ATFS Group Certificate Program Welcomes the Grossman Forestry CompanyWashington, D.C. – The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) announced that the Grossman Forestry Company of Michigan successfully underwent an independent third party ATFS Group Certification audit. Forecon, Inc. the auditing firm, judged conformance to the American Forest Foundation’s 2004-2006 Standards of Sustainability and the Standard Operating Procedures for Group Organizations Group Managers and Group Members (SOP-01). The Grossman Forestry group includes 19 landowners who manage more than 42,000 acres in Michigan. ATFS group certification is the process of evaluating and certifying groups of forest owners under a single certificate. Group certification allows individual forest landowners to benefit from the “economies of scale” of being part of a larger group. The advantages of group certification include sharing information and the mutual support offered by a group, as well as efficiencies in implementing the standard and achieving certification by an independent auditor. “Group certification continues to demonstrate to the forestry community that there is a way to economically, efficiently, and credibly certify groups of small family forest owners in the United States, keeping them competitive with continually increasing certified forest lands around the world,” said Bob Simpson, Senior Vice President, Forestry Programs, American Forest Foundation. Independent auditor, Steve Ruddell, commented, “The Grossman Forestry group has well-defined procedures. The group members are in full conformance with and are consistently applying the AFF Standards of Sustainability.” Gerald Grossman, the group manager, said plans are in place to increase the group acres to 100,000 within the next 24 months. The Grossman Forestry Company is a privately owned forestry consulting firm that assists Michigan’s private landowners with forestry and wildlife management. Eligible groups in the ATFS Group Certification program, include forestry cooperatives, forestry associations, landowner assistance programs, as well as clients of forestry consulting firms, state forest stewardship programs and state tax abatement programs such as Wisconsin’s MFL program. Individual landowners within the group (group members) voluntarily agree to manage their forests according to the American Forest Foundation's Standards of Sustainability, against which ATFS certifies.
ATFS promotes the sustainable management of forests through education and outreach to private landowners. Founded in 1941, ATFS covers 35 million acres of family owned forestland and has nearly 70,000 certified Tree Farmers who are committed to excellence in forest stewardship. Tree Farmers manage their forestlands for wood, water, wildlife, and recreation with assistance from over 4,000 volunteer foresters. ATFS is a program of the American Forest Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works for healthy forests, quality environmental education and to help people make informed decisions about our communities and our world.
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