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Program