By Trimmel Gomes, Florida News Connection
A 40,000-acre bottomland hardwood forest south of Tallahassee is being preserved through carbon credits to buffer hurricanes, absorb floodwaters and protect endangered species like the Gulf sturgeon.
Aurora Sustainable Lands, the nation’s seventh-largest private forest owner, manages the project, on one of the largest intact tracts of land in the eastern U.S.
Cakey Worthington, vice president of carbon operations for the company, explained the urgency amid rising threats of hurricanes and other storms.
“The forests that surround the river are the unique bottomland forests,” Worthington explained. “They’re full of cypress and tupelo trees; trees that are used to seasonal flooding and are really great at helping slow down water as it floods into the forested system, which happens pretty regularly.”
Aurora’s carbon credits, each representing one ton of stored CO2, fund forest conservation. Companies buy the credits to offset emissions, with third parties checking the results. A 2025 Ecosystem Marketplace report showed demand for “high-integrity” carbon offsets has surged 62% since 2023.
Worthington stressed the Apalachicola River basin bottomland forest is a clear example of private-sector solutions to deforestation.
“We can’t get there and achieve what I think is worthwhile without participation of the private sector as well,” Worthington emphasized. “Aurora is unique in that sense, and I think we hope to be a leader in that space, to show others that the private sector can really positively contribute to both climate and ecological impacts through forest management.”
Florida has lost 24% of its wetlands since 1900, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Aurora’s Apalachicola carbon project counters this through carbon-funded restoration of natural springs and wetlands. The forest is part of Aurora’s 1.7 million acres, which the company said is managed for climate benefits nationwide.
Florida News Connection is a bureau of the Public News Service. Banner photo: Cypress forests help absorb storm surge and reduce flooding during hurricanes. (Aurora Sustainable Lands).
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