Landowners
How it works
Do you own more than 10 acres of forest land? Do you care about sustainable forest management for diverse objectives? Do you have a forest management plan or are you willing to get one? Then you meet the basic qualifications to be a Certified Tree Farm™ or Certified Family Forest™!
Eligibility
The American Tree Farm System recognizes the stewardship efforts of small family and community forest owners.
What is “small,” you may ask? Any landowner with less than 10,000 acres of forested land but more than 10 is eligible.
Management plan
All Tree Farmers and Certified Family Forest Owners must have a current, written, forest stewardship or forest management plan that incorporates 8 Standards of Sustainability.
Don’t have a management plan but want one? Send us an email at operations@forestfoundation.org saying that you're interested in getting a management plan to qualify for ATFS, and we'll point you in the right direction!
Enrollment
Once you have a management plan, you need a visit from a qualified ATFS inspector.
State-based Tree Farm programs coordinate inspections and enrollment.