U.S. Endowment Commits $5 Million to Conservation Resources’ CRSilva Ventures Fund, a New Forest-Sector Venture Capital Fund

Photography by: Mac Stone

A differentiated venture capital fund investing in early-stage companies advancing new technologies, materials, and solutions across the forest ecosystem

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) today announced a $5 million commitment as the anchor investor in Conservation Resources’ CRSilva Ventures, LP fund. The fund will back practical, scalable businesses built around forests, forest products and the rural communities the industry supports.  

The newly established venture capital fund will invest primarily in pre-seed/seed and early-stage companies that turn the biological, material, carbon, water and data systems within forest ecosystems into scalable businesses. CRSilva, a new venture strategy, seeks to invest in opportunities that enhance forest ecosystems, including new technologies, products, materials, services and AI-integrated systems. As a limited partner, the Endowment is committed to supporting work that makes forests and forest-based markets more productive, resilient, measurable, useful and valuable.

“This investment fund will help support new technologies and products in the forest sector to enhance forest ecosystems, forest products markets and rural communities. Forest products are extremely diverse, with wide-ranging applications from construction materials to biochemicals and biofuels, along with packaging solutions and new technology to assist with forest management or disaster mitigation.”

Trevor Cutsinger

Vice President, Impact Investing at the Endowment

Deploying capital to enhance forest ecosystems is directly aligned with the Endowment’s mission, as pulpwood markets across the U.S. continue to shrink. CRSilva aligns with this through providing a professional investment option that channels funding to new businesses focused on the economic viability of the forest ecosystem and working forests. 

“CRSilva is thrilled to have the Endowment as a partner,” said Paul Young, founder and managing partner of CRSilva. “They bring a wealth of insight into the forest ecosystem and associated markets.”

Paul Young

CRSilva & Conservation Resources

To learn more about the Endowment, visit usendowment.org. crsilva.vc. 

About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities:
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is a not-for-profit public charity collaborating with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at usendowment.org.

About CRSilva 
CRSilva is a new venture strategy of Conservation Resources founded by a co-founder of CR.  Its strategy is to pursue early-stage opportunities emerging from the Forest Ecosystem Platform. CRSilva views forest ecosystems as more than timber: they are biological, material, carbon, water and data systems that can support new technologies, products and services. The strategy backs practical, scalable businesses across areas including software and AI, ecosystem resilience, biology, advanced materials, construction and manufacturing. Website crsilva.vc.

About Conservation Resources 
Conservation Resources is a leading alternative investment specialist. Since its inception in 2004, the firm has invested over $1.3 billion utilizing its differentiated private equity investment strategies. It specializes in building high-quality portfolios of alternative investments in timberland and farmland properties targeting competitive risk-adjusted returns, with a focus on real assets and natural resource strategies. In 2026, Conservation Resources was included in the ImpactAssets 50 list of top impact fund managers^₁. 

_{¹ Awards may not be representative of any one client’s experience and are not indicative of the future performance of Conservation Resource Partners (“CRP”) or its Funds. CRP was selected for ImpactAssets 50 2026 Annual Fund Managers List on 10 March 2026. ImpactAssets is an independent 501(c)3 organization and impact investing firm that seeks to help its clients define and execute their impact goals. Selection was based on 2025 data. CRP did not pay a fee to participate in this award nor for the use of the award logo.  For additional information about this award, visit www.conservationresources.net.}