Flyway Forests Reforestation Program

Take The Next Step

Ducks Unlimited (DU) has long understood the importance of land stewardship partnerships with agricultural landowners. DU’s Flyway Forests program is designed to help landowners restore bottomland hardwood forests on private lands in the lower Mississippi River valley, tributaries, and adjacent counties by creating forests to help capture significant amounts of carbon and bring wildlife back to their properties. By enrolling, you can contribute to improving air quality, preserving soil health, and providing essential habitat for wildlife while earning financial incentives and ensuring the protection of your land for future generations.

What You Need to Know

1. DU’s Flyway Forests program is designed to restore bottomland hardwood forests on private lands in the lower Mississippi River valley, tributaries, and adjacent counties by planting trees—helping to capture significant amounts of carbon and support wildlife.

2. DU’s expert working lands biologists work with landowners to select the location(s) and native hardwood tree species for forests to best complement the land’s existing use and landowner goals—managing all of the labor and supplies needed in the process.

3. DU is partnering with landowners and Land and Water Corp., a family-owned and operated land, equipment, and services company based in Colorado, to implement this program.

Partnership Goals

Restore at least 10,000 acres of forests in the lower Mississippi River and adjacent counties by 2030.
Improve air quality, preserve soil health, provide oxygen, benefit the climate, support waterfowl and wildlife habitat, and replant native hardwood species.

Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate impacts by capturing carbon dioxide and storing carbon with soils and forest biomass. Approximately 50% of the carbon stored in a forest is in the soil, and the rest is stored in the trunk, branches, and roots.

How It Works

The DU team works with you every step of the way from mapping out the best area(s) for the forest to selecting the hardwood tree species you prefer to have on your land for the long term.

Let DU know you are interested in exploring a reforestation partnership agreement (<5 minutes to complete).
Receive a call from a DU enrollment specialist to discuss your land and eligibility.
DU will work with private landowners to design reforestation projects using native bottomland hardwood species.
Payment terms are based on current land use (cropland or grassland/pasture) and contract type desired (permanent conservation easement or 40-year term agreement).
Landowners enrolled in a permanent conservation easement are eligible for $3,400 per acre of cropland ($140 per acre by fall 2026) or $2,430 per acre of grassland or pasture ($100 per acre by fall 2026), paid over 20 years.
Landowners enrolled in a 40-year term contract are eligible for $3,443 per acre of cropland ($57/ac by fall 2026) or $2,416 per acre of grassland or pasture ($40/ac by fall 2026) , paid over 40 years.
The landowner will retain ownership and usage rights of the land while DU covers the costs of site prep, tree planting, and survival monitoring.
DU may conduct adaptive management to achieve a target density of approximately 350 trees/acre. Adaptive management includes activities to improve success, such as weed control and supplemental planting.
Third parties will conduct forest monitoring events over the 40-year crediting period to verify the amount of carbon stored in the forest.

Photo by Ben Hemmings

The Voluntary Carbon Market

The carbon credits generated by the program as the planted trees store carbon will be traded via the Voluntary Carbon Market, a global voluntary marketplace for these credits, which represent reductions or removals of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Project developers register projects with carbon registries, which establish project protocols, track the ownership of credits, and accredit third party verification bodies, who serve a purpose similar to that of an auditor, ensuring that the project developer has adhered correctly to the protocols and that the reductions or removals claimed by the developer have indeed taken place. After this verification process, credits are then issued by the registry and sent to market for sale. Buyers then purchase issued credits to support the continuation of projects and to meet their own objectives.

Who is Eligible?

Landowners in lower Mississippi Valley in eligible counties as shown on the map.
Landowners with at least 75+ acres available for reforestation. (They do not have to be all in one area or connected for consideration, contact us via the interest form to confirm). These acres do not have to be in a singular area or connected for consideration. Contact us via the interest form to confirm.
Applicant must own land at the time of enrollment

Non-eligible lands include:

Emergent wetlands.
Land already enrolled in government-funded programs for tree planting.
Forests cleared in the last 10 years.

Program Enrollment

Join the Ducks Unlimited Flyway Forest Reforestation Program today to help restore critical habitats and capture significant amounts of carbon. By enrolling, you will contribute to improving air quality, preserving soil health, and providing essential ecosystems for wildlife while earning financial incentives and ensuring the protection of your land for future generations.

Timeline of Implementation Activities

Complete the interest form now to be contacted about enrollment details beginning in October and ending in February. Opportunities are limited, and minimal information is required to get started.

Get Started Today!

Click here

PROGRAM ENROLLMENT FAQs

Can I submit an application for a property I am considering purchasing?

We don’t have any minimum required ownership length, but we do require that the property is owned in fee title at the time the application is submitted. Enrollment is not guaranteed until the Flyway Forests purchase agreement is signed and the 90-day due diligence period has passed.
Can I sell the property before the project is complete?

Yes, although the restrictions in the conservation easement and term agreement are recorded with the title to the property and transfer to the next landowner; the payments also transfer to the next landowner (run with the land).
What kind of management can I do? Am I allowed to flood the trees?

Timber harvest will be restricted during the 40-year crediting period. Carbon registries do not allow intentional water management inside the boundaries of a reforestation carbon project due to methane emissions. However, we will work with you to create a site plan that meets your needs. This might look like setting aside an area for moist soil management outside the carbon project boundaries.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MY LAND IS PASSED DOWN TO THE NEXT GENERATION?

We value creating a positive working relationship with landowners and the next generation who will manage the property. We are not able to change any of the terms in the agreement for the next landowners, but we will continue to oversee forest monitoring and be available to discuss any questions or concerns over the lifetime of the project.