Forest systems provide clean water and sequester carbon dioxide from the air.  They provide habitat for untold species, including the iconic salmon which has Native American, commercial and tourism implications. Forest systems control flooding and provide many rural communities with economic tourism and recreation opportunities. These forest functions, vital to human life, are collectively referred to as ‘ecosystem services’. 

The primary goal of NNRG’s Watershed Innovation program is to position small forest landowners within a regionally-based structure that enables individuals and communities to easily engage in -- and benefit from -- conservation-driven economic development.  Ensuring recognition of the contribution of at-risk forests is essential in the evolution of local or regional ecosystem services markets.  NNRG provides access to emerging markets for carbon and water.  As a result, ‘keeping working forests working’ can provide a solid return on investment that can help landowners avoid converting forests to less sustainable uses.

Monetizing these ecosystem services means landowners can receive payments for the vital services their lands provide.  If the contributions of these private lands are not recognized within our market-based system, they will likely be externalized and lost.  Markets for ecosystem services credits such as carbon sequestration or water quality need to be accessible and provide value for small, privately owned forests.  Despite rapid forest declines and income inequities, small forest landowners remain significantly underserved and underrepresented in conservation incentive discussions.  Failure of emerging ecosystem services markets to recognize the contribution of these lands, typically at high risk of conversion, will likely lead to increased conversion and significant detrimental changes to both local ecosystems, economies and global climate.  Although individual ownership sizes may be small, the overall contribution of these private forest lands to the environment and our rural economies is significant and cannot be ignored.

Our Watershed Innovations program provides NNRG’s staff and constituents with a context and programmatic structure by which to pursue opportunities such as water quality and carbon offset markets.  Access to these markets, combined with certified wood premiums, are a significant step to preserving working forestland with all of its ecosystem functions intact , while also developing a rural economy based on valuing land not only for its timber or real estate value, but for all the services it can provide.