Blue Forest

Imagine planning not just for your own lifetime, but for seven generations to come. How might that influence the decisions you make today? That question grounded a gathering in Oregon’s Rogue Valley last week, where Klamath Bird Observatory, Lomakatsi Restoration Project, and Klamath-Siskiyou Oak Network members convened partners, practitioners, and others working to learn from one another and strengthen restoration across the region. The group visited the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative to view oak habitat restoration work funded by WATERSHED ENHANCEMENT BOARD, OREGON and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Belinda Brown of Lomakatsi Restoration Project opened the morning by reflecting on how stewardship runs in both directions across time—honoring those who came before while carrying responsibility for those yet to come. She spoke of our accountability to our descendants who will live seven generations in the future: “The eyes of the generations coming after us are on us today.” The day’s engagement began inside the over-150-year-old Lake Creek Grange, which mirrors the arc of history Belinda reflected on. If you look seven generations back, this valley was at a turning point: Indigenous communities had tended these oak woodlands for thousands of years through cultural burning, harvest, and ceremony, but by the time the Grange was built in 1867, traditional practices like these had been discouraged and, in many places, criminalized by settlers. These changes left lasting ecological imprints that still shape the landscape today. Carrying forward the work of renewal has become the life’s work of Lomakatsi, a Tribally affiliated organization that has spent the last three decades advancing restoration across the region. Through the Rogue Valley I Forest Resilience Bond, Blue Forest is helping to remove capacity-limiting financial and structural barriers, which supports Lomakatsi and partners in expanding the reach and durability of their work. Our team appreciated the opportunity to gather and reflect on what it will take for oaks to reclaim light and space in the Rogue Valley once again, and how we can harness collaboration to help sustain that work for generations to come. Thank you to everyone who shares in that vision. Marko Bey, Shane Jimerfield, Tom Greco, Jaime Stephens, Seren Pendleton-Knoll, Benjamin Steele, Robyn Brooks, Mac Cloyes, Natasha Collins, Kayla Calkins, Klamath Bird Observatory, The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture, Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative, The Understory Initiative, Cities4Forests, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

In early October, the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment co-hosted a field tour with local partners, Blue Forest, and Metropolitan Water District to share ongoing forest restoration work as part of the North Fork Forest Recovery project on the Plumas National Forest and adjacent work on private lands. These projects focus on reducing wildfire risk, supporting forest health, and protecting community and watershed resilience. What is a Forest Resilience Bond (FRB)? An FRB, developed by our partners at Blue Forest, is an innovative financing tool that helps fund forest restoration projects that protect critical watersheds and rural communities. The bond allows public and private partners—such as utilities, conservation groups, and state agencies—to share in the cost of restoration work that benefits everyone. What the FRB supports The FRB provides funding for on-the-ground work like forest thinning and fuels reduction. These activities are designed to reduce wildfire risk, restore watershed function, and protect infrastructure and communities. Every acre of work supported by the FRB has undergone required environmental analysis, and is implemented with local landowner consent through signed agreements, and in collaboration with federal, and community partners. All work completed by Sierra Institute as part of the FRB is focused on forest health and wildfire risk reduction; support has enabled implementation of hand thinning and piling, mechanical thinning, and prescribed fire. What the FRB is not The FRB does not give outside entities control over local water rights, land, or management decisions. It does not change ownership, transfer authority, or alter existing rights or governance structures. Rather, it’s a funding mechanism that helps implement restoration projects that have already gone through public involvement and the appropriate environmental planning and analysis processes. We deeply value the relationships and trust we’ve built with local landowners, tribes, and community partners. Our commitment remains the same: to support the people and landscapes of the Sierra and Feather River regions through transparent, community-based forest and watershed restoration. If you’d like to learn more about the Forest Resilience Bond or the projects we’re implementing with local partners, please reach out to us directly (530-284-1022) or visit http://sierrainstitute.us

Forested mountain ecosystems generally act as carbon sinks, but this capacity is at risk as threats like drought and catastrophic wildfire worsen. This research finds that while in-forest management activities that decrease fire severity can lead to an initial loss of forest carbon, pairing thinning and prescribed fire can maintain forest carbon sinks after subsequent wildfires—particularly when thinned plant materials are removed from the forest and used in long-lasting wood products. A robust wood products economy that can produce long-lived, valuable products from small-diameter biomass is a critical part of meeting wildfire resilience and carbon sequestration goals.

