Land trusts and allied organizations are well-positioned to serve as leaders in demonstrating and promoting what truly sustainable forest management looks like in an era of climate change. Addressing the full scope of ecological and societal needs while achieving maximum climate benefit from our forests is a key issue for land trusts and the land conservation community as a whole. The New England Forestry Foundation’s Exemplary Forestry standards offer one model that aligns well with the core mission of conservation-oriented organizations by integrating forest conservation with climate-smart forest management. In this session, you will hear from a number of voices in the New England land trust community and beyond about their individual and organizational journeys toward embracing a holistic, climate-smart approach to forest stewardship that supports long-term forest health and climate adaptation while also sequestering and storing carbon, at a time when we are losing biodiversity and facing an extinction crisis. This approach includes thoughtfully planned, periodic harvests designed to enhance wildlife habitat, increase forest productivity, and maintain or increase carbon storage. Presenters will share how carbon-aligned forest management aligns with their mission, why they see it as important, and how it has worked for them in practice, as well as thoughts on the state- and national-level policy interventions that can take this management approach to scale for maximum climate benefit. Presenters will also explore the, at times, challenging conversations it has raised within their organization and/or their wider stakeholder networks.