Ducks Unlimited Carbon Program

Ducks Unlimited's carbon program helps private landowners earn revenue from carbon offset markets by assembling credits from grassland and forest restoration or preservation on their land. DU brings industry buyers and landowners together, handling the carbon side — methodology, validation, and credit sales — while the landowner keeps ranching or managing the land.

DU has run avoided-grassland-conversion projects in the Prairie Pothole Region since the early 2010s, including a North Dakota project through the American Carbon Registry that validated nearly 40,000 offsets across dozens of private landowners, and one of the first grassland preservation methodologies. The program also spans bottomland forest plantings, wetland habitats, and management of agricultural systems such as rice fields.

For ranchers, the model resembles The Climate Trust's: revenue for keeping grassland intact, with conservation as the mechanism rather than practice change.

• Private landowners with grassland at risk of conversion, forest restoration or preservation opportunities, wetland habitat, or agricultural systems (such as rice fields) suited to strategic management.

• Projects are assembled by DU with partner methodologies (American Carbon Registry history in the Prairie Pothole Region); willingness to commit acres to preservation or restoration is the core requirement.

No payment rates or standard contract terms are published; projects are assembled individually from grassland or forest preservation and restoration, with DU managing methodology, validation, and credit marketing. Historical reference: DU's North Dakota avoided-grassland-conversion project validated nearly 40,000 offsets through the American Carbon Registry across 28 landowners and 11,000+ acres in its CIG phase, later expanding to 114 landowners and 50,000 acres.

Contact Ducks Unlimited's carbon program through the program page — DU lists an Economist/Environmental Markets Specialist at (970) 593-8938 for landowners and credit buyers interested in learning more.