Leadership Update, July 2012

The monthly e-newsletter exclusively for ATFS State Committee leaders.   

Special Announcements

Weyerhaeuser Announces Preference for ATFS Wood!

Weyerhaeuser, one of the world's largest forest products companies, has announced a supply chain preference for certified material sourced from the American Tree Farm System. “To give our customers what they want, we need more ATFS certified wood,” said Dan Fulton, President and CEO of Weyerhaeuser Company. The preference for ATFS wood will be implemented at Weyerhaeuser through a number of measures, including:

Incentives – Such as maintaining a priority market for Tree Farm certified material, especially when suppliers are put on quotas.

Procurement decisions – Where a Vendor Management Plan is used (which scores wood suppliers on a number of metrics) Tree Farm certification will be added as a positive attribute.

Policy – Declaring support for Tree Farm in the company’s Wood Procurement Policy and tracking Tree Farm wood use.

Support expansion of the American Tree Farm System – Offering landowner assistance to encourage Tree Farm certification and management to ATFS Standards of Sustainability.

Please help us share this exciting announcement with Tree Farmers in your state!

Congratulations!

At the 2012 National Tree Farmer Convention, ATFS recognized several outstanding Tree Farmers from across the country who serve as outstanding ambassadors for forest stewardship and Tree Farmers across the country.  The 2012 Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year are:

Bryon and Donna Loucks, Washington
Walt and Barbara McPhail, South Carolina
Mike and Vivien Fritz, Vermont
Charlie Williams, Kentucky

On Saturday night at the Convention, Walt and Barbara McPhail were recognized as the 2012 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year.

We also took the time to recognize our Regional Outstanding Inspectors of the Year: Justin Dewberry from Mississippi, Andy Fast from New Hampshire, John Stambaugh from Indiana, and Doug Stinson from Washington.  The Wes R. Meier National Outstanding Inspector of the Year recognition went to John Stambaugh for his exceptional work on the ground in Indiana.

Congratulations to all of these Tree Farmers and Inspectors and thank you for all of your hard work.  Also, thank you to STIHL, Inc. for their generous sponsorship of these recognition programs and the product certificates that all the awardees received. 

Tools

2013 ATFS Grant Informational Webinars
Utilizing Capacity Building and/or Education Grant funds offered by ATFS is one way to help finance special projects that engage landowners and/or strengthen state leadership.  If you are interested in applying for grant funds and have questions about the process, please make plans to join us for our informational webinars on July 24, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. EDT to focus on Capacity Building Grant projects and/or on September 11, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. to focus on Education Grant projects.  Capacity Building Grant project application forms are due August 31, 2012 and Education Grant project application forms are due October 15, 2012. 

Target Your Facebook Audience!
The ATFS Facebook page is a social media tool that state committees can use to target landowners in their state or region.  Does your committee have an event coming up or an online article or resource to share?  If so, send your link(s) and which state(s) you would like to target to Amanda Cooke, AFF’s Media & Marketing Manager, and she can post your information so it is only visible to your targeted audience.

Articles Available for Your State Newsletters
Each month, we post articles to the Leaders Only portal for state committees that choose to print them in state publications.  This month’s article is:

• Got Woods? Care for your Forest with MyLandPlan.org
  By Amanda Cooke, American Forest Foundation

ATFS Webinar Series
ATFS values our Tree Farmers’ commitment to good stewardship and we strive to provide the tools they need to keep their forests healthy, productive, and enjoyable.  The ATFS webinar series provides important information to our Tree Farmers and covers a range of topics from invasive species to legacy planning.  Here is what’s coming up:

• Controlling Invasive Plants in Small Woodlots
  August 9, 2012

ATFS is using e-mail to inform Tree Farmers about the webinars and we encourage you to help spread the word throughout your state network. If you cannot participate in a webinar, live recordings will be posted online after the completion of each webinar. Do you have suggestions for future webinars and presenters? Send them to Caroline Kuebler at ckuebler@forestfoundation.org.

Second Quarter State Leadership Webinars
The presentation slides from our June 27 and 28 webinars for state leaders have been posted to the Leaders Only homepage.  If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact staff.

On the Ground

Required Sample Reminder
Many thanks to all committees for working to complete 2012 Required Sample Inspections. Thus far, 26% of the Required Sample inspections have been completed nationally. With a busy season coming up, a friendly reminder that all Required Sample inspections must be completed and entered into the database by November 1^st, 2012. Looking ahead to the 2013 Assessments, it is particularly important for all our 2013 Assessment States to complete their inspection by the deadline. 

State Inspection Policy Reminder
Beginning in 2013 as part of the required annual reporting packet, state committees will need to submit a written State Inspection Process that provides an overview of the state’s process for on-the-ground inspection, distribution, submission and database entry of inspections.  By documenting this process, committees have an opportunity to evaluate procedures and identify opportunities to promote efficiency. Having a written process also promotes transparency, ensuring that the inspection process is fair and consistent. In addition, by learning about the variety of approaches that committees use, ATFS can develop tools and resources to better support this valuable work on the ground. Documentation to help you get started can be found online (Leaders Only>ATFS Leadership Tools & Resources>State Documentation for Funding). Please note that submission of a State Inspection Process is required for 2013 program funding.

