Blue Forest Conservation
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Blue Forest Conservation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blue Forest Conservation
- Legal name
- Blue Forest Finance Inc.
- Website
- https://blueforest.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Blue Forest Conservation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Conservation Finance
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (115310)
- SIC
- Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sustainable Real Assets (Green Real Estate, Land, Forestry) Funds (FSANAJAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian) (IMAMAJAH)
Keywords
Where Blue Forest Conservation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices11 records
Markets served
Blue Forest Conservation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and philanthropic giving: 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (EIN 83-1666979); receives tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate donors. Includes recurring and one-time giving, plus membership in 1% for the Planet.
- Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) investment capital and repayments: Private and impact investors (Hall Capital, ImpactAssets, RSF Social Finance, CSAA Insurance, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Calvert Impact Capital, Inherent Foundation, Alumbra Innovations Foundation) provide upfront working capital repaid by project beneficiaries (water utilities, federal/state agencies, corporations) over the life of each FRB. Yuba I: $4M; Yuba II: $25M; Catalyst Facility: $12M+; target $50M+.
- California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) / BFAM investment management: BFAM deploys flexible, long-term capital into companies and projects advancing forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction in California. Anchored by $25M from CSAA Insurance Group and $25M from California IBank Climate Catalyst Fund. Generates financial returns alongside environmental/social impact.
- Grants and philanthropic fundraising: Senior Manager of Development and Grants Development Associate manage a portfolio of foundation, corporate, and government grants.
- Other revenue (project development, technical assistance): Blue Forest charges project development / structuring fees and provides technical assistance to partners (e.g., ecosystem benefit modeling, geospatial analysis, project management).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Donations (one-time and recurring) to 501(c)(3) Blue Forest Finance Inc. |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | FRB capital participation (institutional / impact investors) |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | FRB Catalyst Facility — pooled investment vehicle |
| Other | Multi-year contract | California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) — institutional LPs |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Watershed Resilience Bond (WRB) — interest-free financing for private landowners |
Go-to-market motion5 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Blue Forest Conservation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blue Forest Conservation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that develops and deploys outcomes-based conservation finance instruments — primarily the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) — to provide upfront private and impact capital for forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction on public, Tribal, and private lands, with repayment sourced from project beneficiaries such as water utilities, energy utilities, state agencies, and corporations. Its portfolio is extended through the FRB Catalyst Facility (pooled investment vehicle), Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM) and the California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) for growth capital to restoration businesses, and the Watershed Resilience Bond (WRB) for private working lands, all supported by in-house geospatial and data science for ecosystem benefit quantification.
Product overview
Blue Forest Conservation (operating as Blue Forest) is a non-profit conservation finance organization that brings together communities, finance, and science to restore and protect forests and watersheds. Its product portfolio centers on the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) — its flagship core financial product that deploys private capital to finance forest restoration on public lands to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk — supported by the Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM) investment arm, the FRB Catalyst Facility pooled investment vehicle, and the California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) under BFAM. More recently, Blue Forest expanded its offerings with the Watershed Resilience Bond (WRB), a new product line extending conservation finance to privately owned working lands. Together, these products form an integrated conservation finance platform in which individual project bonds (FRBs and WRBs) are originated and serviced, while the Catalyst Facility and CWIF provide portfolio-level financing and growth capital to scale restoration impact across the Western U.S.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM): Asset management arm providing capital and technical assistance to support sustainable businesses and infrastructure projects at the heart of the restoration economy; manages the California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF).
- Forest Resilience Bond (FRB)
- California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF)
- FRB Catalyst Facility
Products and services
- Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) Blue Forest's flagship financial product deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects on public lands that reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The FRB brings together project beneficiaries, investors, and implementation partners to finance fuels reduction, prescribed burning, meadow restoration, and other forest health treatments. It is an outcomes-based, beneficiary-financed bond with repayment sourced from project beneficiaries (utilities, water agencies, federal/state agencies, foundations, corporations).
- California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) First investment fund under Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), designed to reduce the risk of wildfire across California. Provides flexible, long-term financing to companies and entrepreneurs leading forest restoration and wildfire mitigation work, including investments in emerging opportunities across California's forest restoration and wood utilization sectors. Anchored by $25M from CSAA Insurance Group and $25M from California IBank's Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund.
- Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM) Asset management arm that provides capital and technical assistance to support sustainable businesses and infrastructure projects at the heart of the restoration economy. Manages investment funds, including the California Wildfire Innovation Fund, that provide flexible, long-term financing to companies advancing forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction.
