MARYLAND- The Maryland Forest Service is encouraging private forest landowners to join the American Tree Farm System, a program designed to support sustainable forest management while providing access to professional guidance, educational opportunities and certification resources.
The Maryland Forest Service serves as an official co-sponsor of the American Tree Farm System, a national program of the American Forest Foundation that recognizes sustainable forestry practices on privately owned forestland.
Landowners who own between 10 and 10,000 acres of forestland are eligible to participate. According to the Maryland Forest Service, many property owners join the program to help protect long-term forest health, establish a family legacy, qualify for certain tax incentives and market certified sustainable wood products.
“The gamut of experiences, forest types, and management objectives is very diverse,” said Aaron Cook, a Maryland Forest Service forester.
The American Tree Farm System is the nation’s oldest and largest certification program for family-owned woodlands. Founded in 1941, the program promotes healthy forests, watersheds and wildlife habitat through private stewardship and adheres to third-party certification standards.
Maryland agriculture leaders say the state currently has 964 tree farmers, including 757 certified members, who collectively manage nearly 110,000 acres of forestland.
Maryland Forest Service says staff works directly with landowners to conduct inspections, assist with enrollment and verify that forest management activities meet sustainability standards. Those standards include compliance with environmental laws, reforestation and afforestation efforts, protection of air and water quality, soil conservation, wildlife habitat preservation, biodiversity protection and sustainable timber harvesting practices guided by a forest management plan.
Cook said the program offers benefits that extend beyond certification.
“The benefits and resources associated with Tree Farm membership remain consistent across the country,” Cook said. “They include professional sustainable forest certification, legislative updates affecting forest landowners, access to a forester, and a network of peers who can share successes and challenges.”
According to the Maryland Forest Service, membership in the American Tree Farm System is free, but there are requirements. The agency says participants must own between 10 and 10,000 acres of forestland, maintain and implement a written forest management plan, and enroll through Maryland’s Tree Farm program.
