Tri-City Forest

Westfield, Massachusetts, USA

Forest Protection

The Tri-City Forest sprawls over three cities in Massachusetts: Holyoke, Westfield, and West Springfield. An improved forest management project, the Tri-City Forest works to protect over 6,500 acres of forest and captures over 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. Improved Forest Management (IFM) is an agriculture, forestry and land-use project category that relates to forest management activities that result in increased carbon stocks within forests and/or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forestry activities when compared to business-as-usual forestry practices. The Tri-City Forest in particular generates revenue for the communities involved in the form of carbon stock in exchange for the benefits that the protected lands provide. This exchange enables the project to benefit the environment while not removing an essential form of income from the surrounding community.

Impact

100,000

Metric tons of carbon captured per year

6,500

Acres of forest protected

Benefits

Reduces carbon emissions in the atmosphere and fights climate change by protecting forests that help absorb carbon.
Restores and protects wildlife habitats by practicing sustainable forest management and timber management that prevents the destruction of the habitats.
Provides jobs and resources to the local community through sustainable timber management which bolsters the local economy by creating jobs and by supplying the local mill with timber.
Restores the young forest and supports the local economy through selective logging.
Tests new tools and techniques of forestation practices that can be applied to other forest protection projects and organizations.

Photos

Verifications

Founded in 1996 as the first private voluntary offset program in the world, ACR has twenty-five years of unparalleled experience in the development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as operational experience in carbon offset project registration, verification oversight and offset issuance.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Avoid wasting water and clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. The Tri-City Forest Project helps filter water and provide clean and safe water to those around it.
Climate change is a global challenge that affects everyone, everywhere. This project aids in carbon sequestration which helps fight climate change.
Careful management of our global supply of water is a key feature of a sustainable future.
Sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss. The Tri-City Foret Project helps provide a safe habitat for a variety of plants and animals.