Inspector Profile: Kathy Beland, Vermont

- By Kathy Westra

Forests have always been an important part of Kathy Beland’s life. Beland, who recently was honored by the American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) as National Outstanding Inspector of the Year, grew up on a dairy farm in rural Maryland. There, she learned to love the outdoors. “I always liked being in the woods,” she says.

While still in high school, Beland began working with the Maryland Forest Service “planting trees all over Carroll County. I just wanted to be outside all the time,” she remembers. College found Beland studying forest technology at Allegany College of Maryland. After graduation, she continued working with the Maryland Forest Service, where she was introduced to Tree Farm.

“When I came to Vermont in 1986 I started working with a forester who was a Tree Farm inspector. As soon as I was able, I became a Tree Farm inspector, too,” she relates. “I have always appreciated the landowners who want to get their hands dirty and commit to the long-term stewardship of their land.”

Beland credits her work as a volunteer Tree Farm inspector, along with her years of field experience, with expanding her view of what good forestry means. “It used to be that when I walked through the woods, I saw trees more than anything. I don’t just see trees anymore,” she says.

 “Working with so many people and organizations and agencies, my vision is clearer about what is out there,” she says. “There’s so much diversity and so much information. Tree Farm places equal importance on wood, water, wildlife and recreation. I love that there’s so much to the program.”

Vermont is small, but it is the fourth-most heavily forested state in the country, with more than 4.6 million forested acres covering three-quarters of the state. More than

3.1 million acres of Vermont’s forestland are family-owned, and Beland has been working hard to increase the number of family forest owners who participate in the Tree Farm program.

“The challenge for the Tree Farm program in Vermont as it shifted to a certification program, is knowing who is a Tree Farmer, who  wants to be a Tree Farmer, and getting them the information they need to make the decision to become part of ATFS,” Beland says.

“Demand for certified wood is starting to grow here,” she notes. “We’re pushing for it, and trying to educate people about it. I think that every year we’re going to see increasing demand for certified wood, and that makes participating in Tree Farm more important than ever for Vermont’s woodland owners.”

In nominating Beland for the award, Alan Robertson, state chair of the Vermont Tree Farm committee, noted her many contributions to growing the Tree Farm program in the Green Mountain State. “She planned and implemented a next-generation Tree Farmer workshop, in partnership with our county forester and the son of our 2009 Tree Farmer of the Year,” he says. “She also regularly writes to our inspector corps, with encouragement to step up their activities, and serves as a mentor for those who are new to Tree Farm or have been inactive.”

 Beland also trains new inspectors and holds a well-attended inspector field day to generate excitement for the volunteer inspection program. “The Tree Farm inspector field day is a chance for adults to act like kids while building support for the Tree Farm program,” she says.

Beland, who received her award at the ATFS National Leadership Conference in Savannah in February, was selected from among four regional winners for her exceptional on-the-ground work and continued commitment to family forest owners.