Project A: Akiing Azhenan – Land Return, Forest Stewardship & Carbon Sequestration

Location: Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Reservation in northern Minnesota

Description: Akiing Azhenan, “Taking Back the Land[1]”, connects the return of ancestral forestlands with long-term Tribal stewardship and a high-integrity forest carbon project designed to support Bois Forte’s own priorities for the land and future generations. In 2022, the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa reacquired approximately 28,000 acres of ancestral forestlands within the Bois Forte Reservation in northern Minnesota. The acquisition significantly expanded the Band’s land base and returned forests, waters, wildlife habitat, and culturally important landscapes to Tribal stewardship. The Band is planning to implement improved forest management practices on the newly acquired land to increase the carbon in the forests, thereby creating carbon offsets that can be sold to generate revenue to help pay off the mortgage from the 2022 land purchase.

Verification: The project is developed under Verra’s VM0045 Improved Forest Management Using Dynamic Matched Baselines from National Forest Inventories methodology. Under this approach, carbon performance is evaluated against comparable forests outside the project area that are dynamically matched, providing a framework for measuring whether changes in forest management result in additional carbon storage.

Estimated Number of Offsets: 100,000 – 330,000 verified carbon units over next 5 years.

Price Per Credit: $45 - $65 / unit

Co-Benefits: The project encourages the preservation of native ecosystems and the protection of the moose population amongst other native wildlife species. Enrolled lands will be used for rice production, while the project will also provide opportunities through employment and livelihood development supported by carbon revenue.

More Details: www.indiancarbon.org

[1] Description from The Nature Conservancy, provided October 6, 2026