Greetings Tim,
I'm glad you enjoy the forum - thanks!
Yes, Carbon Trading is the big buzz word of the 21st Century. Currently, the Chicago Climate Exchange ( http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/ ) is one the primary greenhouse gas emissions registry in the USA.
However, few states currently have active carbon trading programs - Michigan and Illinois are two states that I know of (I'm sure there are more that are coming on-line).
Here is a good forest landowner primer regarding carbon trading:
http://carbon.sref.info/
Furthermore, New York state may or may not have an active carbon trading program in place. Therefore, I would urge you to contact Cornell Extension to see if they have additional information for New York landowners.
Best of luck to you!