- FRB Catalyst Facility Pooled investment vehicle that speeds up the financing process for Blue Forest by financing a portfolio of many pilot projects rather than one FRB at a time. Expected to finance at least $50 million in forest restoration work in Oregon, California, Washington and other communities across the Western U.S. while delivering a return to investors.
- Watershed Resilience Bond (WRB) First-of-its-kind financial product focused on improving watershed resilience across property boundaries on private working lands. Co-developed with Pheasants Forever, the WRB taps into private capital to finance restoration projects that increase watershed resilience to fire and other disturbances while enabling landowners to repay their portion of cost share over time.
Quantifiable outcome
- $57.7M deployed for ecosystem resilience across the FRB portfolio
- +16 more outcomes
Companies that use Blue Forest Conservation
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles8 records
Blue Forest Conservation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Blue Forest Conservation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
36 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- World Resources Institute (WRI)flagshipCo-developer of the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) model alongside NFF and USFS. WRI's Cities4Forests Director (Todd Gartner) endorsed the Yuba II FRB. WRI provides ecosystem benefit analysis and technical expertise that translates ecological outcomes into terms that resonate with beneficiaries.
- National Forest Foundation (NFF)flagshipCo-developer of the FRB model. Implementation partner for Yuba I, Yuba II, and Plumas Community Protection I FRBs; leads on-the-ground work, contracting and executing restoration activities.
- USDA Forest Service (USFS)flagshipCo-developer of the FRB model. Land manager and project partner across multiple National Forests (Tahoe, Eldorado, Plumas, Lassen, Okanogan-Wenatchee, Six Rivers, Rogue River-Siskiyou). USFS provides funding for FRB projects and is the primary land manager where restoration occurs.
- Chelan County Natural Resources DepartmentcoreProject management and implementation lead for the Upper Wenatchee I FRB in coordination with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
- Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority (UMRWA)coreCoalition of water agencies (EBMUD, Amador Water Agency, etc.) that co-invests in the Upper Mokelumne I FRB and coordinates implementation of the Forest Projects Plan Phase I. Provides a zero-interest line of credit via the FRB structure.
- Lomakatsi Restoration ProjectflagshipImplementation partner for Rogue Valley I FRB and OrCal Regional Restoration I FRB in southern Oregon and northern California. Brings decades of on-the-ground expertise and deep relationships with USFS, BLM, USFWS, NRCS, Tribal Nations, and state agencies. Operates Inter-Tribal Indian Youth Service Corps for Tribal workforce development.
- Butte County Fire Safe Council (BCFSC)coreLead local partner on the Butte Fire Safe I FRB; implements fuels reduction, prescribed burning, oak woodland restoration, hazard tree removal in the WUI around Paradise, Forest Ranch, and Lake Oroville. Partners with Berry Creek Rancheria tribal crews.
- Butte County Resource Conservation District (Butte County RCD)coreFirst FRB with an RCD acting as implementation partner. Coordinates implementation of 1,000-1,500 acres within the 20,000-acre Upper Butte Creek Forest Health Project on the Lassen National Forest.
- Sierra Institute for the Community and EnvironmentcoreImplementation partner on North Feather I FRB on the Plumas National Forest; coordinates vegetation management, hazard tree removal, reforestation, invasive species management, prescribed fire, and hydrological improvement on 800-1,000 priority acres.
- South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)corePartner on Yuba Aspen & Meadow I FRB and founding member of the North Yuba Forest Partnership (NYFP). Supports Tribal workforce development and Indigenous stewardship in the Yuba watershed.
- Pheasants ForeverflagshipCo-developer of the Watershed Resilience Bond (WRB), the first financial product from Blue Forest that focuses on improving watershed resilience across private property boundaries. Implementation partner on the SONEC I WRB. Provides upfront financing, contract management, and technical expertise to private landowners.
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)coreFounding member of the North Yuba Forest Partnership (NYFP), a 9-organization coalition focused on 275,000 acres of the North Yuba River watershed.
- Sierra County (California)coreFounding member of the North Yuba Forest Partnership (NYFP).
- Camptonville Community PartnershipminorFounding member of the North Yuba Forest Partnership (NYFP).
- Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan TribeflagshipIndigenous stewardship partner on Yuba I, Yuba II, and Yuba Aspen & Meadow I FRBs in the North Yuba River watershed. Co-developer of restoration workshop series supporting Tribal workforce development.
- Koy'o Land Conservancy and Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated TribeflagshipFirst tribally-led Forest Resilience Bond (Colfax I FRB). Restoring 408 acres of Tribal and co-stewarded land in Placer and El Dorado Counties, CA. The F.L.I.C.K.E.R. Crew (Fire Leadership for Intertribal Conservation Knowledge-keeping Eco-cultural Revitalization) is the implementing workforce.
