Although often taken for granted, trees are vital to our wellbeing in so many ways. Many people think of trees as only providing shade or lumber. However, for over 80 years now, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) has helped family farm owners to think of trees as providing multiple benefits–from producing oxygen, sequestering carbon dioxide, filtering air and water, providing fish and wildlife habitat, improving the aesthetic beauty of the natural landscape, and providing opportunities for recreation and solitude, just to name a few.
While being good forest stewards may be possible for some private landowners, many small and medium-sized landowners continue to find it difficult, if not impossible, to invest in active and sustainable management of forests over such a long time. Add to this the uncertainty of regulations that might limit land management options, as well as the misinformed but ever-increasing campaign against the use of wood products, and it is easy to see why more and more private forest landowners are choosing to divest of their lands. These lands are rapidly being developed and broken into smaller units that cannot sustain many of the benefits and services society depends on from these lands.
In 1940, the earlier expansion into the West and the divesting of corporate land opened the doors of opportunity for many landowners wanting to settle on large tracts of land. Yet the corporations still had a great need for the wood and needed a means of educating the landowners in forest management or how to properly control a wildfire. This led to the birth of the ATFS.
Originating in 1941 with the dedication of its first Tree Farm on Weyerhaeuser property in Montesano, Washington, the ATFS has helped provide private family forest owners in the United States with the tools and connections to resources so they can actively manage and be good stewards of their trees. The ATFS has also encouraged and supported the commitment worldwide to provide recreation for communities; protect wildlife habitat; protect water sheds; and conserve soil while also utilizing the wood for other purposes.
Over time there have been critical shifts in the program, expanding the mission to stress that good stewardship is more than growing trees strictly for wood fiber but also to provide habitat for wildlife, recreational places, and clean water for all forms of life. This program and its commitment to follow through have garnered international recognition, leading to an endorsement by the global Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.
It is commonly accepted that good forestry is much more than growing trees for wood fiber, it is also about the long-term efforts to ensure forests continue to provide clean water, home for wildlife, and recreational spaces. As the largest and oldest sustainable woodland in the United States, the American Tree Farm System leads the charge to ensure sustainability.
James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a nonprofit conservation organization founded to conserve, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.
