Forestry and agroforestry represent the largest opportunity for natural carbon sequestration in New York. Forests currently absorb roughly 30% of emissions, with the rest absorbed by the ocean and atmosphere. Northeast forests are a large net sink of carbon, even though many are under stress. Forest protection, management and expansion are therefore essential climate protection strategies.

NY Forests and Climate Change

Protecting, maintaining, and better managing woodlands on and off farms conserves and enhances an important carbon sink, and does so at a low cost per unit of GHG mitigation. Today, 61% of New York's land area is covered with 18.6 million acres of forest land. About 14.4 million acres, or 76% of New York's forest land, are owned by nearly 700,000 private landowners. The new Forest Conservation Easement Program for Land Trusts in the Environmental Protection Fund aids private forestland owners in managing their forests to conserve the critical ecosystem and climate benefits they provide. The just-adopted Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Bond Act is an additional source of funding.

Managing working forests for carbon sequestration can involve the sustainable harvesting of wood for wood products that keep carbon out of the carbon cycle for potentially hundreds of years. Upfront investment is needed for a qualified forester to develop a management plan for each forest, as well as maintenance requirements. The DEC offers this through their working forest conservation easements that allow landowners to professionally manage their property’s forest resource so that it remains available for sustainable forestry in perpetuity. This conservation easement program is part of the New York State Forest Action Plan, a 10-year strategic plan for DEC and New York’s forestry community to provide long‐term, comprehensive, coordinated strategies for addressing the challenges facing New York’s forests today, and to identify ways to invest state, federal, and leveraged partner resources in major management and landscape priorities.

Forests must be prioritized in the public and private sectors alike. Municipalities can and should make forest preservation, afforestation programs, and sustainable forest management paramount in their climate mitigation strategies. Forests provide carbon sinks as carbon is stored in both soils and in the living biomass of trees. They also sequester carbon, and young forests in particular (those less than 40-70 years old) sequester carbon at the fastest rate. Older forests store more carbon, but younger forests soak it up more quickly, so it’s important to have plenty of both so we can achieve the maximum carbon benefits.

Keeping Forests as Forests

As more people move into cities and urban sprawl spreads outwards, we continue to lose forestland to development. Westchester County has just recently passed the 50% threshold- for the first time ever, less than half of the county is forested. When forestland is converted to development, it rarely becomes forest again and we permanently lose the social, ecological, and climate benefits that that forest provided. Due to intense deer pressure and the presence of invasive species, it’s not as easy as it sounds to just let a forest grow back up after it has been removed. Reforestation efforts require planning and maintenance, as the natural patterns of succession in the Hudson Valley are stunted by multiple stressors. So even though converting non-forests to forests is an exciting idea, keeping forests as forests should always come first. 

To prevent land conversion on a mass scale, municipalities and land trusts should first find areas with valuable forests that are vulnerable to development,  and then commit to protecting them. Once land in need has been identified, conserving the land itself can be done in many different ways, based on landowner goals and preferences. Land can be put into a conservation easement, or sold/donated to a government agency or land trust. Land trusts, municipal parks departments and private land-owners can all be part of this. 

Creating New Forests

While existing forests are conserved, creating new forest is also important to increase carbon sequestration and improve water quality and wildlife habitat. Young forests are not as common in NYS as they once were. Historically, they made up about 30% of the landscape, but now they comprise only about 10%, which is problematic for wildlife like bobcats and ruffed grouse that need these ecosystems to survive. Land managers should be careful to choose a diverse array of trees when undertaking large planting projects, since a diverse forest is the most resilient in the face of a changing climate, and it supports the most ecosystem services. Before planting trees, a rough inventory of what’s already growing in the area should be done, and the location should be inspected to ensure that only native trees that are well-suited to that habitat are selected. 

Once the trees have been chosen and planted, they must also be protected and monitored. Unfortunately, afforestation efforts can sometimes prove difficult due to deer browse and the presence of invasive species. Young trees can be eaten or out-competed before they’ve had the chance to grow, which means that areas left to reconvert to forests usually end up as fields of invasive species instead. This does not mean that reforestation efforts should not take place, just that they have to be done with care and intention, and those going into these efforts must know that they will not be as easy as planting a tree and walking away. Anyone attempting to reforest a space should be prepared to either use tree tubes or put up a deer fence, both of which will require regular maintenance. Deer exclusion is worth the effort, though, as is greatly increases the odds of tree survival. Trees for Tribs is an example of a program that achieves successful afforestation through the use of deer protection.

Urban and Suburban Trees and Forests

Although not often thought of when talking about forests, it’s also important for municipalities to remember their urban and suburban environments when discussing reforestation. While they are not forests in the traditional sense, street trees can provide substantial climate mitigation ecosystem services through the increase in urban canopy cover. Just like they do in the forest, street trees shade and cool areas, absorb excess stormwater, filter runoff, support local wildlife, reduce noise pollution, add interest to a landscape, and sequester and store carbon. Street trees can also increase property values, are associated with lower crime rates, and have been proven to increase the mental and physical health of those that live nearby. Due to the lack of competition and reduced odds of predation, street trees can grow rapidly, thus establishing  their climate mitigation benefits  earlier on in their life. Street trees tend to be shorter lived than forested trees, so as these trees are replaced every 50 years or so, their wood can be used to make sustainable products and the cycle of rapid carbon sequestration can restart. 