- Shingle Springs Band of Miwok IndianscoreCo-stewardship partner on the Colfax I FRB; ecocultural restoration of Miwok, Maidu, and Nisenan homelands.
- Center for Ecosystem Climate Solutions (CECS)coreScience partner in California. Co-located with Blue Forest's California projects; provides data atlas to quantify water supply and other benefits for utilities and corporations.
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)coreScience partner in Washington. Quantifies water benefits in watersheds within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (e.g., Upper Wenatchee I FRB).
- Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI, UC Merced)coreQuantified the water supply benefits of forest restoration for the initial Yuba FRBs, critical for demonstrating value to Yuba Water.
- California Council on Science and Technology (CCST)coreCo-produced a policy-relevant report on the wildfire smoke impacts on human health. Co-hosted the webinar 'Pathways for a More Smoke-Resilient California.'
- World Economic Forum (WEF)flagshipFeatured in WEF 2026 white paper 'From Wildfire Risk to Resilience: The Investment Case for Action.' Blue Forest colleagues participated in the WEF Global Wildfire Leadership Network gathering in Geneva (Feb 2026). WEF is standing up the Forest Future Alliance based on the framework.
- Sorenson Impact InstitutecoreHosted the day-long forum 'Scaling Nature-based Solutions Through Innovative Finance' at Climate Week NYC 2025; CEO Zach Knight spoke on the panel 'Using Outcomes-Based Financing to Scale Nature-Based Solutions.'
- 1t.org US (Forest Restoration Leadership Forum)coreConvenes leaders across business, government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector to accelerate U.S. forest restoration. Blue Forest's CEO Zach Knight speaks at the annual Forest Restoration Leadership Forum.
- Greenville Rancheria and Maidu Summit ConsortiumminorCultural monitoring and stewardship partners on the North Feather I FRB; protect cultural resources within the North Fork Forest Recovery Project. Includes the Maidu Stewardship Project Area (MSPA), a 1,500-acre area.
- Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu IndiansminorPartnering with BCFSC to integrate Indigenous knowledge and practices on the Butte Fire Safe I FRB while creating local workforce development opportunities.
- North Central Washington Forest Health CollaborativeminorLocal support partner for the Upper Wenatchee I FRB.
- Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative (SOFRC)minorPartner on the Rogue Valley I FRB. Executive Director Terry Fairbanks publicly endorses the FRB Catalyst Facility / Rogue Valley I FRB.
- Karuk Tribe and Mid Klamath Watershed CouncilminorPartners with Lomakatsi and USFS on the McCash Hazard Tree Removal Project, a post-fire effort on the Six Rivers National Forest funded through the OrCal I FRB.
- Vibrant PlanetcoreCo-author with Blue Forest's Dr. Micah Elias and others on the Nature Sustainability 2025 paper 'Restoring credibility in carbon offsets through systematic ex post evaluation' (Dr. Katharyn Duffy lead). Co-develops observed-baseline methodology for carbon crediting.
- American Forest Foundation (AFF)coreCo-author on 'Rising from the ashes: treatments stabilize carbon storage in California's frequent-fire forests' (Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, Sep 2025; lead author Ethan Yackulic). Partner in observed-baseline carbon methodology.
- Northern Arizona UniversityminorResearch partner on observed-baseline carbon credit methodology (2025 publications).
- Bear Bones Lab (UC Davis)minorProject partner on the Colfax I FRB; developing a database of Tribal information for cultural monitoring and collaborative research.
- Lake Wenatchee Fire Adapted Communities / Lake Wenatchee Fire & RescueminorLocal support partners for the Upper Wenatchee I FRB.
- Forest Projects Plan Phase I (FPP-1) / Eldorado National ForestcoreLong-running forest restoration effort across the Upper Mokelumne watershed; supported by the Upper Mokelumne I FRB. UMRWA's Governing Board oversees the FPP-1.
- BlueCommons, River Partners, Trees Water & PeopleminorCo-panelists with Blue Forest's Saraya Hamidi at Climate Week NYC 2025 on 'How Nonprofits and Tribes Are Rewriting the Story of Climate Finance.'
Scale indicators21 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Blue Forest Conservation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Pollination Group: Pollination is a global climate finance advisory and investment firm specializing in nature-based solutions, reforestation, and carbon project development. Comparable to Blue Forest in developing finance mechanisms for forest and ecosystem services at scale and advising on beneficiary-financed structures.
