Collective action…For forests. For people. For 150 years.
For 150 years, American Forests and our partners have stood for ensuring that all people and landscapes have access to the benefits of trees: for clean air, for healthy communities, for clean water, for thriving wildlife. As a hub for forest-forward work across the country, American Forests’ impact relies on the collaborative efforts of its vast and growing network: community members, local organizations, corporate partners, state and local agencies, and individuals like you. Together, we have already planted +80M trees in large landscapes and are directly working with +200 cities on Tree Equity.
The next 150 years begin now.
By 2030, American Forests is striving to achieve new milestones for forests and for people:
+100M trees planted across large landscapes
+950 cities committed to advancing Tree Equity
Photo Credit: Andrew Studer
Whitebark pine restoration exemplifies the collective action needed to generate lasting change. These guardians of the high mountains are an essential part of western forest ecosystems. But they are also endangered and facing threats from disease, pests, wildfires and climate change. There are currently more dead whitebark pine trees than live ones.
American Forests’ “Save the Whitebark Pine” campaign has helped build momentum around conserving this species, bringing together government and corporate partners, foundations, research universities, and nonprofit organizations to raise awareness. And that’s just the beginning.
Partnerships powering progress
American Forests is partnered with the National Park Service as part of a monumental five-year agreement to restore whitebark pine in 11 national parks. We have co-developed an ambitious inter-agency restoration plan and expanded support for researchers who are painstakingly building genetic resilience to disease into the whitebark pines of the future.
Additionally, Life Time Foundation provided a $1 million grant for whitebark pine restoration, which aligns with the foundation’s mission to support healthy people, a healthy planet and a healthy way of life. A portion of this grant is dedicated to help the Whitebark Pine Genome Project, an innovative effort to sequence the genes of this threatened species and cultivate seedlings resistant to the deadly white pine blister rust.
For Eve Bernhard, an American Forests’ restoration ecologist working in partnership with the National Park Service, it’s through bringing various partners to the table that we can generate lasting impact.
“It takes a whole ecosystem of humans to work on trying to save this species. There’s the National Park Service, nonprofits, the U.S. Forest Service, volunteers… all different people contributing to this work. A holistic approach to whitebark pine restoration is important because it’s a whole ecosystem, so there needs to be people who have skills in a lot of different areas.”
Tree Equity started as an idea that all people can experience the lifesaving benefits of trees, regardless of income or race. What began as a spark has become a movement — powered by a vast network of partners and frontline communities in small towns, big cities, corporate boardrooms and government offices. The Tree Equity Catalyst Initiative embodies that spirit of collective action.
Catalyzing conservation from movement to mobilization
With the help of American Forests, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act unlocked a historic $1.5 billion for urban and community forestry. As a national pass-through funding partner, we created the Tree Equity Catalyst Fund under the Catalyst Initiative to ensure that funding and technical expertise reach the frontlines. So far, $42 million in grants have been awarded to 33 municipalities, 10 faith-based organizations and 12 community-based organizations to help establish and implement Tree Equity Programs.
The City of Goshen, Ind., for example, is creating the next generation of urban foresters with funding from the Catalyst Fund. In collaboration with the Crossing School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Mennonite Men and Buschelcraft Farm, an arboricultural training program will help the city increase its tree canopy from 20% to 45% by 2045.
Or in Georgia, the Catalyst Fund is supporting Georgia Interfaith Power & Light in their efforts to plant 1,850 trees and host tree adoption and learning events via diverse congregational partnerships throughout the state as part of its “ReWilding program.”
“The Catalyst Initiative is fundamentally about recognizing that we face a massive problem on a national scale,” says Lida Aljabar, American Forests’ senior director of the Catalyst Initiative. “By some estimates, we need over 500 million trees planted where they are needed most to rectify this inequity. To achieve this, we must broaden our partnerships and approaches to empower solutions led by those from the communities most impacted.”
By bringing more organizations to the table and engaging groups new to the work of Tree Equity, American Forests is leading a movement that is catalyzing participation in environmental justice that will create lasting change.
Restoring large landscapes
Five years ago, we set an ambitious goal to eliminate the reforestation backlog on America’s public lands by 2030. We envisioned achieving this goal through catalytic partnerships and by helping to create, champion and pass enabling policies like the REPLANT Act of 2021. Through REPLANT’s strategic implementation, great progress is being made toward addressing the reforestation backlog on our national forests. Beyond public policy innovation, American Forests has transformed our entire approach over the past five year to focus on holistic restoration and expanding the entire reforestation supply chain. In doing so, we are paving the way for millions more acres of resilient reforestation on our public lands over the next five years and in the decades to come.
In efforts to steward existing forests, we set another big goal five years ago to increase the climate mitigation power of America’s forests and forest economy by 50% by 2030. In approaching this ambitious goal, we’re expanding the adoption of climate-smart forestry across the country to increase our forests’ resilience to climate change, while expanding their ability to mitigate it.
Through cutting edge science, our forest-climate science analytics team has helped create and carry forward climate-smart forest policies in seven states. With the actions being taken by these seven states alone, we’re already about one-third of the way to our ambitious climate-smart forestry goal.
With the momentum we’ve gained and our vision moving forward, we will bring our climate-smart forestry modeling and analytics capabilities nationwide and demonstrate actionable solutions by deploying new partnerships for forest stewardship that also strengthen necessary wood product markets. Just as our leadership and impact in resilient reforestation on public lands is gaining momentum, it will have a ripple effect as we focus on supporting the unique needs of Tribal Nations and family forest owners. Our forested landscapes have never faced greater threats, but we are rising to this moment through innovative solutions and collective action.
Advancing Tree Equity
Five years ago, we also set an initial goal to have at least 100 cities committed to and advancing Tree Equity by 2030. In 2025, we are already working directly with 200+ cities to achieve Tree Equity, with over 1,000 cities more broadly involved in the Tree Equity movement through policies and plans, vocal leadership, and action.
We envision a future in which every city across the United States achieves Tree Equity — ensuring that all people, regardless of race or income, benefit equally from the lifegiving power of trees. Closing the canopy gap means supporting the 1,000 cities already in the movement, inspiring thousands more to join us, and planting and maintaining 500 million trees in neighborhoods most in need.
We currently work with 200+ cities and 300+ organizations, and we plan to reach 150+ additional cities each year until we achieve our vision.
This is a movement, and you’re a part of it
For 150 years, American Forests and our partners have stood for ensuring that all people have access to the benefits of trees. We believe that a forest-forward future is within reach. But it will take this continued collective action to ensure healthy, thriving communities and forests everywhere. There is no barrier to entry and no effort or amount too small. Anybody can get involved by advocating for forest-friendly policies and initiatives through our Action Center, exploring their own neighborhood’s Tree Equity Score, or supporting our work through a donation.