Work to Protect Forests | Forest Conservation | The Nature Conservancy

Get Involved:

Donate Now Renew Membership

How We Work

Forests

The Conservancy advances forest management solutions for the benefit of people and nature.

Osa Peninsula Forests 490x250

The rainforest of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. © Sergio Pucci/TNC

The Role of Forests

Forests, quite simply, help sustain all life on Earth.

Forests and their abundance of life give us fuel, food, fiber, and fresh water. They even help to moderate our global climate. They are essential to the health and quality of life of people and nature everywhere.

Our Strategies

FSC certified logs at Cururu, Bolivia. In Cururú and 15 other Bolivian communities, through a project created by the Bolivian government and the U.S. Agency for International Development, forests are commercially harvested using sustainable forest © Ami Vitale

Working Globally

We work with corporations, governments, landowners and communities to protect, restore and manage the world’s forests.
Forests make up 50% of our state, but many are unhealthy. To address the problem, we’re working to increase forests restoration efforts across Oregon. © Rick McEwan

Restoring America's Forests

In North America, we're working to collaboratively accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration.
Forest planner Suryadi Mentemas tags trees at the number four concession logging area in the Kalimantan region of Borneo, Indonesia. © Bridget Besaw

Threats to Forests

Nearly half of the planet’s original forest cover is gone. And much of what remains is in trouble.

Latest Photos

Fire © Jeremy Bailey

ReBorn of Fire

Take a look at fire's restorative capabilities in this slideshow featuring before and after images from controlled burns.
Federal agencies and local groups work together to plan and implement projects on both public and private lands focusing on ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction, such as prescribed burning in Hayfork’s forests.

Reviving a Small Community through Logging

By logging small-diameter trees, Hayfork, CA, is bringing their town back to life.
(ALL RIGHTS) Orange flames dance in the daylight during a prescribed burn on the Conservancy’s Rancho Los Fresnos in Sonora, Mexico. Prescribed fire clears out woody shrubs that compete with native grasses and encourages the regeneration of those grasses. Photo credit: Christiana Ferris/© The Nature Conservancy © Christiana Ferris

Restoring Habitat in Mexico Through Prescribed Burns

See a prescribed burn in Rancho Los Fresnos in action!

Latest Videos

The Nature Conservancy's forest health team has produced a documentary titled "Trees, Pests & People." Image © TNC

Trees, Pests and People

View our new documentary and find out how you can help trees in North America.
Emerald Ash Borer © bugwood.org

The Emerald Ash Borer

Take a humorous look at this invasive beetle in our award-winning video.
Four Canyon Flower. © Mike Fuhr

The Benefits of Prescribed Fire

The Nature Conservancy supports the use of controlled burning to manage landscapes that have adapted over millennia to periodic fire.

Read More

Lion in Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa. © Kenneth K. Coe

Close Encounters with Nature

Whether scary or exciting, nature has a way of sneaking up on you. See stories

Arden O’Connor. © Lajla LeBlanc

Nature Matters

Hear some of nature's success stories and see how nature matters to us all. Watch videos

Donate to The Nature Conservancy

Naches Forest, Washington

Naches Forest, eastern Washington. © John Marshall

When you donate today, you’ll help The Nature Conservancy protect the most vital habitats on Earth.

Explore Related Content

Forest Certification

Help protect forests by purchasing wood that has been certified as being sustainably harvested. Learn more