With aesthetics in mind, many intentionally placed street trees are monocultures, or rows of one type of tree that lines a street. This approach should be avoided when planting street trees today. This is for the same reasons listed above about traditional reforestation; diversity is more resilient to change and provides the most ecological benefits. Climate change will bring on many stressors for street trees, such as droughts, heat waves, thawing and freezing cycles, and new invasive species. By planting many different types of street trees, you can reduce the odds of a disturbance wiping out an entire city blocks’ worth of trees in one go, while also giving more food and habitat options to wildlife. To prevent monocultures from happening, a rough inventory of current street trees should be conducted by municipalities so that planners know what trees they have and which trees they should add to their landscape. This inventory can be general, and doesn’t need to be specific unless citizen pruners will be utilized, like in New York City. It goes without saying that all street trees should be native to the region or thoughtfully selected to thrive in the evolving climate, and cultivars should be avoided, if possible. Protection from deer will also be necessary if the trees are small enough that browse or buck rub is still a threat.

Identifying priority locations for afforestation requires balancing many ecosystem and landscape considerations, including the ecological benefits in any specific location and competing land uses. 

In addition to or in conjunction with street trees, rain gardens should also be added to urban landscapes. The NYC DEP has had success putting these into sidewalks in areas that flood heavily, thus reducing the pressure on sewers and wastewater treatment facilities after heavy rains. In a future climate that is expected to produce more intense storms, creating urban ecosystems that are capable of absorbing excess runoff is essential. The Hudson Valley as a whole should be taking serious efforts to make the non-forest environment more forest-like to mitigate climate change. There are significant resources available including materials, money and technical assistance. Hilltop Hanover Farm, in Westchester County, is developing a native plant supply chain for the region.  The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, led by the US Forest Service, provides comprehensive technical assistance on climate adaptation for forest owners and managers.   Trees for Tribs provides trees for free, as does the NYS DEC’s Buffer in a Bag program. There are also other funding opportunities, like the Watershed Agricultural Council’s Management Assistance Program, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, USDA Urban Forestry Program and the NYS DEC’s Regenerate NY and Urban and Community Forest Grants, as well as private funders such as Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley and The Rotary Foundation.

Forest Management, Products and Professionals

Managing existing forests to increase carbon sequestration and produce sustainable forests and wood products is another important forestry strategy that should be adopted by forest landowners and supported by appropriate agencies to mitigate climate change. Young forests sequester carbon at faster rates than older forests, but NYS is losing young forest habitat, and most of the forests in the Hudson Valley are over 100 years old. This means they are past their prime for carbon absorption, and they are made up of mostly crowded, dense stands of mature trees. Trees of all one age class and size are not ideal for biodiversity benefits or climate mitigation, so landowners should be supported in diversifying their forest stands. This can be done through the removal of trees, either with a timber stand improvement (TSI – like weeding a garden) or a timber harvest. A TSI may involve a cost for the landowner, as the logger or contractor is cutting trees that do not have the same value as timber trees, but this should be seen as a future investment in a timber sale, which should produce a profit for the landowner.

Harvesting timber is complicated work that requires people with the right tools and knowledge, like foresters and loggers. Foresters are professionals that work with landowners to achieve their management goals and can act as a liaison between the owner and the logger. Loggers can remove trees based on what the forester marks in the woods, and cuts can be lighter or heavier, depending on the needs of the forest and the landowner. Fostering good relationships with these professionals is necessary for anyone in the public or private sector who plans on managing their woods. Municipalities should therefore either establish ongoing relationships with foresters (lists of NY foresters can be found on the NYC DEC website and on MyWoodlot.com) or should hire one themselves. A county-wide forester for each region in the Hudson Valley would be very valuable for the care of public property and the management of timber harvests and reforestation efforts.

Hiring a forester costs money, but there are thankfully some cost share programs and grants available to both private and public landowners. NYS’s 480a Tax Law gives tax breaks to those who have more than 50 acres of managed forestland enrolled in the program, and the Watershed Agricultural Council will help fund the cost of hiring a forester to develop the Forest Management Plan needed to enroll, as long as the property is the in NYC Watershed. Previously mentioned programs, like Regenerate NY and the Urban and Community Forests Grants can also offset some of the costs of hiring a forester.

