What Pacific Forest Trust does

Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1993 by Connie Best and Laurie Wayburn, headquartered in San Francisco with regional offices in Portland, Sacramento, and Ashland. The organization works with private forest landowners, government agencies, tribal nations, and conservation partners across California, Oregon, and Washington to conserve working private forestlands. Its mission centers on sustaining forests for their public benefits of wood, water, wildlife, and human well-being. PFT has cumulatively conserved more than 360,000 acres of forestland and currently stewards conservation easements on over 130,000 acres.

The organization's core technical innovation is the Working Forest Conservation Easement (WFCE), a conservation framework that directs forest management toward specific restoration goals while preserving working forest status and permitting sustainable timber harvest, as an alternative to "forever wild" or development-only easements. PFT also developed the first regulatory compliance forest carbon offset project under California's compliance offset market, and has implemented large-scale prescribed fire on commercially managed private forestlands, including the largest such project in California in over two decades at McCloud Soda Springs (~900 acres). Core service lines include conservation easement development and stewardship, forest carbon offset project development, prescribed fire implementation, and long-term easement monitoring with landowner support.

PFT operates as a nonprofit funded through five primary revenue streams: tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations; competitive grants from government agencies and foundations; carbon offset sales (notably $2M from the California Van Eck Forest Project for 185,000 metric tons of verified emissions reductions, 2005-2009); sustainable timber harvest revenue from managed properties (exceeding 2,000,000 board feet annually); and conservation easement partnership fees. Major grant sources include the California Wildlife Conservation Board ($1.8M for McCloud Soda Springs), Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Land Trust Alliance, and the Moore Foundation. The organization is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and holds a Charity Navigator Four-Star rating.

Name

Pacific Forest Trust

Legal name

Pacific Forest Trust

Website

https://pacificforest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pacific Forest Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1993 that conserves 360,000+ acres of private forestland across California and Oregon through Working Forest Conservation Easements, forest carbon offsets, and prescribed fire programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forest Conservation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (115310), Timber Tract Operations (113110), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Forest Ecosystem Services & Carbon/Conservation Programs (AFAMAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC), Timberland Carbon & Natural Capital Project Development (Offsets/REDD+) (AFAMAKAH), Forest Carbon Projects & Ecosystem Services (Carbon Credits, Biodiversity) (IMAMAAAJ)

Keywords

• Forest conservation easements
• Working forest stewardship
• Forest carbon offsets
• Prescribed fire management
• Watershed protection services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: PFT relies on generous support from individuals, foundations, and corporations to fund conservation operations, land acquisitions, and policy initiatives. Tax-deductible donations under 501(c)(3) status.
2. Conservation Easement Development: Working with landowners to develop and hold conservation easements that provide economic incentives for forest stewardship, often funded through grants and public-private partnerships.
3. Carbon Offset Sales: California van Eck Forest Project generated $2M from sale of 185,000 metric tons of registered emissions reductions (2005-2009), providing complementary economic returns to timber harvests and balancing volatile timber market income.
4. Grants and Government Funding: Secured grants from entities including Land Trust Alliance, Oregon Community Foundation, California Wildlife Conservation Board ($1.8M for McCloud Soda Springs), and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board for conservation projects.
5. Timber Harvest Revenue: Annual harvests from managed forest properties exceed 2,000,000 board feet. Van Eck Oregon property alone generates 5-8% internal rate of return from timber income over 30 years.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pacific Forest Trust develops and holds Working Forest Conservation Easements, provides long-term easement stewardship, develops forest carbon offset projects for California's compliance market, and implements prescribed fire programs on private forestlands in California, Oregon, and Washington. Its work combines conservation finance, policy advocacy, and direct landowner engagement to keep private forests as working, ecologically resilient landscapes rather than converting them to development.

