Families & forests
A newsletter for Arkansas Tree FarmerS
WINTER 2017
AR Tree Farm Program lays out fee structure details Written by: Jennifer Johnson Arkansas Tree Farm Administrator
the American Tree Farm System, as well as pay a membership fee of $75 for the first Tree Farm and $20 for each additional Tree Farm, with a maximum fee of $5,000. There is a fee associated with the standards and an audit to monitor the standards which the membership fee helps cover.
Max Braswell, Executive VP of the Arkansas Forestry Association discusses county road issues with former Izard County Judge David Sherrell at the 2016 Tree Farm Tour. The Arkansas Tree Farm Program provides many benefits to its members, such as, networking, certification, advocacy and much more.
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fee schedule adopted by the Arkansas Forestry Association (AFA) Board of Directors in October 2016 will be implemented in July 2017. The fees are a component that will assist the Arkansas Tree Farm program in meeting the requirements set forth by the American Forest Foundation stating that each state program must be financially self-supporting by 2018. To maintain certification, each Tree Farmer will be required to meet the certification Standards set forth by
All current Tree Farmers will be invoiced in mid-late June 2017 for their currently certified Tree Farm(s), with invoices being due in July. It will be necessary to decertify all Tree Farmers from the Arkansas Tree Farm Program who opt not to pay the membership fee. For Tree Farms certified after July 1, 2017, the Tree Farmers will be billed a pro-rated amount during the certification process and renewed each year in the July billing cycle. If the Tree Farmer is also an AFA member and would like to be billed
THE TREE FARM PROGRAM...
is administered by the Arkansas Forestry Association (AFA) and its Tree Farm Committee. AFA’s goal is to provide relevant, timely information about the Tree Farm program and forestry resources.
at the same time as their AFA dues, the Tree Farmer should contact AFA so that the billing may be coordinated. If you have more questions about the membership fee, please contact Jennifer Johnson at 501-374-2441 or jjohnson@ arkforests.org for details.
The Growth of Forestry Certification Written by: Van Hendry Evergreen Packaging (FSC® C016043)
For companies like Evergreen Packaging and others to sell certified fiber-based products, we are procuring wood from certified forests. These are forests with land management plans that are audited to recognized forest management standards. In the US, the prominent forest management standards are the American Tree Farm System® (ATFS), Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), and Sustainable Forestry Initiative®. Certification will provide greater access to markets, preference in times of quota restrictions, and the possibility of more bids for certified wood resulting in potentially higher prices.
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ake a closer look at your paper grocery bag, magazine, box, envelope, juice carton, and coffee cup. There’s a good chance that you’ll find a forestry certification logo. That might not have been the situation a few years ago. Many companies that make these products are turning to forestry certification programs to provide assurance of responsibly sourced wood fiber and to meet customer demands for sustainable products. If you check out the websites of companies that you purchase fiber-based products from, you’ll probably find a corporate fiber procurement policy that mentions forestry certification. But what does this mean to us in the Arkansas Tree Farm Program? We can respond to this market demand by increasing certified forest acreage in Arkansas.
management standards is not significant. Take some time to determine if forestry certification is right for you. Review the forest certification websites and talk with your forestry consultant and wood purchasers to learn more about forestry certification. Or, just take a closer look at the paper products you use every day, it is likely they are made with certified fiber. Get certified and one day they could be made from your certified fiber.
What does this mean to landowners? One benefit of forest certification to landowners is improved market access. While we have not seen strong demand from the solid wood markets for certified material, significant demand does exist for pulpwood and residuals. Certification can definitely improve your access to these markets and provide positive support for thinning and management activities. Another benefit is recognition of your efforts to protect wildlife habitats, fishable streams and rivers, and maintain the beautiful forest resources of Arkansas. Some basic elements of forest certification include the implementation of a forest management plan that meets the requirements of the selected standard (or standards, you can be certified to multiple standards); initial and annual auditing to the standards, pre- and post-harvest monitoring, and keeping the forest in forestry. Many landowners already have a forest management plan and, in many cases, the effort needed to meet these forest
Interested in Quail Habitat? The USDA, Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are partnering to offer seven informational meetings across the state concerning a new program that will offer $400,000 to quail habitat restoration on private land in the following counties: Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Carroll, Drew, Faulkner, Fulton, Hempstead, Logan, Marion, Nevada, Newton, Pulaski, Randolph, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone and Yell For more information, please visit: http://conta.cc/2izpykU Upcoming Meetings: January 24 | Hamburg & Paris January 26 | Bentonville & Cave City