Forests For The Bay Launches New Tool To Help Develop Conservation Projects Nearly 80% of woodlands in the Chesapeake are owned by families and businesses. This means that much of the clean air and water, wildlife habitat, jobs, and other benefits are provided by private woodland owners. To help maintain and enhance these benefits, many governments, private foundations, and businesses offer financial incentives to woodland owners to manage their woods. The Forest for the Bay Woodland Crediting Platform is designed to ease owner access to these conservation funding opportunities and help them better communicate the benefits that their management actions provide.

Land managers can use the tool map their tree planting, forest mitigation and other projects, create multiple project designs, and manage their projects through approvals for select conservation programs. Each project developed through the Woodland Crediting Platform has a public listing that highlights the general site location, type, and official issuance organization (e.g. local governments). This basic information allows conservation buyers to see if projects meet their needs.