forestguild.org - Conservation Lands

Conservation Lands

One of the most important issues in forestry today is land conservation—keeping forest as forest. The Guild is actively engaged in land conservation through (1) Guild members' work on establishing conservation easements, (2) supporting conservation groups in their management of their lands, and (3) advocating for working forest conservation easements that protect forests and sustain communities. The excellent forestry practiced by Forest Guild members is well suited to the management and restoration of forests reserved for wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, watershed protection, or other non-commercial purposes.

Current policy efforts at the Guild include:

Working Forest Conservation Easements
The Guild promotes the use of working forest conservation easements as a tool to protect the working forestland base and require appropriate assurances of excellent forest practices. Read the Guild's publication on working forest conservation easements here.

Climate Change
The protection of forests is a key element in mitigating the negative impacts of climate changes. Land conversion and forest fragmentation reduce both the ability of forests to store carbon and their resilience to climate change. Read more on our climate change and carbon webpage.

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Forest Wisdom Issue 15

Forest Wisdom #15 is focused on "ecosystem services", in other words the combined benefits people obtain from the natural world. These vital services include supporting functions such as nutrient cycling or soil formation; products such as fresh water and fuel; regulating services such as flood or climate regulation; and cultural resources such as recreational, educational, or aesthetic opportunities. Forest Wisdom 15 includes articles that address the value of forested watersheds, payments for forest carbon, shitake mushrooms as a non-timber forest product, and an assessment of the value of the ecosystem services provided by New Mexico's forests.