Stumped Spring 2003
Answers to Inspectors’ Most Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I've been through the inspector training, now what?
A: Getting trained as an ATFS Tree Farm Inspector is a great start to becoming actively involved in the program. However, completing the training alone does not mean you're done. Here's how you can help keep your feet moving in the right direction if you're not sure how to actually begin the Tree Farm inspection process.
First of all, once you have completed the Qualified Tree Farm Inspector training, you are fully empowered to inspect Tree Farms. It takes time to process the wallet cards and certificates, so rather than wait for these documents to arrive, go ahead and get started as soon as you can.
Depending on the time of the year that you received your training, you may or may not have received any 004 forms for Tree Farmers in need of reinspection in your area. If your training happened to coincide with the distribution of your state’s 004 forms, hopefully you grabbed a few and are already working at getting your reinspections completed. However, if you don't have any pre-printed 004 reinspection forms, there are several ways you can get them. You may contact your district chair, state administrator or chair, or the facilitator that lead your inspector training workshop. At the least, any one of these individuals will be able to steer you to the person with the forms you need. You can use a blank 004 form for a reinspection if a preprinted 004 form is not available. If you choose to do this, please make sure all fields are clearly entered on the form and if you can determine the Tree Farm number, please enter it in the appropriate space at the top of the form. Whether you use a preprinted or blank 004 form, always make sure your district chair or similar knows what Tree Farms you intend to reinspect.
There are always Tree Farms needing reinspection, but it is often difficult to get the right forms in the right inspector's hands. If you don't have some forms, but want to help, ask around and before you know it, you'll be signing off another completed Tree Farm reinspection.
Q: As an ATFS Inspector, am I responsible for writing forest management plans for the Tree Farms I inspect?
The landowner is ultimately responsible for securing the management plan. The ATFS Inspecting Forester is responsible for verifying that the landowner has an acceptable management plan.
To achieve and maintain certification, all landowners in ATFS must have a written and active forest management plan. The plan must consider maintenance and/or enhancement of wood and fiber production, wildlife habitat, water quality, and recreational opportunities. The plan must include a title page, the landowner’s goals and objectives, a map showing forest stand, and a stand description(s). ATFS Inspectors are not responsible or required to write the management plan for the landowner, but may do so if they choose.
The management plan must reflect the landowner’s current objectives and be applicable to the property and landowner resources. If the plan remains practical and reflects the landowner’s current objectives, it does not need to be re-written on a five-year cycle. ATFS Inspectors may choose to amend the plan with the landowner if necessary but again, the landowner is ultimately responsible for securing an acceptable management plan.
Q: Do I have to wait five years to reinspect a Tree Farm?
The answer may not be as quickly answered as you first thought. Of course, Tree Farm reinspections are due every five years. So, in a perfect world, you would reinspect a particular Tree Farm 1,825 days after its previous inspection.
However, what if you can't get to that Tree Farm on the 1825th day? This is the key point. Five years is set as the maximum amount of time between reinspections. It may be more convenient for you to go ahead and reinspect a particular Tree Farm at say, year three, than it might be two years down the road. By all means, please do so. Since you won't have a preprinted 004 form for its reinspection, you can simply start from scratch and fill out a blank form. If you choose to do this, please make sure all fields are entered on the form and if you know the Tree Farm number, please enter it in the appropriate space at the top of the form. Please make sure that when you fill out a blank form for a reinspection, you clearly indicate it is for a reinspection and not a new Tree Farm. Again, whether you use a preprinted or blank 004 form, always make sure your district chair or similar knows what Tree Farms you intend to reinspect. This helps avoid time wasted by duplicating efforts to reinspect the same Tree Farm.
Now, good sense and judgment should be used if you are reinspecting a Tree Farm prior to its scheduled five year date. Consideration of forest management activities needs to reflect the fact that you are looking over this Tree Farm at year three instead of year five. Also, if you are out on a particular Tree Farm once every month or so anyway, there isn't much sense in reinspecting it early when you could just wait for the preprinted 004 form to arrive. However, if for example, you are a forester working for the state and are only scheduled to visit a particular property every three years, go ahead and team up the Tree Farm reinspection with your scheduled visit. This will save time, resources, and help keep Tree Farmers up-to-date with their Tree Farm certification.