There are also commercial ways to profit from forestland, thus alleviating some of the financial burdens of ownership while simultaneously fighting climate change. Timber harvests have already been mentioned, but it’s worth restating that wood is an all-natural, solar-powered, renewable resource, and landowners should not shy away from harvesting timber for profit because they think it’s bad for the environment. When the proper precautions are made and a professional forester is consulted, wood is harvested as a sustainable resource. Unlike making items out of comparable materials like plastic, steel, and concrete, wood production is beneficial for the environment and does not produce greenhouse gasses or cost money. Once it’s been harvested, wood will hold onto the carbon in its fibers until it’s allowed to rot. This means furniture, construction materials, and other long-lived wood products will continue to store carbon long after the tree has been cut down and the landowner and logger have made their money on the sale.

Landowners can also sell carbon credits, which is a relatively new forest product market to tap into. Carbon credits work in many different ways, based on who the buyer is, but generally land is deferred from harvesting for a set amount of time, and then money is paid to the landowner based on a predetermined amount. To make carbon credits worth it, they should ideally only be used on properties that are at risk of development and deforestation, otherwise they are essentially claiming to protect land that wasn’t in danger to begin with. Carbon markets can give landowners some profit just for owning forestland, but since the carbon economy is ever changing, it’s best to consult with your forester before committing your property in a contract.  

While growing timber and creating carbon credits, trees and forests can produce food and other agricultural products. Forest farming and agroforestry are ways of integrating agricultural practices and forestry together to benefit people and the environment. Products like maple syrup, mushroom farming, fruit and nut tree production, ginseng and ramp harvesting all fall into this category, and can occur on homegrown or commercial scales. Crops like this make forests multi-use spaces that provide income and enjoyment for the landowner and sources of local food production while increasing plant diversity. Grants from the USDA, NYS DEC, and WAC can all support landowners in creating food forests.

Local food production through agroforestry reduces fossil fuel use to transport food over long distances, but it also connects landowners and managers to their properties and has the potential to create income. Land that is valued, either emotionally or financially, is less likely to be subdivided, sold, and developed.

Forestry and Agriculture - Finding Synergies 

In addition to pure woodlands, more than 21% of agricultural land in New York is wooded (~1.4 million acres statewide), providing an important carbon sink. Forests on farms can benefit agricultural practices by diversifying the farm portfolio while providing wildlife habitat, improved water quality, and other ecosystem services. Improving forest management and defraying implementation costs could provide a verifiable, real, and permanent increase in mitigation potential while improving farm profitability in the long term through increased product value.   

Policymakers and agencies often function in silos of ‘agriculture’ and ‘forestry’ when there may be real benefit in sharing knowledge and strategy among the experts and providing more integrated services to landowners.    Planning for changes in land use to optimize the benefits of farms and forests must be done in a holistic manner to counterbalance benefits and costs – for example, loss of grass and shrub cover also reduces habitat for species that depend on them. Clearing forest land to make ‘new’ agricultural land is an energy intensive process and may reduce climate benefits.  The best way for agencies to support farm and forest landowners could be through integrated programs that support farm and forest health.   

Sustainable forestry and a bio-based rural economy can be expanded through forest management, afforestation, and development of bio- industry clusters and markets.  The agencies that work with forest landowners can contribute by:

• Utilizing and expanding programs to improve woodland management and promote forest stand improvement through peer to peer and professional education and financial incentives;

• Developing a program to support afforestation of under-utilized farmlands that are identified by farm owners as the best for this purpose;

• Developing a program to implement NYS’ proposed enabling initiative to expand markets for sustainably harvested, long-lived wood products;

• Developing a program to support and implement NYS’ proposed sustainable biomass feedstock action plan.

• Working with farm owners to identify farmlands that are not presently in use, and prioritize for farm vs forest use (in the process providing an opportunity for the experts to break out of their silos).

To protect and expand forests and preserve farmland, many communities need planning assistance to optimize land use for multiple purposes, including renewable energy development, conservation, farm and forest protection, and affordable housing.  A collaborative and integrative approach is the best way to help an overarching need as Hudson Valley communities grapple with competing uses for valuable lands.

Case Study: Urban Forestry:  Groundwork Hudson Valley  

Groundwork Hudson Valley’s Urban Forestry Workforce Development program is designed to train local residents in sustainable urban forestry practices while providing them with valuable job skills. This program focuses on planting and maintaining trees in urban areas, helping to enhance green spaces, improve air quality, and mitigate the urban heat island effect. Through equal parts classroom education and hands-on training, participants gain hands-on experience in tree care, landscape management, and environmental stewardship, preparing them for careers in the growing field of urban forestry and contributing to the environmental health of their communities.

Case Study: Women Owning Woodlands  

The Women Owning Woodlands program, supported by the Watershed Agricultural Council’s Forestry Program, focuses on empowering women landowners with the knowledge and resources needed to manage their forested lands sustainably. This program offers workshops, training sessions, and networking opportunities, helping participants to make informed decisions about land stewardship, conservation, and sustainable forestry practices. By encouraging active participation in woodland management, the program aims to foster a sense of ownership and responsibility, ensuring the health and productivity of forest lands for future generations.