A partnership of New Alpha Community Development Corporation and Dogwood Alliance

Protecting Southern Forests by Putting Communities First

The Justice Conservation Fund (JCF) provides funding for under-resourced rural communities in the Southern Coastal Blackbelt to buy, own, and protect forests. The forests in this region are among our nation’s most diverse but least protected. Logging rates are some of the highest on Earth. Poverty rates and unemployment are pervasive. Black and Indigenous people in these rural areas bear the brunt of the impacts.

These communities want to protect their forests and grow their local economies. But, grants and public funding processes are complicated. They take too long. Most conservation funding isn’t set up to help under-resourced communities own land. The JCF helps communities overcome these barriers. It fills an important gap in land conservation.

The Fund seeds a just transition from forest destruction to protection. It invests in community-led forest protection. It invests in rural economic solutions. These solutions bolster climate resiliency and advance equity.

Restorative Justice Through Conservation

The Justice Conservation model practices restorative justice. Restorative justice is about addressing past harms. It’s about creating solutions that build and repair relationships.

The Justice Conservation model:

• prioritizes communities that industrial logging and wood production hurt most
• addresses historical inequities in land ownership and management
• centers Indigenous and Black leadership and traditional knowledge
• keeps forests and wetlands standing
• supports sustainable community use
• uses nature-based solutions to fight climate change
• treats forests and wetlands as community assets, not extractive resources
• changes how people think about the value of forests and wetlands
• inspires economic development tied to forest protection

How the Justice Conservation Fund Began

Dogwood Alliance and New Alpha have partnered for years. Together, we’ve worked to stop the expansion of the biomass wood pellet industry. This industry destroys forests and pollutes the air. It’s also failed to provide promised economic prosperity.

Outdoor recreation creates five times more jobs than the forest industry. So activities like hiking, fishing, and camping are actually better for the economy. Healthy, standing forests protect communities from climate change, including storms and flooding. The economic value of standing forests is 15x greater than logged forests.

Pee Dee Indian Tribal Forest

In 2023, we collaborated with the Pee Dee Indian Tribe in South Carolina. Dogwood and New Alpha helped the tribe find funding. As a result, the tribe purchased more than 75 acres of forestland with valuable wetlands. This expanded the Pee Dee Tribe land ownership to nearly 100 acres.

The Pee Dee Tribe has now built a cultural center. It’s a place where everyone is welcome to learn about the tribe’s culture. This project will draw tourists and outdoor enthusiasts to the land. The tribe even plans to plant an organic garden to grow fresh food for their community.

Buying the land inspired hope and a vision for a better future.

Brittons Neck Community Forest: Freedom Land

In 2024, Dogwood and New Alpha raised funds to buy a community forest in Brittons Neck, SC. It’s 305 acres of mature forests along the Little Pee Dee River. The community named this forest Freedom Land.

The land was once a slave plantation. The forest will be put in a trust for the descendants of those enslaved. It will never be exploited.

Freedom Land has:

• stands of old growth cypress
• five oxbow lakes
• nearly one mile of riverfront along the beautiful Little Pee Dee River

The land will support outdoor recreation and tourism. This project shows how we can repair our relationship with the land and with each other. All through the development of community forests.

Our Current Project: Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation Tribal Forest in South Carolina

Today, we’re working with the Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation of SC. The JCF has provided the funding for the tribe to purchase 13.5 acres. These acres are adjacent to 9.24 acres of land the tribe owns. The land will be conserved in perpetuity.

Together, we’re creating a tribal forest on ancestral land. The project protects the forest from logging. It protects it from a nearby Enviva wood pellet facility. It honors Cherokee culture and history.

The tribal forest will have a minimum disturbance trail. This trail will be an educational and interactive station. It will teach people about Cherokee traditions. It will share how the tribe works respectfully with and for nature. The project is the first funded through the JCF.

Where We Are Today

Dogwood and New Alpha raised over $1,000,000 to establish the Justice Conservation Fund.

The Fund is housed in Optus Bank. Optus Bank is the only Black-owned bank in South Carolina. Optus Bank aligns with the values of the Justice Conservation Fund. It invests in projects that serve under-resourced communities. The bank is a federally-recognized Minority Depository Institution (MDI). It’s a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

The Partners Behind the JCF

Dogwood Alliance protects forests, the climate, and communities in the South. For 30 years, Dogwood has pushed for policies that protect people and forests. We ground our work in community organizing. We center communities that industrial logging and wood production hurt the most. Our network of community partners extends across the Southern region.

For over a decade, New Alpha Community Development Corporation has supported community-led solutions across the South. They work with low- and middle-income communities facing environmental and economic challenges.

Together, we’re building a conservation model based on partnership, community, and justice.

Looking Ahead

So far, we’ve focused on South Carolina. The JCF will now provide funding for projects across the Southern Coastal Blackbelt. The Justice Conservation Fund is growing, but the need is urgent. Communities across the South are ready to protect their forests. But they need the resources to do it.

When communities own their forests, they can protect the land and support local jobs. They can shape the future of conservation in the South.

If you’d like to contribute to the Justice Conservation Fund and be part of this growing movement, please reach out to Danna Smith.