Wildfire risk is growing — and so is the need for bold, scalable innovation. BurnBot is reimagining what safe, effective vegetation management looks like. As investors and partners, we’re proud to help scale innovations like BurnBot that align with Blue Forest’s mission — restoring resilience to landscapes, protecting communities, and unlocking private capital for public good. Learn more about BurnBot in this LA Times Studios article:https://lat.ms/3WLaOER

Last week our team traveled to Canada to share the Forest Resilience Bond model and join conversations on restoring Good Fire to the land. Together with Métis National Council, Métis Nation within Alberta, Parks Canada, and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) we explored how Indigenous Knowledge and Western science can be braided to support healthier, more resilient ecosystems. We’re grateful for the chance to bring our conservation finance expertise to new geographies and explore how outcomes-based financing, in partnership with and led by Indigenous communities, can advance ecosystem restoration. Much gratitude to the Métis National Council for hosting and guiding these important discussions.

More than half of Butte County, California sits in the Wildland-Urban Interface, a geography often defined by both its beauty and vulnerability to wildfire. Since 2018, over half of the county’s WUI has burned in a series of fires, one of the most devastating being the Camp Fire that destroyed 18,000 structures. Last summer’s Park Fire was ultimately the fourth-largest wildfire in California’s history, and it burned over 50,000 acres in Butte County alone. Yet it faltered near Choasset, where the Butte County Fire Safe Council (BCFSC) had implemented earlier fuel reduction treatments. That work slowed the flames, and because of proactive intervention, firefighters gained a critical chance to protect homes and infrastructure. With today’s launch of the Butte Fire Safe I Forest Resilience Bond, we are building on that success. Launched in partnership with BCFSC, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, this project will accelerate restoration across high-risk ridgelines near Paradise, Forest Ranch, and Lake Oroville, helping safeguard lives, landscapes, and the county’s long-term resilience. Read more in the press release about how this effort brings together local crews, Tribal partners, utilities, and mission-driven investors to make resilience possible: https://lnkd.in/gh5CrnrS

How effective are forest treatments at reducing future wildfire severity and increasing forest carbon stability? New research from American Forests, Vibrant Planet, and Blue Forest—featured in Vibrant Planet’s latest blog—shows that managed forests are more resilient than untreated ones. Treatments help stabilize carbon and reduce wildfire severity, with the strongest benefits when projects cover 15 acres or more.

We’re seeking a Human Resources Manager to support our mission-driven team. This fully remote role balances core HR responsibilities—recruitment, onboarding, performance management, employee relations—with opportunities to lead projects, shape organizational culture, and grow professionally. Ideal candidates are proactive, resourceful HR professionals with 3–5 years of experience, ready to contribute to a collaborative, interdisciplinary team. Why Blue Forest? ✅ Fully remote, mission-driven work ✅ 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision ✅ Generous paid time off, family leave, and professional development support ✅ Stipends for home office, wellness, and exploring public lands Be part of a team that accelerates ecological restoration and builds climate resilience for ecosystems and communities. Apply today: https://bit.ly/4ntwRf1

Most restoration projects are funded on a reimbursement basis, which means groups are often asked to cover payroll and equipment costs up front and then sometimes wait months for agencies and funders to process payments. For many organizations, there’s very limited margin to float those costs. Without that buffer, groups face an impossible choice—strain their resources to keep crews working, or stand still while the short window for critical restoration closes around them. Forest Resilience Bonds help break that cycle, putting capital in place so the people doing the hard work aren’t limited by slow funding streams. This piece from our partners at the World Resources Institute spotlights our partner Lomakatsi Restoration Project in the Rogue Basin, where financing through the Rogue I FRB has helped Lomakatsi accelerate restoration across 79,000 acres in Oregon’s Rogue Basin while reducing wildfire risk and supporting local crews and communities.

Ten years ago, Blue Forest was little more than a scrappy start-up, envisioning a better future alongside The Rockefeller Foundation, World Resources Institute, and other early allies who saw an innovative path for the future of finance in conservation. As we closed our engagement with #ClimateWeekNYC yesterday, we gathered with many of the partners and teammates who’ve built this work alongside us over the past decade, and to imagine what the next ten years might hold. All week long, our team has joined conversations on Indigenous partnerships, outcomes-based finance for nature-based solutions, U.S. leadership in global conservation, and the future of forest restoration. Taken together, the themes from across these sessions underscored that the next decade will be about accelerating flows of capital into the models that are working, and widening the circle of who those models serve. Our task now is not only to keep building upon our own pipeline, but also to continue nurturing the field of conservation finance from an emerging niche into a core part of how governments, markets, and communities resource resilience—and doing so at the scale that our future demands. #conservationfinance #NYCW