Investing in Georgia-GrownForest Carbon
New Pilot Program Aims to Help Landowners Respondto Market Volatility, Storm Losses, Other Pressures
Spring 2026
By Jennifer Holley Lux | Photography by Mike Gregory
Business and forestry experts from Georgia Tech, Clemson University, the University of Georgia and the Georgia Forestry Foundation led a field tour in Southeast Georgia that illuminated current challenges facing landowners and the forestry industry. The conversations focused on a central question: how do we help private landowners keep forests as forests by strengthening the economics of long-term forest management?
Organizers shared how they are working to design a Georgia Carbon Exchange to create an additional revenue stream alongside traditional forest products markets.
“If we take care of our forests, our forests will take care of us,” said Yanshu Li, associate professor of forest economics at the University of Georgia (UGA). This message was a main takeaway from the field tour, held January 2026, across working forests in Southeast Georgia. Organized by the Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF) in partnership with the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, Clemson University and the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, the trip brought together university researchers, foresters, potential carbon credit buyers and family landowners. The effort is connected to Georgia RISE (Resilience, Innovation and Sustainability in Emerging Forest Markets), a strategic initiative funded through a USDA Forest Service cooperative agreement with the GFF.
Georgia is the No. 1 forestry state in the nation, and more than 22 million of its roughly 24 million forested acres are privately owned. That means the future of Georgia forestry depends largely on whether family landowners can justify keeping land in forest and reinvesting in it after harvests, storms and market disruptions. Across much of the state, that economic equation has gotten more difficult as forest product demand has fallen by an estimated 30% since 2014 due to mill closures and reductions in manufacturing capacity, according to mill consumption and production data.
Organizers shared how they are working to design a Georgia Carbon Exchange to create an additional revenue stream alongside traditional forest products markets.
“If we take care of our forests, our forests will take care of us,” said Yanshu Li, associate professor of forest economics at the University of Georgia (UGA). This message was a main takeaway from the field tour, held January 2026, across working forests in Southeast Georgia. Organized by the Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF) in partnership with the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, Clemson University and the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, the trip brought together university researchers, foresters, potential carbon credit buyers and family landowners. The effort is connected to Georgia RISE (Resilience, Innovation and Sustainability in Emerging Forest Markets), a strategic initiative funded through a USDA Forest Service cooperative agreement with the GFF.
Georgia is the No. 1 forestry state in the nation, and more than 22 million of its roughly 24 million forested acres are privately owned. That means the future of Georgia forestry depends largely on whether family landowners can justify keeping land in forest and reinvesting in it after harvests, storms and market disruptions. Across much of the state, that economic equation has gotten more difficult as forest product demand has fallen by an estimated 30% since 2014 due to mill closures and reductions in manufacturing capacity, according to mill consumption and production data.
Mr. Hodges has to identify new opportunities for his property — not only to keep his family engaged but also to prove the land is economically valuable, both today and into the future.”
— Matt Hestad, Senior VP, Georgia Forestry Association/Foundation
Herbert Hodges
displays photos: one of his father, Willie Hodges, and the other of his father, brother and mother.
The field tour studied the development of a Georgia-specific carbon exchange that has the potential to conserve forestland, help companies purchase high-quality carbon credits and provide co-benefits for the entire state.
Storm Damage, Weak Markets and Tough Decisions for Landowners
From Valdosta to Augusta, the devastation left by Hurricane Helene remains impossible to miss. A year and a half later, the cleanup — which is slow, expensive and disheartening — is still ongoing across thousands of acres. Downed timber, too old to be sold for profit, lies in heaps. Throughout the field tour, landowners and foresters shared personal narratives that made it easy to feel the weight of what has been lost.
Helene only worsened troubles that were already underway. The markets for timber and pulpwood have been weakening.
Demand for paper products has fallen sharply, taking pulpwood prices with it. In the last 18 months alone, three pulp mills and two sawmills have closed in Georgia, leaving the entire supply chain in shock.
Do I bother to replant? If I plant, will someone actually buy my timber in 20 years? These are the questions landowners across Georgia are wrestling with.
Landowners’ decisions today can lead to a future with fewer forested acres, less healthy forests and forests converted to
development — a loss that is permanent. That led to the central question of the tour: what tools, markets and partnerships can help keep these lands productive and forested?
Storm Damage, Weak Markets and Tough Decisions for Landowners
From Valdosta to Augusta, the devastation left by Hurricane Helene remains impossible to miss. A year and a half later, the cleanup — which is slow, expensive and disheartening — is still ongoing across thousands of acres. Downed timber, too old to be sold for profit, lies in heaps. Throughout the field tour, landowners and foresters shared personal narratives that made it easy to feel the weight of what has been lost.
Helene only worsened troubles that were already underway. The markets for timber and pulpwood have been weakening.
