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The Rural Forest Markets Act Boosts Rural Economies and Protects Family Forests

Photo of yellow red fall foliage in Kentucky.
Robinson Forest Voluntary carbon markets can offer family forest owners income, but high costs can prevent their participation. This bill helps landowners overcome this barrier © Thomas Barnes

Bipartisan proposals in Congress would help small-scale, family forest owners access new economic opportunities and increase the long-term health of their forests. 

Families and individuals own 39% of U.S. forests—more than any other ownership group, including the federal government.

These forests offer clean air and water, provide habitat for wildlife and store vast amounts of carbon. With the right actions to restore forest health, family forests can capture an additional 267 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 57 million cars off the road.

The overwhelming majority of family forest owners want to keep their land forested. But with one in three living on less than $50,000 a year, financial need can be a major driver of land use conversion and other actions that threaten long-term forest health.

Voluntary carbon markets provide one solution to this problem, via carbon projects that pay landowners to sustainably manage their forests. However, costly barriers to entry lock small-scale forest owners out of this market. Through a financial guarantee program, the Rural Forests Market Act makes it possible for families to participate in the voluntary carbon market—all at no cost to taxpayers.

In December 2023, Senators Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., introduced the Rural Forest Markets Act in the Senate. 

Rural Forest Markets Act Supports Climate Action

  • Icon of trees.

    39%

    Families and individuals own 39% of U.S. forests—more than any other ownership group, including the federal government.

  • Icon of government building.

    $150M

    RFMA provides loan guarantees of up to $150 million for state agencies, nonprofits and companies to help family forest owners participate in the voluntary carbon market.

  • Icon of CO2.

    267M

    With the right actions to restore forest health, family forests can capture an additional 267 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

A forest of longleaf pine in the background with pitcher and native plants in the foreground.
MAG22002 - Longleaf Pine Less than 5% of longleaf pine forests remain in the United States. States, the federal government and conservation groups, including TNC, are working to save these Southern forests—and the species that depend on them. The Rural Forest Markets Act can support landowners who want to protect their longleaf forests from development. © Andrew Kornylak

Why Congress Should Support this Legislation

  1. Big benefits for climate, water and wildlife

    This voluntary incentive program helps small-scale landowners adopt science-based practices that increase how much carbon their forests capture and store. By improving forest health and longevity, the Rural Forest Markets Act also improves water supplies and wildlife habitat.

  2. A boost for rural economies

    This bill enables a steady source of income for landowners in addition to sustainable harvesting of timber and other forest products. This helps them build generational wealth and keep their forests in family's hands.

  3. An attractive option for investors

    RFMA reduces financial risk for the private investors that contribute upfront financing for carbon projects. This unlocks billions of dollars in green investment that companies need to meet their net-zero climate goals.

  4. A commonsense political choice

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture already operates guarantee programs for other important markets in rural America. RFMA simply expands these existing guarantees to carbon and other emerging environmental outcome markets.

What are Carbon Markets?

How do carbon markets work? (2:45) If we want to keep the climate in safe boundaries, we need to reach net-zero emissions as soon as possible. But eliminating some carbon sources will be easier than others. That’s where carbon markets can help.

How the Rural Forest Markets Act Works On the Ground to Support Landowners

Picture a typical American family forest owner. The family owns 67 acres, the national average for forest owners of this type. With major bills on the horizon, they’re considering logging their land for additional income which would lead to a decline in the long-term health of their forest.

While the family has heard that the voluntary carbon market can provide an additional financial benefit to cover forest ownership costs, the process is expensive at first and requires special expertise. There’s the matter of surveying the land to establish a carbon storage baseline, and the difficulties of drafting a forest management plan. Then there’s implementation—carrying out practices to help the forest store more carbon, such as removing invasive plants and setting prescribed burns. 

But RFMA's financial guarantees mean that state agencies, nonprofits and companies can unlock private investment dollars to shoulder the up-front costs of the family’s entry into the voluntary carbon market from covering the costs of land surveys to supporting the creation of a forest management plan. 

Go Deeper: How RFMA Supports Nature and People

Person in orange vest measures trees in an old growth forest.
Ancient forest The RFMA can help protect large, older trees, which contain more carbon and are more resistant to drought and wildfire. © Chris Crisman

With families owning nearly 40% of the forestland in the United States, it’s important that they can keep their forests healthy and in the family. This proposed legislation would help do so, at very little cost to the government. It’s a win for family forest owners and all of society.

Alix Murdoch

Senior Policy Advisor, Natural Climate Solutions

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A woman looking at a young longleaf pine with larger mature trees in the background.
WOPA110428_D248 RFMA helps landowners access professional foresters and forestry advice, which most family forest owners have never before received—all at no cost to the family. © Erika Nortemann/The Nature Conservancy

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