San Mateo, CA October 4, 2023 - Moai Capital announced that founder Brian Jacobs has accepted an invitation to join the board of directors of the National Forest Foundation  (www.nationalforests.org). The National Forest Foundation, (NFF) is a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting our National Forests and Grasslands. America has 193 million acres of National Forests and Grasslands, managed by the U.S. Forest Service.  The NFF works in conjunction with the Forest Service to bring private capital and on-the-ground expertise to the job of preserving our public lands for all current and future Americans.

The National Forest Foundation is a central player in forest restoration and management projects taking place today throughout the United States.  “These are all complex, non-optional projects that require cooperation between the Forest Service, state and private landowners, Native-American organizations as well as local businesses and nonprofits.  The Forest Service, a government agency, cannot meet all of these demands and needs private capital, expertise, innovation, and influence to move urgent projects forward,” Jacobs remarked. 

Rob Leary, the Chairman of the NFF Board, added, “Increasingly, we know that technology can be a major unlock for our forest system – whether it’s aiding in fire mitigation, predicting ecosystem needs, or making it easier for Americans to enjoy our public lands.  Brian’s deep understanding of technology and entrepreneurial ecosystems will be hugely valuable in our commitment to leading the industry.”

The National Forest Foundation has grown dramatically in recent years. Mary Mitsos, the president & CEO of the NFF, explained “People from all over our society are realizing that we are not doing enough to ensure our forests are healthy and forever a part of American life.  NFF is a leading partner of the U.S. Forest Service at the national and local level, and we will be called upon for even greater growth in the years ahead given forests’ unique role in minimizing the effects of a changing climate.  Brian has helped many companies rapidly grow to their full potential. We are excited to have him serve on our board.”

Jacobs explained that his passion for forests came after some soul-searching.  “I started my journey by researching what I could do personally to change the current trajectory of climate change.  I had an open mind and spent months understanding this multi-faceted problem. I reached these conclusions:

-       Climate change is an urgent problem.  We must invest money today to ensure a better world for our children and our grandchildren.

-       There are many ways to direct our time and resources to fight climate change, but keeping our forests healthy is one of the most important and it’s an underfunded priority. 

-       Our forests are the second biggest carbon sink behind our oceans.  In the US, our forests absorb over 800 million tons of carbon or about 12% of total US emissions each year.

-       In addition to its role as a critical global climate resource, our forests are a national treasure enjoyed by the majority of Americans every year.  170 million American visited a National Forests last year.  Forests are critical to our health, our happiness and our national identity.

-       With warmer temperatures, we now have larger wildfires year-round that can decimate a forest. We lost 10-14% of all giant Sequoias in 2021 alone. Tragically, many acres won’t return as forests without human intervention, such as tree planting.

-       These catastrophic burns release centuries of stored carbon back into our atmosphere. Meanwhile, critical carbon-absorbing capacity is lost.

-       We can prevent catastrophic burns by spending more money on forest management, but we are falling behind.

-       The Western forests need help to survive unnatural wildfires, but there are forests all over our country that also face threats from climate change.  They are all important to our future.

-       Forests are critical ecosystems that are necessary for the survival of many animal species, including humans.

-       We cannot afford to lose a battle for the long-term health of our National Forests.

He continued “Every American, from every state and from every party, can support the National Forest Foundation with the confidence of knowing that they are directly helping save more forestland.  Every dollar will make a difference.” 

Donations to the NFF are welcome at this link: bit.ly/supportnationalforests.