Partnership-driven impact
Each landscape, forest, city and neighborhood is unique, making it imperative that the approach to restoration and resiliency is uniquely tailored. This is why American Forests focuses on partnering together for large-scale impact. By bringing everyone to the table, we are able to unify around a shared mission and dig deeper toward tangible outcomes for each specific need. In 2024, we transformed landscapes from the Pacific Northwest and California to the Northern Rockies and Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. And throughout our cities, we formed alliances and networks with national and local entities that bring diverse sectors and voices together to advance Tree Equity.
Partnering together for large-scale impact was the key to digging deep across large landscapes to generate future resiliency.
In 2024, our cross-boundary, cross-sector collaboration advanced landscape-scale reforestation efforts throughout forests nationwide. We partnered to implement our post-fire resilience strategy for south central Oregon, the result of a collective effort with the Forest Service, public and private landowners, and local Tribes. Across the western United States, we engaged Tribal Nations in new ways to prescribe and implement management activities to improve forest health and resilience, even creating new American Forests staff positions for Tribal relations.
Photo Credit: Nick Grier / American Forests
We focused on widespread future resiliency by prioritizing seed collection and nursery operations across numerous landscapes, including historic cone collection efforts in California and the Pacific Northwest, partnering in New Mexico on nursery development and supporting the opening of a greenhouse in Montana. Our regional staff and experts took over management of the Marinoff Nursery in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Our fruitful partnerships with the private nursery industry grew more than 2 million seedlings for public lands.
In addition to success in tactical implementation and logistical operations, we dug deep into research and strategic planning for future resiliency through the creation of reforestation plans. We developed a study transforming how California thinks about its forests and their role in combatting climate change. We advanced regional studies focusing on reforestation need and strategy in the Pacific Northwest and northern Colorado. We finalized a restoration plan for saving the whitebark pine, a keystone species whose range covers much of the western U.S., and deployed a field ecology program focused on whitebark pine restoration in our national parks.
Not only do these efforts provide immediate impact across vast landscapes, but they are sowing the seeds for future resiliency for generations to come. This success was years in the making, with collaboration and partnerships as the linchpin.
Unifying a voice for Tree Equity
Last year, we dug deeper into expanding a holistic approach to Tree Equity, focusing on fostering strategic partnerships and growing networks of national and local organizations to expand our reach across the country. Our Tree Equity Alliance created a unifying voice across allied sectors to tear down barriers and create new, easier paths to achieving Tree Equity. And, our Tree Equity Workforce Network grew to over 140 members committed to training and supporting underrepresented individuals and expanding job opportunities in urban forestry.
Partnerships in action
Planting trees and amplifying our mission with Travelers
In 2024, Travelers and American Forests celebrated a remarkable milestone: Surpassing 5 million trees planted or conserved across 18 U.S. states and Canada during our six-year partnership. Travelers has expanded their current commitment to fund the planting or conservation of up to 10 million trees by 2030.
Photo Credit: Scott Lowden / American Forests
Photo Credit: Mikayla Heinen / American Forests
Advancing Tree Equity with Green Columbus and Google.org
American Forests teamed up with Green Columbus, Google.org and community members to plant trees on the Columbus Africentric Early College High School campus. The event celebrated the launch of the Columbus and Franklin County, OH Tree Equity Score Analyzer application. The tool, launched in March 2024, allows for advanced prioritization for tree-planting efforts, scenario planning and impact reporting to assist users in improving Tree Equity Scores on a site-by-site basis.
Restoring forests for clean water with the Coca-Cola Foundation
In California, American Forests partnered with The Coca-Cola Foundation to help restore 1,700 acres in Eldorado National Forest burned by the 2021 Caldor Fire. As part of broader reforestation efforts through our REPLANT initiative, our partnership supported watershed replenishment, providing over 175,000 people downstream with clean water, by planting seedlings, stewarding recently planted trees and collecting cones to reforest the area and create a more resilient landscape.
Photo Credit: Andrew Studer / American Forests
“I support American Forests because they work holistically to bring the power of trees to everyone — whether in urban communities, by restoring forests and through dedicated policy efforts. I hope others are inspired to give to American Forests today because we’re all stronger when working as a community — just like forests are the collective of individual trees.” — Karen Kocher, American Forests Donor
