Bambi Jones and David Moskovitz - 2014 Northeast Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year
American Tree Farm System® Award Sponsored by STIHL, Inc.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bambi Jones & David (“Tracy”) Moskovitz of Whitefield, Maine,
have been named 2014 Regional Tree Farmers of the Year for the Northeast region. They were honored for their exemplary and sustainable stewardship of 1,746 woodland acres that the pair have been managing since they acquired the first of 15 parcels in 1978.The regional award was conferred by the American Tree Farm System®(ATFS), a program of the American Forest Foundation. It places the couple among four finalists for recognition as the 2014 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year, an honor that will be conferred in July at the annual ATFS conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year award sponsored bySTIHL, Inc.
Education and community engagement are an important part of Jones and Moskovitz’s woodland management strategy. To that end, the couple established Hidden Valley Nature Center as a nonprofit educational organization on 1,000 acres of their land in 2009. Five hundred members support the community-based organization, which is dedicated to nature-based education, non-motorized recreation and sustainable forestry. Called “a gem of wilderness in mid-coast Maine,” it is the largest private landholding open to the public in Lincoln County.
Every year, ATFS inspecting foresters and state committees nominate Certified Tree Farmers whose conservation efforts, outreach efforts to their community and advocacy for sustainable forest management exceed expectations.
“Privately owned woodlands are vital to our country's clean water and air, wildlife habitat, recreational activities and producing the jobs, wood and paper products we all need. These benefits wouldn’t be possible without the outstanding stewardship and hard work of dedicated landowners across the country, and the American Tree Farm System is proud to recognize the 2014 Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year,” said Rita Hite, Executive Vice President for Woodlands and Policy with the American Forest Foundation.
All Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers will attend the National Tree Farmer Conventionthis July in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and participate in a panel discussion about their sustainable forestry work. The National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year will be selected from one of these regional awardees and announced at the convention. In addition to Bambi Jones and Tracy Moskovitz, other regional honorees include: Southeast Region – Dwight and Judy Batts of Macclesfield, NC; North Central Region - Kim & Dennis Schoeneck, Pelican Lake, WI; and Western Region – Audrey and Rick Barnes, Roseburg, OR.
The Regional and National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year awards are sponsored bySTIHL Inc., manufacturer of the number-one-selling brand of handheld outdoor power equipment in America. STIHL is proud to support the accomplishments of hard-working Tree Farmers from across the country. The four regional awardees will receive a$500 gift certificate from STIHL and travel assistance to the National Tree Farmer Convention.
Contact: Sara Anrrich, sanrrich@forestfoundation.org, 202-765-3376
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The American Tree Farm System® is a network of 82,000 family forest owners sustainably managing 24 million acres of forestland. ATFS is the largest and oldest sustainable woodland system in the United States, internationally recognized, meeting strict third-party certification standards. The American Tree Farm System® is a program of the American Forest Foundation. Learn more at www.treefarmsystem.org/awards-recognition.
