Approximately 12,700 acres of New York City Parks' approximately 30,000 acres of land is comprised of forests, salt marshes, open water, grasslands, streams, and freshwater wetlands, the vast majority of which are accessible to residents and visitors. These areas provide valuable habitat for wildlife and a variety of environmental services to all New Yorkers including Carbon sequestration, air quality improvement, cooling, and stormwater capture.

The Forever Wild program was originally established in 2001. Areas of NYC Park property are eligible for designation as Forever Wild if two acres or more are dominated by natural vegetation as identified by remotely sensed landcover data.