Network News: Inspectors Archive

2017 Assessment Update

Last month, representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and ATFS met for opening meetings with the state committees in Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina to begin the 2018 assessment process. 

There were several good management practices noted during the opening meetings, including the following:

Communication – The Colorado Tree Farm Committee has a very active presence online communicating with landowners about forestry issues, including a highly educational YouTube site.

Fundraising – The South Carolina Tree Farm Committee benefited from working with a fundraising consultant to develop long-term fundraising strategies considering a wide array of potential partners and sponsors.

Inspections – With a thorough Standard Operating Procedure for their inspection process, the Maine Tree Farm Committee has been very successful completing routine inspections. At the beginning of the year, Tree Farmers receive a letter explaining that they have been selected for an inspection, along with the contact information of their previous inspector and their area chairperson to schedule inspections.

Community Engagement – The North Carolina Tree Farm Committee has invited 25 organizations across the state to come together at a Forest Landowner Outreach Summit (FLOS) to discuss the major needs of forest ownership in North Carolina. The objective of FLOS is to develop a strategy to leverage all of the groups’ resources to achieve long-term impacts on their agreed upon issues.

Standards Implementation – The Maryland Tree Farm Committee has developed a GIS layer of state-specific Forests of Recognized Importance (FORI) incorporating the FORI national guidance and state priority areas.

Spatial Overlay of Tree Farms – The Montana Tree Farm Committee digitized their Tree Farm boundaries in GIS, allowing them to better understand the geographic spread of Tree Farms in Montana, while updating their database records to accurately account for noncontiguous parcels.

Thank you to all of the state committees who did a wonderful job preparing for the meetings and showcasing the outstanding work that is done by our network of volunteers.