The Climate Trust Funds $3.8 Million in Reforestation Support

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Non-profit The Climate Trust today announced $3.8 million in awards to support reforestation and wildfire recovery efforts in Oregon and Montana. Awards are being allocated from The Climate Trust's (TCT) Enabling Reforestation and Afforestation Success (ERAS) program, which seeks to support critical but underfunded forest restoration activities and demonstrate scalable models of public and private carbon market partnerships to fund reforestation.

The projects funded through ERAS are intended to improve reforestation outcomes by directly enabling reforestation activities or by reducing wildfire risk to newly planted stands. These activities are typically underfunded by public and private capital but can bring substantial benefits to local ecosystems and surrounding communities. Some of these projects will be paired with carbon project investments paying for tree planting to demonstrate a scalable public-private partnership funding model for reforestation in dry, slower-growing, western forests.

The ERAS program is funded through the U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) Forest Landowner Support Program and is estimated to sequester 325,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 5,900 acres.

Wildfire Recovery and Fuel Reduction on Tribal lands
1,100 acres of the Northern Cheyenne's wildfire-impacted lands will be treated to reduce fuel loads and improve planting crew safety by removing burnt and unsafe overstory trees. Wood will be used to support a community fuelwood program. Controlled burns will also be implemented to reduce fuel loads and wildfire risk in nearby stands.

Reducing Community Wildfire Risk and Improving Habitat
Western Rivers Conservancy will conduct thinning and pile burning on 180 acres of their Paulina Meadows property near the community of La Pine, Oregon to reduce hazardous fuels loads and enable ponderosa pine enhancement plantings.

Supporting Cougar Peak Fire Recovery
In 2021, the fast moving Cougar Peak Fire impacted more than 86,000 acres in southeastern Oregon. ERAS funding has been awarded to Collins Timber Company to support their forest restoration efforts to address impacts from this catastrophic wildfire. The funded treatments will enable Collins Timber to remove hazard trees that have blocked areas from being reforested due to safety concerns for planting crews. ERAS funding will also support prescribed burning and other fuel reduction projects to lessen the risk of future wildfires.

Building Wildfire Resiliency with Small Forest Owners
TCT has partnered with Montana Forest Consultants to deliver funding to 6 private forest owners to support their efforts to restore lands burned in recent wildfires and treat remaining unburned forests to improve wildfire resiliency.

About The Climate Trust: A non-profit, nature-based carbon offset project developer and financier, our mission is to help landowners achieve their land stewardship goals and provide global climate benefit. Since 1997 we have committed or generated $107 million for carbon projects, supported 129 projects, and reduced 11.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

For more information visit: Who We Are - The Climate Trust

Contact: Julius Pasay
Executive Director
503-238-1915 | [email protected]

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SOURCE The Climate Trust