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United States

We can restore forests in the U.S.

Seedlings growing in rows at a nursery in Arkansas.

Planting trees is a tried-and-true natural climate solution that benefits people and nature. Here's how your land can help.

Baby Trees Reforestation starts with seedlings grown at nurseries around the country. In the U.S., we could plant 76 billion trees on frequently flooded lands, open urban spaces, degraded pastures and other formerly forested, under-utilized areas. © Rory Doyle

An Enormous Opportunity for People and Nature

In the U.S., there is an enormous opportunity to address climate change and generate revenue for landowners through reforestation.

  • trees behind a fence

    148M

    Acres in the U.S. that could be reforested.

  • trees icon

    76B

    Trees could be planted across the country.

  • pollution icon

    492M

    Tonnes of CO2 could be removed.

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    88%

    Of the opportunity is on privately owned land.

Two people walking through a sunny forest.
© Mike Wilkinson

For millennia, trees have pulled carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Photosynthesis is the oldest carbon-capture technology on Earth. In fact, research led by The Nature Conservancy has shown that in the United States, planting trees on frequently flooded lands, open urban spaces, degraded pastures and other formerly forested, under-utilized areas could help significantly mitigate the climate crisis.

An aerial view of a flooded farm.
Flood Resilience Planting trees on frequently flooded land can make the area more resilient to future floods and make nearby crops more productive. © Rory Doyle

Opportunity

Plant Trees on Your Property

Planting trees can make your land more resilient. Find a local USDA contact to get support for reforestation on your property.

Find Support through USDA
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Three deer in a snowy forest.
© Kent Mason

The benefits of reforestation extend beyond climate.

Tree planting also provides clean air and water, opportunities for outdoor recreation, improved habitat for wildlife, and in some cases, new revenue for landowners.

A person carrying a bag of seedlings.
Large-Scale Reforestation To fully embrace the opportunity before us, we need to plant billions of trees on millions of acres across the country. © Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal

Tool

See Where We Can Plant Trees

Explore county-by-county data to see where the opportunities are for reforestation in your area, using an open-source, online tool.

Visit Reforestation Hub
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There is something so satisfying about putting a tree in the ground and knowing that your children or grandchildren will be able to clamber in the branches.

Susan Cook-Patton Senior Forest Restoration Scientist

Reforestation is an example of a natural climate solution.

Natural climate solutions, or efforts to protect, better manage and restore nature, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon. Combined with cutting fossil fuels and accelerating renewable energy, natural climate solutions offer immediate and cost-effective ways to tackle the climate crisis—while also addressing biodiversity loss and supporting human health and livelihoods.

What are carbon credits?

Landowners can earn money by planting trees through the sale of carbon credits.

How Carbon Markets Work

Research has shown that taking steps to protect, better manage and restore our forests represents the biggest opportunity for reducing pollution through natural climate solutions. It is critical that we plant trees now so that they can begin absorbing and reducing carbon. 

Natural climate solutions must be nature-based, sustainable, climate-additional, measurable and equitable. That means that in order to be effective, reforestation should benefit the climate, the environment and the community. 

Here are examples of reforestation projects around the country:

Reforestation Projects in the U.S.

Reforestation in Idaho (3:20) Reforestation is part of the solution to climate change. Healthy forests store carbon, and provide clean air, water and a place for recreation to communities across Idaho.
From Mines to Forests (5:20) Mining and other resource extraction have significantly impacted the Central Appalachians. The Nature Conservancy and its partners are reforesting these lands for wildlife habitat, climate resiliency and connectivity in a changing world.
Plant a Billion (1:15) Our goal is to plant a billion trees across the planet to slow the connected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Reforestation Pipeline (2:16) From the US Nature4Climate coalition, a video highlighting results from a study led by American Forests and TNC, which finds that to successfully reforest America, we need to more than double the production of tree seedlings. In Minnesota, that number may be more like six-to-seven times our current production level.
Boise City of Trees Challenge (2:21) From the US Nature4Climate Coalition a video about The City of Trees Challenge, an ongoing story of community and collaboration to address climate change. City of Trees aims to plant an urban tree for every household in Boise, ID and a forest seedling for every resident by 2030, while also ensuring that these trees survive and thrive well into the future.
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