The American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, has approved a Methodology for the Quantification, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions and Removals from Improved Forest Management on Small Non-Industrial Private Forestlands.

The methodology quantifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and removals resulting from improved forest management (IFM) activities on aggregated ownerships of non-industrial private forestlands, ranging from 40–5,000 forested acres. Emission reductions are quantified from forest carbon projects that exceed baseline forest management practices, and removals are quantified for retention of annual forest growth. The primary carbon sequestration mechanism is the commitment to forego harvesting, grow trees longer and increase forest stocking.

Despite owning nearly 40% of U.S. forestlands, less than 1% of small forest ownerships have enrolled in the carbon market to date. This is due to known financial and institutional barriers associated with the scale and complexity of the existing market. This methodology, developed in partnership with Finite Carbon and ACR, draws upon our collective market experience to introduce innovative aggregation, monitoring and verification approaches that alleviate these barriers.