Leadership Update, June 2012
The monthly e-newsletter exclusively for ATFS State Committee leaders.
Tools
Webinars for State
Leaders – Mark Your Calendars!
Every quarter, we host exclusive webinars to update state leaders on
new program developments. The second
quarter webinars will be held June 27 at 3:00 p.m. EDT and June 28 at 10:00 a.m. EDT (same
agenda both days). Please use these
links to register for the webinar you would like to attend.
2013 ATFS Grant Cycle
Documents Have Been Posted
Annually, we encourage state committees to develop special projects
that engage landowners and/or strengthen state leadership, and utilizing ATFS’ Capacity
Building and/or Education Grant funds is one way to help finance these
projects. Information on the available
grants, as well as the appropriate application forms, has been posted to
Leaders Only. Capacity Building Grant
project application forms are due August 31, 2012 and Education Grant project
application forms are due October 15, 2012.
We will be hosting webinars on July 24, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. EDT for Capacity
Building Grant projects and on September 11, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. for
Education Grant projects where we will review the respective grant
documents and application forms and answer any questions you may have as you
develop your state’s proposal.
Articles Available
for Your State Newsletters
Each month, we post articles to the Leaders Only portal for state
committees that choose to print them in state publications. This month’s article is:
- Forests in the
Farm Bill Progress Report: What Happened in 2011?
By Christine Cadigan, Manager, Public Affairs, American Forest Foundation
ATFS Webinar Series
ATFS
values our Tree Farmers’ commitment to good stewardship and we strive to
provide the tools they need to keep their forests healthy, productive, and
enjoyable. The ATFS
webinar series provides important information to our Tree Farmers and
covers a range of topics from invasive species to legacy planning. Here is what’s coming up:
- Fix the
Estate Tax to Keep the Forest in the Family
- June 27, 2012, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
- This webinar will provide you with a brief overview of the basics of the federal estate tax and show you some of the tools available to help lessen the burden on family forest owners. Also, find out how you can play a part in the Keep the Forest in the Family campaign, and get the tools you need to be an effective advocate to fix the estate tax for America's family-owned forests.
ATFS is using e-mail to inform Tree Farmers about the webinars and we encourage you to help spread the word throughout your state network. A great way to encourage more participation in the webinars – especially to landowners who may not have access to the internet – is to host a webinar “viewing party” and invite landowners in your state to gather for the webinar presentation in a centralized location and participate in related discussion with other area landowners. If you cannot participate in a webinar, live recordings will be posted online after the completion of each webinar.
On the Ground 
Tree
Farms 10,000 Acres or Larger
Grandfathered properties, properties more than
10,000 contiguous acres certified before 2010, are some of the largest and
oldest in the Tree Farm program. Retention in this group is important for the
heritage of Tree Farm and significant to stewardship on private lands. We
appreciate the work of state committees in reaching out to these landowners on
the ground and notifying national staff with regard to actions being taken. The
deadline for these landowners to choose a program and notify national staff has
been extended to August 1st 2012. Please contact Sarah Crow or Justin Lindenberg for
support with these important landowners. At the end of 2012, these properties
must be rectified in the database or will be moved out of the certified program
for auditing purposes.
Required
Sample Reminder
Many thanks to our State Committees for your work on
the ground to complete this year’s required sample inspections. Thus far, 20% of
the required sample inspections have been completed nationally. With a busy
season coming up, we would like to remind you that all Required Sample
inspections must be completed and in the database by November 1, 2012.
Landowner
Engagement Strategy (LES) Updates
The
Landowner
Engagement Strategy is a multi-faceted initiative designed to strengthen
support of the volunteer and landowner network, communicate the value of
participation in ATFS, and ensure ATFS’ financial sustainability for the
future. Here’s what we are working on this month:
Update from our Pilot States
A new membership benefits program is being
launched this month in the four pilot states: Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania
and South Carolina. The categories of
membership, category names, benefits available, and dues levels being offered
were arrived at through surveys of current Tree Farmers, discussions at the
2012 Leadership Conference in Portland, and with the Stakeholder groups.
The new membership benefits program will provide revenue to grow state Tree Farm programs, support more education and on-the-ground service delivery to Tree Farmers and other woodland owners, and support state and federal advocacy efforts to address policy issues important to private woodland owners. Similar to direct mail campaigns, revenues generated from this program will be split evenly (after expenses) with the state programs and will supplement existing revenue streams (base funding, required inspection incentive, grants, etc.).
The results of the new membership benefits program launch will be shared with State Committees and our stakeholder group as data becomes available. The final analysis of the launch will be shared at the March 2013 AFF Board of Trustees meeting where he timing and details of a national rollout of the program will be determined.
Special thanks to our Pilot states for their leadership in helping to build the future of ATFS!
AFF Public Affairs Team Updates
AFF’s public
affairs team continues to work aggressively in Congress to represent Tree
Farmers. Here are some activities going
on this month:
House Agriculture Committee Farm
Bill Hearing and John Burkes’ Testimony
The House Agriculture Committee held a forestry
hearing on May 18th and John Burke, AFF Chair of the Board of
Trustees, testified
on behalf of the American Forest Foundation network. He highlighted
the need to maintain forest owner access to Farm Bill conservation programs and
include forest products in the USDA Biobased Markets program.
In response to the Senate Agriculture Committee’s passage of the Farm Bill on April 26, AFF, in conjunction with our coalition partners, requested leaders Reid and McConnell bring the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 to the Senate Floor.
Biobased Markets Program in Farm
Bill and New Legislation
Tree Farm has been fighting to fix policies that
discriminate against wood in the marketplace. While wood is one of the most
"biobased" materials around, most American forest products have been
excluded from the government's Biobased Markets Program. Representatives
Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) introduced H.R. 5873, the “Forest
Products Fairness Act of 2012”, which would allow forest products to be
included in the Biobased Markets Program. Senators Pryor (D-AR) and Blunt
(R-MO) introduced a similar bill in the Senate last month, and the Senate
Agriculture Committee proposed a fix to the Biobased program in their Farm Bill
that passed in April. AFF has been in daily conversations with our
champions on the Hill to open up the Biobased Markets program to forest
products in an effort to help strengthen markets for family forest
owners. Please
urge your Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor these bills (or thank them
if they have already co-sponsored).
LEED 2012 comments
The LEED 2012 fourth public comment period ended Monday, May 28.
AFF saw some positive
changes to the fourth draft, but we continue to strongly oppose the U.S.
Green Building Council’s treatment of forest certification. You can view
a copy of the comments we submitted. August 15 is the start of the
LEED 2012 Ballot Voting period.
Future 
AFF
Legacy Society
Are
landowners in your state interested in preserving their legacy and the legacy of
America’s forests? If yes, encourage
them to join the American Forest Foundation’s Legacy Society. This planned
giving program will provide landowners with valuable tax benefits and help landowners
preserve the legacy they have built. The latest issue of the Legacy Society
newsletter has recently been mailed. If
you would like to receive future editions of this newsletter, as well as receive
other useful information to share with landowners about including the American
Forest Foundation in wills or estate plans, please contact Laura Tuel at (202)
463-2585 or ltuel@forestfoundation.org.
Landowners can also pick up a copy of the latest newsletter at the Convention in
Jacksonville.