- Earth Genome: Earth Genome is a non-profit that builds open-source data infrastructure and analytics for natural capital markets, including benefit quantification and ESG reporting. Comparable to Blue Forest's geospatial and data science function (Director of Conservation Science, Data Science Manager) in supporting investable nature-based solutions.
- Carbon Growth Partners: Carbon Growth Partners is an emerging natural climate solutions fund manager focused on forestry and nature-based carbon projects with institutional LPs. Comparable to BFAM in deploying institutional capital into restoration at scale, with similar reliance on rigorous project-level benefit quantification.
Broad incumbents
- Conservation International: Conservation International is a global conservation NGO with a Nature-based Solutions finance program and significant carbon and biodiversity project pipeline. Broad incumbent comparable in mobilizing private capital for landscape-scale forest conservation, but operating globally and at much larger scale.
- World Resources Institute: WRI is a global research organization that co-developed the Forest Resilience Bond model with Blue Forest, NFF, and USFS and provides ecosystem benefit quantification expertise. A broad incumbent and direct strategic co-developer of Blue Forest's flagship product, with much larger global footprint.
- The Nature Conservancy: TNC is one of the largest global conservation organizations with a substantial forest conservation portfolio, capital deployment capacity, and a founding role in the North Yuba Forest Partnership alongside Blue Forest. A broad incumbent comparable in mission, but operating at vastly larger scale across geographies.
Direct peers
- EcoTrust: EcoTrust is a Pacific Northwest-based conservation finance organization that develops innovative finance tools (e.g., Forest Resilience Fund, Aggregate Service Cooperative model) for working forestlands and Tribal stewardship. Directly comparable in regional focus on Oregon/Washington forests and in deploying private capital into forest restoration.
- Climate Asset Management: Climate Asset Management is a natural capital investment manager (joint venture between HSBC and Pollination) deploying patient capital into forestry, regenerative agriculture, and nature-based solutions. It is the closest direct peer to Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM) in terms of mission-driven natural capital investing with institutional LPs.
- National Forest Foundation: The National Forest Foundation is the official nonprofit partner of the USDA Forest Service and co-developer of the Forest Resilience Bond model alongside Blue Forest, WRI, and USFS. Directly comparable as both a co-developer and a parallel implementer of FRB-funded restoration on National Forest System lands.
Regional players
- Resources Legacy Fund: Resources Legacy Fund is a California-focused philanthropic foundation that funds landscape-scale conservation initiatives, including forest health and wildfire resilience efforts. Comparable in supporting California ecosystem restoration projects, but as a grantmaker rather than a transaction originator.
Market position
Strengths6 records
Weaknesses6 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Blue Forest Conservation social profiles
Digital presenceBlue Forest Conservation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blue Forest Conservation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles24 records
Blue Forest Conservation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Blue Forest Conservation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blue Forest Conservation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blue Forest Conservation
What does Blue Forest Conservation do?
Blue Forest Conservation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that develops and deploys outcomes-based conservation finance instruments — primarily the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) — to provide upfront private and impact capital for forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction on public, Tribal, and private lands, with repayment sourced from project beneficiaries such as water utilities, energy utilities, state agencies, and corporations. Its portfolio is extended through the FRB Catalyst Facility (pooled investment vehicle), Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM) and the California Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) for growth capital to restoration businesses, and the Watershed Resilience Bond (WRB) for private working lands, all supported by in-house geospatial and data science for ecosystem benefit quantification.
Is Blue Forest Conservation a public or private company?
Blue Forest Conservation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Blue Forest Conservation founded?
Blue Forest Conservation was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Blue Forest Conservation based?
Blue Forest Conservation is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Blue Forest Conservation make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Donations and philanthropic giving is the primary driver. The others are forest Resilience Bond (FRB) investment capital and repayments, california Wildfire Innovation Fund (CWIF) / BFAM investment management, grants and philanthropic fundraising and other revenue (project development, technical assistance).
Who are Blue Forest Conservation's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Pollination Group, Earth Genome and Carbon Growth Partners. Broad incumbents are Conservation International, World Resources Institute and The Nature Conservancy. Direct peers are EcoTrust, Climate Asset Management and National Forest Foundation. Resources Legacy Fund is listed as a regional player.
Does Blue Forest Conservation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blue Forest Conservation.
What industry is Blue Forest Conservation in?
Blue Forest Conservation's product category is Conservation Finance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAJAD, Sustainable Real Assets (Green Real Estate, Land, Forestry) Funds, with a secondary code of IMAMAJAH, Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian). Its NAICS code is 11531 and its SIC code is 800.