Idaho Forest Group Establishes Financial Preference for ATFS Certified Wood

Forest Products Company Announcement is Important Market Signal to Family Forest Owners

Idaho Forest Group, a family-owned forest products company, has announced a supply chain preference and financial premium for American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) certified wood.

The Coeur d'Alene-based company will give the majority of the financial bonus directly to the landowner, with a portion also given to the state Tree Farm program from which the wood originated.

“This is an important market signal and we applaud the Idaho Forest Group’s recognition that the efforts of certified Tree Farmers in managing to the highest standards of sustainability deserve appropriate compensation.  We also appreciate the support given to our state programs that provide on- the- ground assistance to certified Tree Farmers,” said Tom Martin, President and CEO with the American Forest Foundation (AFF). ATFS is a program of AFF.

“Healthy forests need healthy markets, and financial premiums can go a long way in helping Tree Farmers reinvest these resources into the management of their woodlands,” added Martin.

Idaho Forest Group plans to continue promoting ATFS to their landowner and client base, as well as encouraging involvement of their resource staff with field activities and volunteering on state committee positions.

“Sound, sustainable management of America’s private forests is of utmost importance to us.  ATFS staff spend many hours each year working with local landowners and are always on the lookout for ways to help advance good forestry. Partnerships like ours with the American Tree Farm System are absolutely necessary, benefitting both the family forest owners of today and all the generations to follow,” said Scott Atkison, President of the Idaho Forest Group.

###

The American Tree Farm System^® (ATFS), a program of the American Forest Foundation, is a network of 82,000 family forest owners sustainably managing 24 million acres of forestland. It is the largest and oldest sustainable family woodland system in America, internationally recognized, meeting strict third-party certification standards. For more than 70 years, ATFS has enhanced the quality of America’s woodlands by giving forest owners the tools they need to keep their forests healthy and productive. Learn more at www.treefarmsystem.org.