Take a Hike

“This area is a high priority for conservation because of the development pressure and value of the hardwood timber in the area. This area also has historic significance and research value.”

The forest restoration practices are tailored to suit the trees and habitats to not only maximize carbon sequestration but to benefit the flora and fauna. Not only are there are restrictions in place to ensure the longevity of the project, but the Nature Conservancy’s commitment to restoration suggests the forest will be healthier and more resilient to climate change for the future.”

– Sid Yadav, Director of Project Research

Project Type: Avoided Nature Loss

Carbon Standard: American Carbon Registry (CAR)

Vintage: 2018

Additionality: The project activities exceed enforced laws and regulations, exceed common forestry practice in the geographic region and for the forest type, and faced a financial barrier to forest management.

Permanence: The project developer commits to maintaining, monitoring, and verifying the project for a minimum term of 40 years.

Site Visit: April 2021

Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, the Cumberland Plateau is an infamous hardwood forest with the county’s highest peak, Chestnut Mountain, within. In 2018, 5,686 acres of the Plateau, including Chestnut Mountain, were gifted to the Nature Conservancy with the goals of protecting and improving the resiliency of the forest, protecting the local water supply, providing an education and research platform, and protecting the flora and fauna. As a result of the modified forestry management techniques and enhanced financial security from the sale of carbon offsets, rates of carbon sequestration are improving: the project will sequester approximately 480,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide over the first 20-year crediting period.

Before the project started, most forest owners in the region were motivated to sell the timber or land for development with limited consideration for its conservation value as a portion of the world’s largest hardwood forested plateau. Scientific publications point to this area and the Appalachians more broadly as an important corridor for wildlife and plants, many of which are threatened and endangered. The financing from the carbon offset sales enables improved forestry management techniques, including treating trees for the hemlock woolly adelgid pest and re-introducing fires into the area. It eliminates clear-cutting management and other even-aged tree management techniques.

• Protects the local community water supply.
• Restores shortleaf pine forests and improved forest management program more broadly.
• Connects multiple forests, serving as a wildlife corridor, for wildlife enhancement and protection.
• Home to rare species and common wildlife including several bats, green salamander, Allegheny woodrat, black bear, wild turkey, deer, bobcat, red and gray foxes, and timber rattlesnake.
• Local research and education site for local universities and community members
• Includes public recreation and hiking trails for communities’ use and preserves a historic area

• The project is reintroducing fire management in the area to encourage the growth of native species and house wildlife.
• Risk of pest infestations by the hemlock woolly adelgid, however, treatments have been successful, and trees are under surveillance.
• Reporting on sustainable development goals is irregular

The property is just spectacular…thousands of acres of Cumberland Plateau forests, a 100-acre lake, caves and streams, all capped by Chestnut Mountain itself—the highest peak in the county at 2,000 feet. The Nature Conservancy is a valued landowner in our county with Chestnut Mountain protecting the community’s drinking water supply, protecting our valuable forests and wildlife, and providing additional recreation and education opportunities for the people in our community and beyond. -Denny Wayne Robinson, County Executive, White County Tennessee