ATFS Group Certification Program Welcomes Walton PlantationWashington, D.C. – The American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) announced that Walton Plantation in Laurel Hill, Florida, successfully underwent an independent third party ATFS Group Certification audit. F&W Forestry 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 Walton Plantation group includes 110 landowners who manage more than 6,500 acres in Florida. 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. The north Walton County property with nearly 6,500 acres of timber farming, recreational uses, and rustic residential reached a milestone last week. According to David Black, one of the principals of Willis, Krenkel, Maclin & Black Properties, L.L.C. (WKMB), the development group for Walton Plantation, and an auditor from the American Tree Farm System, has just completed weeks of documentation review and days of onsite inspections resulting in the certification of the 100+ timber farms managed by the Walton Plantation Owners Association. Mr. Black, who has a 30 year history in timber management and timber stand development, stated, "This is the top rung certification for good timber management practices." We felt the need to go all the way with this as many of our owners are looking for a program to protect the environment for trees, wildlife, watershed, and recreational activities permanently into the future." ATFS has certified 87,000 farms nationwide. Walton Plantation is the first Tree Farm Group certified in the state of Florida by ATFS. 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. For more information about ATFS Group Certification please contact Liz Sandler, Director, American Tree Farm System at 202.463.2421, email lsandler@treefarmsystem.org or visit ATFS online at www.treefarmsystem.org 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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