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Inspector's Corner 2018

Highlighting the 2018 Assessment Findings

 
Field visits for the 2018 third-party assessment have officially wrapped up. Thank you to the states that participated and helped to ensure a smooth process. While many great practices were highlighted, the assessment identified a few areas that needed improvement. The non-compliance of Best Management Practices (BMPs) as well as incorrect content located in a few management plans were both noted. However, thanks to inspectors and state committee members, these issues were quickly addressed and actions to resolve are underway. 

2017 Assessment Recap

Thank you!

We have successfully completed the 2017 Third-Party Assessment! Thank you very much to the state committees of Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina for all of your efforts throughout the entire process. 

Thank You!

Thank you!

We have recently completed the field visits for the 2017 third-party assessment. The ATFS staff would like to thank every one of our volunteers participating in the assessment. 

Greetings from the field!

We are in the midst of the 2017 third-party field visits with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In April, PwC field auditors, AFF staff and state committee representatives visited Tree Farms in North Carolina and South Carolina. Tree Farmers in Colorado were visited in May, and the Maryland committee is hosting the assessment team this week. The field visits will conclude in Maine and Montana at the end of this month. 

Update from the Field

Regular field inspections are crucial to the viability of the ATFS program and often serve as the primary engagement a landowner has with the ATFS program. First and foremost, as an ATFS Inspecting Forester, thank you for your efforts in working with Tree Farmers to continue their sustainable forest management practices. Second, please help us maintain a credible program, and take full advantage of your interaction with the landowner, by thoroughly documenting your visit using the 004 inspection form. 

Assessment and Certification Update

At the NLC, we announced the 2018 Assessment states: Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Virginia. We look forward to working with these committees throughout the assessment process.

2017 Assessment Update

Last month, representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and ATFS met for opening meetings with the state committees in Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina to begin the 2018 assessment process. 

Notes From The Field

The 2016 third-party field assessments with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) concluded on June 22^nd. This year, eight states were visited: Arkansas and Texas for the Southern Regional Certificate, Pennsylvania and Vermont for the Northeast Regional Certificate, and California, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming for the West-Central Regional Certificate. Thank you to all of the state committee members and volunteers who helped make this process a success. 

2016 Third Party Assessment Underway

The 2016 third-party assessment with PriceWaterhouseCoopers is underway, which included a review of the 2015 required sample inspections for those states undergoing assessment this year. Here are some noted best practices and reminders from the review.

Spotlight: Third-Party Certification Audits

As a globally endorsed certification system, the American Tree Farm System must undergo third-party certification assessments. Every year, a set of State Tree Farm Committees will participate in these third-party certification assessments to ensure conformance to the AFF Standards. As a volunteer inspector, you are a crucial link to Tree Farmers. If a landowner that you work with is selected to participate in an assessment, you may be asked to help the landowner gather the necessary documentation. If you are the landowner’s primary forester, you may be the most knowledgeable on how their management meets the AFF Standards.

Good Management Practice Winter 2010

Many Tree Farmers keep a folder of all documents related to their Tree Farm for safe keeping, making documentation collection for third-party certification audits and Tree Farm inspections easier. During your inspections and Tree Farmer interviews be sure to ask where the management plan is kept, if they have harvest plans or contracts for forest operations, and if they have any documents related to cost-share programs, pesticides, prescribed burns or special sites. 

What have we learned from the first two years of third-party certification assessment?

Twenty-four State Tree Farm Committees have participated in the first two years of third-party certification assessments. Through these assessments, we have learned a great deal about the good work undertaken by Tree Farmers and ATFS Inspectors. The assessments have also illustrated what improvements are needed to ensure ATFS remains a credible program that creates opportunities for family woodland owners.

Spotlight: Updating Management Plans

We have been asked recently by several inspectors, “How should management plans be updated to ensure that they are still eligible under the Tree Farm program?” A forest management plan is only as useful as it is current, but what does it mean to have a management plan that is “active, adaptive, and embodies the owner’s current objectives?”

Good Management Practice Fall 2009

Encourage landowners to make informal notes in the management plan each year with updates on operations undertaken and completed and notes on the health of their forest.

Voluntary Third-Party Certification

Voluntary Third-Party Certification of Individual Tree Farms

Increased interest in forest certification by the global forest products industry, customers, and non-governmental organizations has renewed interest in Tree Farm Certification.