Product overview

Pacific Forest Trust operates as a nonprofit conservation organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of conservation programs and services including Working Forest Conservation Easements (WFCE) that guide forest management for restoration while permitting sustainable harvesting, forest carbon offset projects, prescribed fire management programs, and conservation easement stewardship. The organization also publishes research reports, the Forest Flash monthly newsletter, and ForestLife quarterly newsletter. These programs work together to deliver landscape-scale private forest conservation across California and Oregon, advancing climate solutions, watershed protection, and wildlife habitat preservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Working Forest Conservation Easements (WFCE) Conservation easements that guide active forest management toward specific restoration goals while permitting sustainable timber harvesting, providing landowners with economic incentives to keep forests as working landscapes. Offered to private forest landowners in California, Oregon, and Washington.
• Conservation Easement Stewardship Long-term monitoring and management of conserved forest properties under PFT-held easements, including annual property visits, habitat documentation, easement compliance monitoring, and landowner partnership support. Delivered to private landowners and conservation partners.
• Forest Carbon Offset Projects Forest carbon offset projects developed for California's compliance offset market, generating verified emissions reductions while supporting sustainable timber management. Delivered to private forest landowners, generating revenue from sale of registered emissions reductions.
• Prescribed Fire Management Controlled burning programs implemented on privately managed forestlands to reduce wildfire risk, restore ecosystem processes, and maintain habitat diversity. Delivered in partnership with private landowners, agencies such as the California Wildlife Conservation Board, and conservation funders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conserved over 360,000 acres of forestland
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Campbell Global, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampbell Global serves as forest manager for TC&I Shasta, LLC's Shasta Timberlands property. PFT partners with Campbell Global on the approximately 7,500-acre working forest conservation easement, with CEO John Gilleland expressing pride in the partnership for delivering lasting public benefits for wildlife, water flows, and climate change mitigation while maintaining jobs.
• TC&I Shasta, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandowner partner for the Shasta Timberlands Working Forest conservation easement. The partnership protects approximately 7,500 acres at the headwaters of Sacramento and Klamath Rivers, integrating public and private working lands with 42,000 acres of other PFT-conserved forestland.
• Van Eck Forest FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPFT has held conservation easements and management responsibilities for Van Eck Forest Foundation's 9,400 acres of forestland in California and Oregon since 2002. The foundation supports forest research and scholarships at Purdue University with revenue generated from the properties. Derek Van Eck serves as Chair.
• Purdue UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Van Eck Forest Foundation supports forest research and graduate scholarships at Purdue University with revenue generated from the properties PFT manages.
• TerrafirmacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPFT is a member of Terrafirma, a charitable risk pool and insurance service that defends conservation efforts and upholds easement terms. PFT participates to ensure the permanence of their conservation work.
• Southern Sierra Miwuk NationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPFT transferred nearly 900 acres of Henness Ridge property near Yosemite to the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation in November 2025, restoring ancestral homeland after 175 years. PFT previously partnered with this tribe on InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council conservation easement - the first-ever conservation easement with a Tribal entity in the U.S.
• Timber Rings Tree CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwner of 3,100 acres of mixed conifer forest in Evans Creek headwaters (Southern Oregon) partnering with PFT on Working Forest Conservation Easement to protect salmon and steelhead spawning habitat.
• Schroll TimberlandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwner of McCloud Soda Springs Working Forest (1,346 acres) where PFT holds Working Forest Conservation Easement and manages the forest on their behalf. PFT conducted nearly 900 acres of prescribed burns with $1.8M grant from California's Wildlife Conservation Board.
• Volgenau Climate InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVCI and PFT are working together to build a network advancing nature-based solutions which restore, manage, and maintain old and mature forests across the Pacific Northwest. PFT supports coordination and growth of this collaborative initiative bringing together private forest owners, government agencies, tribes, mills, scientists, and NGOs.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Trust for Public Land: National land conservation nonprofit that acquires and stewards land across the U.S. Comparable to PFT in land trust accreditation, conservation easement expertise, and policy advocacy at federal/state levels, but operates across broader geographies and land types beyond private working forests.
• The Nature Conservancy: Largest global conservation nonprofit with major Pacific coast operations. Comparable to PFT in working forest conservation, climate-smart forestry, and large-scale easement stewardship, but operates at much greater scale across all ecosystems rather than focusing exclusively on private working forests.

Direct peers

• The Conservation Fund: National nonprofit that works with private landowners, government agencies, and corporations to conserve working lands including forests. Closely comparable to PFT's model of marrying economic returns with conservation outcomes, especially on timberlands and forest carbon projects.
• American Forests: National nonprofit dedicated exclusively to forest conservation and reforestation. Comparable in mission focus, policy advocacy in Washington D.C., and Tree Equity/forest restoration work, though oriented more to urban forestry and replanting than to private working forest easements.
• InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council: Consortium of ten Northern California Tribal nations holding conservation easements with PFT. Closely comparable as a Tribal-led land steward and PFT's partner on the first Tribal conservation easement in U.S. history — analogous mission via different institutional structure.

Others

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) US: Standards and certification body for sustainable forest management. Comparable to PFT in promoting sustainable forestry practices on private lands, though FSC operates as a certifier/standards body rather than a direct land steward or easement holder.
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI): Nonprofit sustainable forest certification organization with strong North American footprint. Adjacent to PFT's mission in advancing sustainable private forestry practices, though operates via certification standards rather than direct land conservation.
• Land Trust Alliance: National umbrella organization representing 1,000+ land trusts and providing accreditation (PFT is accredited). Comparable as an ecosystem enabler for conservation easements, and a grant funder to PFT for Mt. Ashland — more network/peer than competitor.
• Campbell Global: Timberland investment manager that forest-manages PFT-conserved properties like Shasta Timberlands. Comparable as a private-forest ecosystem participant (stewardship, carbon, timber returns), though operates as a for-profit investment manager rather than a nonprofit conservation organization.

Emerging players

• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: Habitat-focused nonprofit that partners with private landowners on conservation easements and land stewardship. Comparable in easement-driven wildlife habitat conservation model, though focused on elk habitat rather than working forests and watersheds.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pacificforest
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PacificForestTrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/pacificforest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacific-forest-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/pacific_forest_trust

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pacific Forest Trust