Minute Key, the world's first and largest network of self-service key duplicating kiosks,partnered with the National Forest Foundation in 2015 and has since become one of the NFF’s leading corporate partners. They have leveraged their large network of kiosks in high-traffic stores across the nation to raise awareness and garner support for NFF initiatives. Minute Key plants a tree for every two of their National Forest Foundation Keys purchased and collects donations to the NFF while every key is being cut.

This model is unique, allowing Minute Key customers across the nation to make a positive environmental impact in as little as a minute. Year after year, Minute Key’s partnership has reached new heights. We are proud to announce that by the summer of 2022, they will reach over 1,000,000 trees planted. This is a huge landmark achievement for Minute Key, the NFF, and our National Forests.

Total Partnership Achievements – 948,331 trees and counting

2015 Total Trees Planted: 15,000

2018 Total Trees Planted: 75,000

Forest Breakdown:

• GMUG, Colorado: 75,000 trees

2019 Total Trees Planted: 175,000

Forest Breakdown:

• GMUG, Colorado: 45,000 trees
• Lassen, California: 5,000 trees
• Chippewa, Minnesota: 125,000 trees

2020 Total Trees Planted: 68,750

Forest Breakdown:

• GMUG, Colorado: 68,750 trees

2021 Total Trees Planted 278,942

Forest Breakdown:

• Idaho Panhandle, Idaho: 20,000 trees
• White River, Colorado: 20,000 trees

• Lassen, California: 20,000 trees
• Willamette, Oregon: 40,000 trees
• Chequamegon-Nicolet, Wisconsin: 178,942 trees

Minute Key has planted trees over approximately 5,100 acres of National Forests. From supporting wildfire recovery, beetle kill recovery, and native habitat restoration, these planted trees are meeting the specific needs of each National Forest. The environmental impact of these trees stretched beyond the forest grounds. Approximately one acre of trees (300 trees) can remove up to 150 metric tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere over their lifetime.

Minute Key’s 2020-2021 Impact

In 2020-2021 alone, Minute Key planted 347,692 trees in six National Forests. In Wisconsin, several tree species were planted to enhance forest stand structure and diversity in the Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest of. Further West, in the Grand Mesa National Forest of Colorado, Minute Key has planted Engelmann Spruce seedlings on beetle-affected areas where the chance for natural regeneration was slight to non-existent.

In the White River National Forest of Colorado, they are planting native conifer species that still have not regenerated since the 2017 Gutzler fires. Up North in the Idaho Panhandle, they are helping enhance forest diversity, reduce the risk of disease, and restore habitats for wildlife. In the Pacific Northwest, they are supporting projects that will re-establish forest cover following a series of 2020 high-severity fires.

In the Lassen National Forest of California, they have supported planting seedlings on burn share to fast-track regeneration from wildfire disturbances. Contributions collected from 2022 will help plant for post-fire recovery on Coconino National Forest in Arizona and longleaf pine ecosystems restoration in Mississippi.

Make a difference in a Minute

Do you want to be involved and help protect our National Forests and Grasslands? Head to a Minute Key kiosk near you and get two NFF Keys or make a donation. It only takes a minute to make a key, and a minute to make a difference.

Minute Key Corporate Responsibility

Minute Key’s environmental impact goes beyond addressing significant reforestation needs in National Forests. Since its founding in 2008, Minute Key has implemented sustainable business practices, such as using digital receipts, fixing kiosks remotely, and not packing keys individually.