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Regions on the rise — The NRCS says it can help foster wide and deep conservation impacts by giving partners more latitude. (Photo courtesy NRCS.)

Kari Cohen, Branch Chief at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), oversees regional partnerships. Kari explained the Alternative Funding Arrangement (AFA) provision of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which will invest up to $50 million in fiscal year 2020. The first cohort of up to 15 projects this fall will...

What makes efforts to preserve land harmonize with efforts to promote commerce? In this article, we review several examples. Entrepreneurs learn to bolster terrain for hikers (who drink beer), historically sensitive consumers, and fellow merchants. These examples show how creative approaches to promoting conservation and community-based development can yield ongoing...

Easements unlock value for landowners and preserve land for everyone else. With challenges to our ecosystem and economy coming faster and from more directions, conservation leaders need tools that apply more quickly or in quirkier situations. This toolkit looks over a range of techniques that extend conservation to situations where...

Forest carbon offset companies see a source of credit, and value, in small forest owners. These owners, in turn, see offsets as a way to sustain their assets. What does this emerging field need to normalize about valuation, verification and communication to make deeper financial and ecological impact?

In May, the Conservation Finance Network spoke to Nathalie Woolworth, conservation finance manager of the United States Forest Service about the Innovative Finance for National Forests program. This program offers $1.8 million in grants for the development and deployment of innovative financial models to support resilience of the National Forests.

How do you sum the value of everything in, from, and under these trees? — (Courtesy City Forest Credits.) Beyond soothing imagery, urban trees measurably lift air quality, energy affordability and employment. City Forest Credits aims to quantify what that's worth.

City Forest Credits matches nonprofits and cities to fundi urban trees. It describes its mission as one to make “American cities greener, healthier, and more equitable.” By computing value of rainfall interception, air quality benefits and energy savings, the outfit aims to define premium price for nonprofit organizations to charge...

Conservation finance, by definition, involves risk. But land trust staff who engage board members in understanding and navigating risks and opportunities can bring forth new and durable income streams. How can staff members build board members' comfort and earn their support for new approaches? Success stories highlight methods for educating...

Copper Creek, courtesy the Conservation Fund, photo by Bill Mullens — How do you ascribe dollars to this? (Photo by Bill Mullins, courtesy the Conservation Fund)

Island Press’ publication of Valuing Nature: A Handbook for Impact Investing by William Ginn comes 15 years after his first book helped launch what became the Conservation Finance Network. While the lessons captured in prior works still ring true, the conservation finance field has experienced rapid growth in recent years...

Conservation Finance Network

Alternative Funding Arrangement: Unlocking Partnerships With Private Capital at USDA NRCS

Aligning Conservation and Community Development for Increased Impact in Sentinel Landscapes—and Beyond

Beyond Easements: Broader Approaches for Greater Conservation Outcomes

New Forest Carbon Offset Strategies Turn to Small Landowners for Big Impact

Forging Fresh Ideas for Forests: An Interview with Nathalie Woolworth

A Startup Seeks to Raise Urban Equity

Rewards Outweigh the Risks: How to Introduce Land Trust Boards to Conservation Finance

Book Excerpt: Valuing Nature