Across the U.S., millions of acres of privately owned forests hold untapped potential—not just as a source of timber or recreation, but as valuable carbon sinks. For landowners, especially those who have managed family forests for generations, there’s an emerging opportunity to monetize this stewardship in a sustainable way: carbon credits.
Carbon credits allow landowners to be financially rewarded for maintaining and enhancing the carbon-storing potential of their forests, rather than harvesting timber or clearing land for development. This system benefits not only the landowner but also the larger ecosystem. As the voluntary carbon market (VCM) continues to grow, more people and businesses are looking to offset their emissions through verified carbon projects that support families, communities, and wildlife. LandYield helps make participation in this market more accessible, offering family forest owners a clear path to generate income while protecting the natural legacy of their land.
Family Forest Owners Are the Cornerstone of Private U.S. Forests
Privately owned forests make up a significant portion of U.S. forestland. In fact, nearly 39% of all forests in the country are owned by individuals and families, according to the U.S. Forest Service. These lands span vast regions and support a wide range of ecosystems, water sources, wildlife habitats, and local economies. The collective stewardship of these family forest owners represents one of the most powerful opportunities for grassroots climate action.
However, managing forests isn’t cheap. Landowners face rising property taxes, maintenance costs, increasing development pressure, and generational transfer pressures. Many are seeking alternatives to timber sales or land conversion to generate income while keeping their forests intact. Forest carbon projects provide a solution, enabling landowners to generate steady revenue by managing their land in ways that improve forest health over time.
What Are Carbon Credits and How Do They Work?
A carbon credit is a verified certificate, issued through a standard body known as a registry, that represents the avoided emission or removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. These credits are created by projects that prevent carbon emissions or remove them through natural or technological means. Forest-based carbon credits are among the most trusted and scalable solutions for sequestering carbon because trees naturally absorb CO₂ as they grow.
In essence, carbon credits turn climate-smart forest management into a measurable and marketable commodity. Companies and organizations seeking to offset their carbon emissions can purchase these credits, channeling funds to the landowners whose management practices have led to the reduction.
Carbon Removal Credits vs. Avoided Emissions Credits
There are two primary categories of forest carbon credits. Carbon removal credits are generated when forests actively sequester new carbon—for example, through reforestation or additional forest growth from a deferred harvest. On the other hand, avoided emissions credits are created when forest land is protected from conversion or loss that would have released CO₂. Both play important roles in the carbon market and offer different opportunities depending on the landowner’s goals and the state of their forest.
How is Carbon Measured for Carbon Credits?
Carbon credit integrity hinges on transparency and accurate measurement and reporting. LandYield’s methods for determining how much carbon a forest is storing—or could store under a carbon project—combine a mix of US Forest Service field plots, modeling, and advanced technology.
Forest Service inventory plots are a cornerstone of this process. These involve on-the-ground assessments of tree species, diameter, height, and overall forest structure to calculate the volume of carbon stored in biomass. Complementing this, LandYield uses remote sensing technologies such as satellite imagery and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) offering detailed, high-resolution views of forest canopies and terrain.
This data, combined with the use of established predictive models, helps estimate a project’s “additionality”—the extra carbon sequestration made possible by the project’s practices, above and beyond business-as-usual.
All of this is combined into LandYield’s mapping platform to ensure accuracy and transparency in these measurements. This approach supports reliable credit generation and helps landowners feel confident in the value and legitimacy of their projects.
Understanding the Carbon Market
The carbon market is where verified credits are bought and sold through established registries. There are currently two types of carbon markets that are active in the U.S.:
- Compliance market
- Voluntary market
In the compliance market, companies must offset emissions to meet regulatory limits set by government policy. In contrast, the voluntary market allows companies, individuals, and organizations to offset their emissions as part of corporate sustainability commitments or personal climate goals.
LandYield operates within the voluntary carbon market (VCM), a space that is rapidly evolving as buyers seek more transparent and impactful offsets. The integrity of credits is critical in this market, as buyers are increasingly scrutinizing the validity and permanence of emissions reductions.
Types of Forest Carbon Projects in the VCM
Within the VCM, there are several types of forest carbon projects, including:
- Reforestation
- Avoided deforestation
- Improved forest management
LandYield focuses primarily on projects that allow family forest owners to generate credits by deferring commercial timber harvests and enhancing the way they manage existing forestland, rather than requiring drastic changes or large-scale planting efforts.
The Carbon Credit Certification Process
Registry certification gives credibility to carbon credits by ensuring that each ton of carbon claimed is real, additional, and permanent. This process involves a field verification by a third-party auditor who ensures all data and practices meet rigorous registry standards.
Once a project area is determined, it undergoes a baseline analysis to estimate what carbon flows in the forest would look like under “business as usual” management. After that, monitoring and verification occur on an ongoing basis with regular third-party audits. LandYield uses the American Carbon Registry (ACR), one of the most respected and oldest platforms in the industry. Other notable registries include Verra, Gold Standard, and the Climate Action Reserve. Learn more about these platforms and other key program consideration factors.
