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Winrock International
Photo: ZRFphoto | Petit Jean State Park, Morrilton, Arkansas

ACR’s Mary Grady on how carbon markets keep our forests healthy

Arkansas, known as the “Natural State,” lost more than 80,000 acres of forestland last year. ACR at Winrock International Executive Director Mary Grady wrote recently in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about a tool that can help slow that: carbon markets.

It’s a story that started in Arkansas. Winthrop Rockefeller founded Winrock Farms on Petit Jean Mountain in the state in 1953. That work led to Winrock International, and in 1996 to ACR, the world’s first private greenhouse gas crediting program. The first serialized carbon credits followed in 2002.

Thirty years on, the market is global. But for the 200,000-plus Arkansas families who own forestland, the opportunity is local: income from leaving trees standing.

Read Mary’s piece here: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/sep/13/carbon-markets-keep-our-forests-healthy/

Climate Finance Environment Forestry & Natural Resource Management Mary Grady United States

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Winrock has long recognized the threat posed by climate change. ACR, founded in 1996 and operated by Winrock, is dedicated to the belief that markets are the most effective tools to tackle climate change. As such, ACR has developed transparent and science-based methodologies to incentivize carbon reductions in agriculture, transportation and other industries. ACR is also a partner in assuring that California’s landmark Cap-and-Trade Program can manage, verify and credit carbon offsets effectively.