Demand for paper products has fallen sharply, taking pulpwood prices with it. In the last 18 months alone, three pulp mills and two sawmills have closed in Georgia, leaving the entire supply chain in shock.
Do I bother to replant? If I plant, will someone actually buy my timber in 20 years? These are the questions landowners across Georgia are wrestling with.
Landowners’ decisions today can lead to a future with fewer forested acres, less healthy forests and forests converted to
development — a loss that is permanent. That led to the central question of the tour: what tools, markets and partnerships can help keep these lands productive and forested?
A Landowner’s Perspective
One of the benefits of a field tour is the chance to hear firsthand, personal accounts from the people whose livelihoods depend on forests.
The tour began in Emanuel County at the Willie Hodges Family Farm Estate. Herbert Hodges welcomed the group to the 600-acre property his family has stewarded for four generations. Hodges shows his respect for the land through
thoughtful stewardship, for which he was honored when he was named 2025 Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year and recognized at the Georgia Forestry Association Annual Conference.
However, Hodges worries whether the fifth generation will keep the land, and he wants to demonstrate to his heirs that the land is worth holding onto. He remembers his father telling him, “Never get rid of the land. As long as you keep it, you have somewhere to live, somewhere to go.”
Matt Hestad, senior vice president of GFF, said, “Mr. Hodges has to identify new opportunities for his property — not
only to keep his family engaged but also to prove the land is economically valuable, both today and into the future.”
A well-structured carbon market could become one of those pathways, particularly if it is designed to work alongside
active forest management and existing timber markets.
One of the benefits of a field tour is the chance to hear firsthand, personal accounts from the people whose livelihoods depend on forests.
The tour began in Emanuel County at the Willie Hodges Family Farm Estate. Herbert Hodges welcomed the group to the 600-acre property his family has stewarded for four generations. Hodges shows his respect for the land through
thoughtful stewardship, for which he was honored when he was named 2025 Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year and recognized at the Georgia Forestry Association Annual Conference.
However, Hodges worries whether the fifth generation will keep the land, and he wants to demonstrate to his heirs that the land is worth holding onto. He remembers his father telling him, “Never get rid of the land. As long as you keep it, you have somewhere to live, somewhere to go.”
Matt Hestad, senior vice president of GFF, said, “Mr. Hodges has to identify new opportunities for his property — not
only to keep his family engaged but also to prove the land is economically valuable, both today and into the future.”
A well-structured carbon market could become one of those pathways, particularly if it is designed to work alongside
active forest management and existing timber markets.
Touring a recreational working
forest in Metter, Georgia.
Could a Georgia Carbon Market Add Value for Landowners?
The initiative to develop a Georgia Carbon Exchange, launched in 2025, is being led collaboratively by the organizers of the field tour. It’s designed to create a voluntary carbon credit marketplace specifically tailored to Georgia’s forest landscape, Georgia’s landowners and companies that are interested in purchasing high-quality carbon credits.
David Eady, director of industry engagement at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, described the vision: “We’re looking at creating a marketplace for companies doing business in Georgia or headquartered in Georgia, so they can acquire credits that specifically benefit local communities and ecosystems. We want to make sure that we can continue to manage our valuable forest resources that make up well over half of the land in Georgia.”
“Companies are concerned about sustainability because their customers are — and one of the things that that’s manifested is a market for carbon credits,” said Leslie Boby, director of the UGA Southern Regional Extension Forestry.
“Being in forestry, we have the original carbon sequestration system: trees. And we have a lot of trees in Georgia.”
The foundation for the Georgia Carbon Exchange already exists, waiting to be built on.
The initiative to develop a Georgia Carbon Exchange, launched in 2025, is being led collaboratively by the organizers of the field tour. It’s designed to create a voluntary carbon credit marketplace specifically tailored to Georgia’s forest landscape, Georgia’s landowners and companies that are interested in purchasing high-quality carbon credits.
David Eady, director of industry engagement at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, described the vision: “We’re looking at creating a marketplace for companies doing business in Georgia or headquartered in Georgia, so they can acquire credits that specifically benefit local communities and ecosystems. We want to make sure that we can continue to manage our valuable forest resources that make up well over half of the land in Georgia.”
“Companies are concerned about sustainability because their customers are — and one of the things that that’s manifested is a market for carbon credits,” said Leslie Boby, director of the UGA Southern Regional Extension Forestry.
“Being in forestry, we have the original carbon sequestration system: trees. And we have a lot of trees in Georgia.”
The foundation for the Georgia Carbon Exchange already exists, waiting to be built on.
All the Players at the Table
The January tour was a pilot that can be replicated for other groups of potential carbon buyers, policymakers and stakeholders who need to understand what is at stake in Georgia’s forests before they can meaningfully invest in their future.
Hestad described what made this first tour valuable: “We need all the players at the table: academics, buyers and landowners. I feel like we’ve learned from a variety of people about forest management—from a private family landowner about intergenerational challenges, from a recreation-focused landowner about wildlife management, and from landowners who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene. We’ve been provided with context for how a carbon exchange could serve those different sectors of landowners.”
