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With federal climate programs facing unprecedented rollbacks, we must focus our attention on state and local programs to continue making progress toward carbon neutrality and a more ecologically-balanced world. The following is a list of programs, incentives, and funding sources designed to help New York landowners invest in forest health and reforestation. The more trees we plant, the bigger the ancillary benefits for wildlife, adaptation to extreme weather, and our overall well being
The Regenerate NY program provides grants of between $10,000 and $100,000 to private landowners for forest restoration and reforestation projects, with a 10% match required by the landowner. The program, which issued $500,000 in grants in 2024, is intended to foster biodiversity and increase ecosystem benefits, including the absorption and storage of carbon. biodiverse forests on their lands and increase the ecosystem benefits forests provide, including the absorption and storage of carbon. Eligible projects include planting trees, soil scarification, removing competing or invasive vegetation that interferes with seedling establishment and growth, and installation of deer exclusion fences and tree tubes. Landowners must work with a forester or qualified natural resource professional to develop their projects.
The Establishing Large Forests program provides grants of between $30,000 and $750,000 to reforest private land of five acres or more. Projects must plant tree species included in the New York Department of Conservation’s (DEC’s) Commercial Tree Species list, although substitutions may be allowed with DEC approval. Grant funds may be used for site preparation, planting, deer exclosures, removal of competing or invasive species, and irrigation. Projects must be developed in conjunction with a forester or other natural resource professional (list of DEC cooperating foresters).
The New York Forest Stewardship Program also provides free introductory management and technical advice to NY landowners. The initiative prioritizes urban tree planting to mitigate extreme heat and to engage youth to foster an ethic of conservation and environmental stewardship for the next generation.
New York State’s “480a” forest management law was enacted 50 years ago “to encourage the long-term management of woodlands to produce forest crops and thereby increase the likelihood of a more stable forest economy.” Given these goals, the program has incentivized maximizing timber production over management for forest carbon and ecosystem services. Proposed amendments to the law would strengthen the sustainability requirements regarding forest regeneration and the prohibition of “high-grading,” or harvesting most of the commercially valuable trees at the expense of future growth. However, the proposed amendments continue to require the harvest of “merchantable timber products” and clarifies that products such as maple sap and carbon credits do not qualify. This is a lost opportunity to synchronize the tax law with the state’s forest goals under the Climate Act. Instead, the law should be broadened to incentivize alternative management tracks that maximize carbon sequestration, ecosystem services, and climate resilience. It should also be amended to enable landowners with parcels smaller than the current 50-acre minimum to participate.
Carbon credits for forest conservation historically have only been available for large landowners due to the complexity and high transaction costs of the process. Several programs are now available to compensate smaller landowners for maintaining and enhancing their forest land. These commitments are securitized as voluntary carbon credits that are sold to companies seeking to offset their carbon footprint. Forest Carbon Works provides annual payments to forest owners with 40 or more acres for up to 50 years based on a 25% share of the revenue from the credits sold. The Family Forest Carbon Program, a joint venture of The Nature Conservancy and the American Forest Foundation, pays forest landowners in 19 states to protect existing forests of 30 acres or more. However, the Family Forest payments are limited to specific forest species mixes that exclude significant forest types. Here’s a video describing the program. Landyield is another platforms for selling carbon credits to smaller forest landowners.
The New York State Tree Nursery sells native bare-root trees through its annual seedling sale. They offer a range of native hardwoods, conifers, and shrubs. These are conservation grade trees, typically 6-12″, sold for about $1 per tree thanks to DEC support. Given their small size, they need some nurturing in their first few years to thrive, including watering, mulching, weeding, and deer protection. Once established and above deer browse, they should take off. The sale runs from January to May each year and orders are currently taken by phone at (518) 587-1120.
Restoring native tree species in riparian areas along creeks, streams, and other water bodies provides many benefits: slow water in heavy rains to help reduce flooding; shade water bodies creating cooler conditions for fish; hold soil from eroding; provide food and habitat for invertebrates, fish, and other wildlife; and filter pollutants. The New York DEC provides landowners in the Hudson River Estuary Grant boundary (PDF map) free trees from the state’s tree nursery in Saratoga Springs for planting in riparian areas along creeks and streams. The “Trees for Tribs” program provides a bag of young 25 bare-root trees to landowners who agree to plant within a riparian area and care for the trees until they are established.
Forest conservation easements provide an option for landowners interested in permanently protecting their forest lands from future development. These voluntary restrictions run with the land, meaning they restrict all future owners in perpetuity. In exchange for limiting future development, owners either receive a tax deduction for donating the development rights or may qualify for a payment for the development rights. In either case, the NY taxpayers with easements may receive an annual tax credit of up to $5,000 off of their real property taxes. The DEC offers funding to purchase forest development rights through the Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts program. The federal Forest Legacy Program is one of the largest sources of such funding, providing nearly $544 million to conserve over 608,000 acres of forestland in 2024 through conservation easements and forestland purchases. To learn more about how conservation easements work, check out this FAQ page from the Land Trust Alliance or contact an accredited land trust near you.
The USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) provides funding to farmers and landowners for forest management and tree planting. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial assistance to landowners for forest management, including funding to develop forest management plans. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) provides annual payments for implementing specific conservation practices on farms, including the planting of trees and shrubs.
The USDA’s Healthy Forest Reserve Program assists landowners in restoring, enhancing, and protecting forest resources through conservation easements, 30-year contracts, and 10-year cost share agreements. Eligible projects must promote the recovery of endangered and threatened species, improve plant and animal biodiversity, and enhance carbon sequestration. The program compensates landowners for 50-100% of the cost of specific conservation practices depending on the length of the agreement.
To apply for funding contact your local USDA Service Center.
Funding for these programs is currently at risk of being frozen or terminated under the Trump Administration, so please let the White House and your members of Congress know how important they are for farmers and rural America.
The Inflation Reduction Act appropirated over $3 billion to the USDA to build and expand market opportunities for American commodities produced using climate-smart practices. This funding has been allocated to 140 projects across the country, including the Expanding Agroforestry program described below. The projects are designed “to provide assistance to producers to voluntarily implement climate-smart production practices on working lands; to pilot innovative and cost-effective methods for quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas benefits; and to develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities.” In New York state, funding is available for projects involving 55 different commodities and 128 different climate-smart agricultural practices. Check out the USDA’s Climate Smart Commodities Project Dashboard to learn more.
Funding for these programs is currently at risk of being frozen or terminated under the Trump Administration, so please let the White House and your members of Congress know how important they are for farmers and rural America.
Agroforestry, or the integration of trees into agricultural systems, is a powerful way to enhance the productivity and resilience of farms, while also sequestering more carbon. Agroforestry practices include orchards and tree crops, silvopasture, alley cropping, and windbreaks. The Nature Conservancy is leading a five-year, $60 million program to implement agroforestry projects on farms in many parts of the country, including the Northeast. To learn more, visit the TNC’s program site.
Funding for these programs is currently at risk of being frozen or terminated under the Trump Administration, so please let the White House and your members of Congress know how important they are for farmers and rural America.
Find out more about our approach to farming and land stewardship.