ATFS in Niche Markets: Looking for Your Examples, Ideas and Opportunities
Building and enhancing markets for ATFS Certified wood is important to many current and prospective Tree Farmers. In recent months, we have noted growing demand and opportunities for ATFS Certified fiber in niche markets – smaller and more specialized markets that respond to a particular demand, interest or need. These demands may be for specific products, species or branded in certain way. Some examples of niche markets include:

• High-end exports: Market demands in Asia for American-grown wood from family forests
• Local Branding and Projects: “Made in Oregon” or locally grown wood used in the town library renovation or shelving at a local store
• Size: Small diameter wood for flooring
• Species: Appalachian hardwoods or longleaf pine for ornamentals, wood turners and fly reel seats.

We are working to learn more about these emerging niche markets and build profiles of the projects and Tree Farmers that are engaging with them. If you know of successful projects, emerging opportunities or have ideas related to niche market development, please contact Sarah Crow at scrow@forestfoundation.org and help us build the case for Tree Farm wood!

Landowner Engagement Strategy (LES) Updates
The Landowner Engagement Strategy is a multi-faceted initiative designed to strengthen support of the volunteer and landowner network, communicate the value of participation in ATFS, and ensure ATFS’ financial sustainability for the future.  Here’s what we are working on this month:

• Membership Benefits Program Launched in Pilot States
  As part of the ongoing Landowner Engagement Strategy that ATFS and AFF have been involved with for the past 2 ½ years, a new Membership Benefits Program has been launched with the cooperation of Tree Farm committees in the Pilot States of Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.  Current Tree Farmers in those states will have the opportunity to self-select their desired level of service and benefits.  Additional information and a summary of the Membership Benefits Program is available as part of the Second Quarter webinar on the Leaders Only page of our website.  For additional information contact Mike Burns at (202) 459-1702 or mburns@forestfoundation.org

AFF Public Affairs Team Updates
AFF’s public affairs team continues to work aggressively in Congress to represent Tree Farmers.  Here are some activities going on this month:

Farm Bill Update—Progress Made in Senate, Expected in House 
On June 21, the Senate passed the Farm Bill, with a bipartisan vote of 64-35. The bill includes most of our policy priorities, but did reduce funding for conservation programs. In particular, the bill eliminates cap on forest enrollment in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) so family forest owners have full access to the program; strengthens direction for the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis; and starts to pave the way for inclusion of forest products in USDA’s Biobased Markets Program.

With the help of our grassroots network, we were able to defeat two harmful amendments that would have eliminated the Forest Legacy Program and eliminated the Conservation Reserve Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program.

The House Agriculture Committee passed their Farm Bill on July 11 with a 35-11 bipartisan vote. Generally, the forest and conservation programs look similar to the Senate’s version, but in some programs, we made even better headway with our forest priorities. See more details here. Members of the Committee will look to introduce their bill on the full House floor in the next couple of weeks.

New Farm Bill Progress Report Released 
In conjunction with the Senate’s passage, AFF also released its third annual Farm Bill Progress Report. The report indicates that Farm Bill forest conservation programs provide good returns on investments, as forest owners leverage their own time, energy and investment to improve America’s forest legacy.

The report features a number of stories of Tree Farmers that have used the Farm Bill’s conservation programs to accomplish ecosystem improvements, stories that we are able to use in our advocacy work on the Farm Bill. Click here for highlights and the full report.

Supreme Court to Hear Forest Roads Court Case
The Supreme Court announced that it will review the Ninth Circuit Court's decision on forest roads.  A Supreme Court decision could help to bring some certainty to forest owners on this issue.   The Court is not likely to rule on the matter until spring of 2013.

We still need a fix in the meantime. AFF submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency's recent Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue rulemaking on the regulation of forest roads under the Clean Water Act.  In addition, the House continues to move forward on legislation to provide a permanent fix in the House Interior Appropriations bill.

Future

Support the Keep the Forest in the Family Campaign!
ATFS is fighting for a fix to the estate tax that works for family forest owners – a fix to protect our nation’s forest heritage, so that the cherished woodlands of today’s Tree Farmers can stay in their families for generations to come. This year is a big year – if Congress doesn’t take action, estate tax levels will revert back to a $1 million exemption level and 55% tax rate, which will affect many more family forest owners and millions of acres. That’s why ATFS has launched the Keep the Forest in the Family campaign to raise $270,000 in 2012 to support our coordinated lobbying, media outreach, grassroots, and research efforts. We need everyone’s help! Please encourage Tree Farmers to donate online at www.treefarmsystem.org/donate. Feel free to contact Laura Tuel, Vice President of Development, at ltuel@forestfoundation.org or 202-463-2585 with any questions.