Spotlight: Third-Party Certification Audits
As a globally endorsed certification system, the American Tree Farm System must undergo third-party certification assessment. Every year, a set of State Tree Farm Committees will participate in these third-party certification assessment 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.
Primary documentation needed from landowners include:
- An active and currentmanagement plan thatmeets theAFF Standards
- Copy of any maps for the Tree Farm
- Any harvest plans that describe recent management activities (only if available/applicable)
- Any documentation (plans, permits, etc.,) for prescribed burning or herbicide/pesticide applications (only if available/applicable)
This documentation is necessary to help the auditors verify that Tree Farmers are managing their forest in a way that conforms to the AFF Standards.
Assessment activities are coordinated through the State Tree Farm Committees with help from ATFS staff. State committees will be the main point of contact if a Tree Farmer that you work with has been selected to participate in an assessment.
Case Study: What would you do?
Mr. Allen has been asked to participate in the 2010 third party certification assessments but does not know where he has put his management plan. Inspector Tom knows that there is a copy of Mr. Allen’s Forest Stewardship plan kept at the county department office. Inspector Tom sends a copy of the Forest Stewardship plan to Mr. Allen to make sure it is up-to-date and still meets his objectives for his land. Once Mr. Allen has reviewed the plan and confirmed that it still meets his objectives and is current for the land certified, Tom sends a copy to the state committee for auditor review.
Case Study:What would you do?
John and Betty have been active Tree Farmers for more than 30 years and they can provide their recently updated management plan to the state committee for the auditors to review prior to the field visit. John and Betty are diligent about having contracts for each harvest and thinning on their land and ensuring the contracts state only trained loggers were hired to conduct forest operations. John and Betty’s inspector, Svengard, is working with them to prepare for the third-party certification assessment this summer and knows that the contracts are a great example of how John and Betty are working to meet Standard 8:Wood Fiber Harvests and other Operations. Inspector Svengard advises John and Betty to make a copy of the most recent contract with the financial information blacked out for the auditor to review along with their management plan.