For the corporate buyers on the tour, the experience was eye-opening. They joined the tour to learn more about recovery efforts, community support and the mechanics of a carbon exchange. At the end of the tour, they said they had a clearer sense of both the urgency and the opportunity.
Lucas Clay, extension professional at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, said, “Landowners are focused on the economics of forestry, and buyers are looking for quality credits. I think there’s a lot of opportunity for both of these things to happen.” A successful carbon exchange requires trust, understanding and shared purpose to be cultivated deliberately. Tours like this one are part of that cultivation.
Building Momentum
Georgia has everything it needs to make a carbon exchange work: the forests, the science, the institutions and the will. What it needs now is exactly what the field tour was designed to build: awareness, connection, and shared commitment among the people and organizations whose decisions will shape the future of the state’s forests. A pilot program now in development would test whether carbon can become a practical new tool for Georgia landowners facing weak markets, storm losses and uncertainty about replanting.
The January tour was a pilot that can be replicated for other groups of potential carbon buyers, policymakers and stakeholders who need to understand what is at stake in Georgia’s forests before they can meaningfully invest in their future.
Hestad described what made this first tour valuable: “We need all the players at the table: academics, buyers and landowners. I feel like we’ve learned from a variety of people about forest management—from a private family landowner about intergenerational challenges, from a recreation-focused landowner about wildlife management, and from landowners who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene. We’ve been provided with context for how a carbon exchange could serve those different sectors of landowners.”
For the corporate buyers on the tour, the experience was eye-opening. They joined the tour to learn more about recovery efforts, community support and the mechanics of a carbon exchange. At the end of the tour, they said they had a clearer sense of both the urgency and the opportunity.
Lucas Clay, extension professional at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, said, “Landowners are focused on the economics of forestry, and buyers are looking for quality credits. I think there’s a lot of opportunity for both of these things to happen.” A successful carbon exchange requires trust, understanding and shared purpose to be cultivated deliberately. Tours like this one are part of that cultivation.
Building Momentum
Georgia has everything it needs to make a carbon exchange work: the forests, the science, the institutions and the will. What it needs now is exactly what the field tour was designed to build: awareness, connection, and shared commitment among the people and organizations whose decisions will shape the future of the state’s forests. A pilot program now in development would test whether carbon can become a practical new tool for Georgia landowners facing weak markets, storm losses and uncertainty about replanting.
Landowners are focused on the economics of forestry, and buyers are looking for quality credits. I think there’s a lot of opportunity for both of these things to happen.”
— Lucas Clay, Extension Professional, Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business
The pilot is intended to build from existing market infrastructure — including
VM0045, Verra’s Improved Forest Management Using Dynamic Matched
Baselines from National Forest Inventories methodology — while adapting the
model to the realities of Georgia’s privately owned working forests.
The program is also looking beyond carbon. Well-managed forests filter water, support native wildlife, improve air quality, protect public health and provide
opportunities for outdoor recreation.
These are co-benefits that a carbon credit does not fully capture but that are very
much part of the value proposition for maintaining Georgia’s private forests.
Just as important, the group is exploring whether a Georgia program can be
structured around a shorter contract term — ideally closer to 10 years — rather than the longer commitments that have limited landowner participation in other carbon
programs.
“We are excited to be working with this team in Georgia to develop a carbon model that is credible to buyers, practical for landowners, and useful enough to support
reforestation, stewardship and longterm forest ownership,” said Hestad. “We
believe the pilot program will address a lot of the issues that landowners have
with traditional voluntary carbon-market program structures while providing
high-integrity offsets for Georgia-based businesses.” ■
Jennifer Holley Lux is writer /editor at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business.
VM0045, Verra’s Improved Forest Management Using Dynamic Matched
Baselines from National Forest Inventories methodology — while adapting the
model to the realities of Georgia’s privately owned working forests.
The program is also looking beyond carbon. Well-managed forests filter water, support native wildlife, improve air quality, protect public health and provide
opportunities for outdoor recreation.
These are co-benefits that a carbon credit does not fully capture but that are very
much part of the value proposition for maintaining Georgia’s private forests.
Just as important, the group is exploring whether a Georgia program can be
structured around a shorter contract term — ideally closer to 10 years — rather than the longer commitments that have limited landowner participation in other carbon
programs.
“We are excited to be working with this team in Georgia to develop a carbon model that is credible to buyers, practical for landowners, and useful enough to support
reforestation, stewardship and longterm forest ownership,” said Hestad. “We
believe the pilot program will address a lot of the issues that landowners have
with traditional voluntary carbon-market program structures while providing
high-integrity offsets for Georgia-based businesses.” ■
Jennifer Holley Lux is writer /editor at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business.
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