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American Tree Farm System(R) Wood Validated Through Third-Party Certification

Posted on: Friday, 25 September 2009, 08:30 CDT

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Tree Farm System(R)( )(ATFS) announced that it has received independent, third-party forest certification for each of its four regions in the United States a total of 24-million acres of private forestland. State Tree Farm programs in the Northeast, North Central, West, and South regions are now certified under one of these four regional certificates of registration.

In 2008, ATFS received its international endorsement by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). PEFC is an international, independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. The 68 year-old ATFS is the oldest and largest forest conservation, certification, and advocacy program in the United States.

"ATFS is endorsed by PEFC, the world's largest forest certification systems," said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC. "This recognition not only confirms that ATFS's forest management standard meets PEFC's Sustainability Benchmark Requirements, but also provides all certified forest owners access to global markets beyond North America."

ATFS received certificates of registration from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the West, South and North Central regions and NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR), a global leader in management systems registrations, for the Northeast region. PwC and NSF-ISR conducted certification assessments to determine each region's forest owner's conformance to the American Forest Foundation's 2004-2008 Standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification and the ATFS Standard Operating Procedures for Regional Group Programs.

"Our field assessments of Tree Farms in the North Central, West and South regions identified a clear commitment by landowners, state foresters, and consulting foresters towards sustainable forest management, and an emphasis on maintaining non-timber values such as wildlife," said Bruce McIntyre, partner and leader of PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC) forestry certification practice. The PwC report also noted that there are opportunities for improvement in the management planning process, which ATFS and certified landowners are actively following up.

Third-party certification enables ATFS woodland owners to market their certified wood to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R)( )(SFI) and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes Chain of Custody and fiber sourcing certificate holders. This third-party certification also provides Tree Farmers with the eligibility needed for participation in carbon credit trading and other emerging eco-system markets.

"ATFS's Northeast Region provided the NSF audit team the opportunity to review an effective program and solid 'on-the-ground' performance. Tree Farms in the three states we reviewed this year (Maine, Vermont, and West Virginia) are managed carefully to help protect the environment, while meeting landowner goals and providing sustainable yields of forest products," said Mike Ferrucci, Forestry Program Manager, NSF-ISR.

Certified ATFS woodland owners share a unique commitment to protect wildlife habitat and watersheds, to conserve soil, and to provide recreation for their communities while producing wood for America. These individuals hold the key to the kinds of forests, forest activities, and forest resources future generations of Americans will enjoy.

For more information please visit www.treefarmsystem.org, contact Victoria Lockhart, Certification Manager at vlockhart@forestfoundation.org, 202.463.2729 or Brigitte Johnson, Director of Communication at bjohnson@forestfoundation.org, 202.463.5163.

Founded in 1941, the American Tree Farm System (R) (ATFS) is the oldest and largest forest conservation, certification, and advocacy program in the United States. ATFS promotes the sustainable management of forests through education and outreach to private forest landowners. ATFS has enrolled 24 million certified acres of privately owned forestland and 91,000+ family forest owners who are committed to excellence in forest stewardship. Family forest landowners manage their forestlands for wood, water, wildlife, and recreation with assistance from 4,680 volunteer foresters.

ATFS is a program of the American Forest Foundation, is a nonprofit 501(C)(3) conservation and education organization that strives to ensure the sustainability of America's family forests for present and future generations. Our vision is to create a future where North American forests are sustained by the public which understands and values the social, economic, and environmental benefits they provide to our communities, our nation, and our world.

SOURCE American Forest Foundation

Source: PR Newswire

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