LandYield’s online platform and customer support make creating a carbon project quick and easy for landowners. Revenue estimates are provided as soon as landowners choose their parcels and quarterly payments begin as soon as contracts are signed. Additional details about our program can be found here.
Rewards and Risks of Carbon Credits for Landowners
The opportunity to generate revenue from carbon credits is meaningful, but it’s also important to understand the full picture, including the potential risks. Many landowners find that carbon credits align well with their values and land goals, but informed decision-making is key.
Benefits and Rewards
Carbon credits can provide a stable income stream that helps cover the everyday costs of forest ownership, such as:
- Property taxes
- Road maintenance
- Habitat restoration
Importantly, this revenue doesn’t require extensive commercial harvesting—making it an excellent choice for those who want to leave a mature and diverse forest as part of their legacy.
Beyond financial benefits, participating in a carbon program allows landowners to enhance the ecological and recreational value of their land. It supports cleaner water, healthier wildlife populations, and long-term forest health. Many landowners also take pride in knowing their land is actively contributing to the global climate solution.
Risks and Common Concerns
Some of the most common concerns around carbon credits relate to the permanence of carbon storage and the long-term commitments required. Most programs require landowners to maintain forest practices for decades, which may not suit everyone’s goals.
Carbon market volatility is another concern. Carbon credit prices can fluctuate, and future regulatory changes or shifts in buyer sentiment may impact demand. Natural risks, like wildfires or pest outbreaks, can threaten stored carbon and reduce credit value.
Critics of the carbon market often point to issues like double-counting or projects that don’t offer “additional” reductions. LandYield’s ACR approved methodology addresses all these concerns and issues the kind of high-integrity credits that continue to be in high demand from fortune 500 companies.
How LandYield Is Different
LandYield distinguishes itself by prioritizing transparency, project integrity and landowner education. Landowners are never pressured into a contract they don’t fully understand. The company provides clear explanations of the risks, rewards, and legal obligations involved in each project.
With trusted tools like the LandYield mapping platform and partnerships with verified registries like ACR, LandYield helps ensure projects meet the highest scientific and industry standards. LandYield’s is a streamlined, landowner-first approach designed for families who want to protect their land and legacy while earning meaningful revenue.
Getting Started with LandYield’s Carbon Credit Program
LandYield makes it easy for landowners to explore whether carbon credits are a good fit for their property. The process begins with a free analysis and revenue estimate using our online mapping tool, requiring no upfront investment or commitment. If your land qualifies, LandYield guides you through every step—from project enrollment to ongoing monitoring.
By participating, landowners gain the ability to generate reliable revenue while keeping forests intact for future generations. It’s a powerful way to align economic and environmental goals.
Ready to take the first step? Get started or Contact LandYield for more information and personalized guidance.
How Does Income From Carbon Credits Help Landowners?
Carbon revenue can help cover regular carrying costs of forests such as taxes, maintenance of roads, culverts, fences, and other infrastructure, establishment of non-harvesting commercial or recreational opportunities on the land, and regular maintenance of the forest and its wildlife habitats. In this way, carbon revenue can also help alleviate development pressure keeping these ecologically important forests from being converted to other land uses. The long-term design of these programs can mean a reliable, periodic revenue source from your forest for decades to come.
Most importantly, you can realize all of this value while growing and enjoying a mature healthy forest. Clear-cutting timber may be a quicker way to turn forested land into cash, but regrowing the forest takes decades. Carbon offset projects work in the opposite way – protecting your land, your legacy, and the beauty of its natural wonders while improving upon it and helping it appreciate in value.
Land Stewardship Brings Intrinsic Rewards
The improved management of your family forest during its tenure in a carbon program is an investment in the forest, the climate, your family, and the future. However, the sale of carbon credits is only one way to realize the value of your land. For most forest owners, it’s not even the most important one.
According to the same Forest Service Survey cited above, the top five reasons owners cite for owning forest land are:
- Beauty or scenery
- Wildlife habitat
- Nature Protection
- Family Legacy
- Privacy
The true value of owning a family forest is the forest itself. Owners treasure the babbling brooks, verdant groves, scenic hiking trails, and shady hollows that are thrumming with wildlife. The sights and sounds of a healthy wood are a testament to your family’s legacy that can be passed down for generations – so long as you protect and preserve it.
Your forest carbon project can only reach its full potential with dedicated effort and proper forest management. However, what you get in return matters twofold: First, regular payments to alleviate some of the cost of stewardship. Second, a pathway to enhancing beloved natural habitats, animal biodiversity, water quality, soil health, and the recreational value of your land.
If you’re interested in more information about how to make money from a forest with carbon credits, get in touch with the LandYield team to learn more about our innovative carbon program methodology. We’d love to help you keep your forest in the family – and keep it a forest!
