Massachusetts Tree Farm Program

The 2011 Massachusetts Tree Farm Assessment: What is involved?

Every year the Tree Farm programs in selected states undergo a third party assessment to measure compliance with the AFF Standards of Sustainability. Three states in each region are visited each year and their compliance determines the eligibility of all the states in that region for PEFC certification for the coming year. PEFC certification is important to allow wood harvested from Tree Farms to qualify as meeting sustainability standards increasingly being required for paper and biomass energy production.

The Massachusetts Tree Farm program, as well as those in New York and Connecticut, will undergo 3rd party assessments in 2011.


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These assessments are important in two ways.  First, they assess and affirm the great jobs that our Tree Farmers do in managing their woodlands, and second, it provides an opportunity to review how our program works and if there are areas where we can better help our Tree Farmers. 

How will the Assessment be done?

The assessors will first meet with the Tree Farm Committee and check on the completeness of the paperwork and records for the Tree Farm program itself.

In late January 15 or 16 Tree Farms will be selected for on-site visits by the professional foresters hired as third-party assessors for NSF (www.NSF.org).  The NSF assessors are foresters with substantial experience with private landowners and their forests. These field visits help the assessors understand how well the Tree Farm program works and how it can ensure that Tree Farmers are continuing their good management.

Once we know which Tree Farms have been selected for on-site visits, we will notify them that their land has been selected, check on whether their management plans need updated, and then request copies of the management plans for review by the NSF assessors. They will review management plans to make sure that they address important natural resource topics, such forest pests, special sites, and water quality protection, all topics commonly covered in Stewardship or Chapter 61 plans. All documents and information will be kept confidential and no information about individual Tree Farmers or inspectors will be released.

In late winter, the Tree Farm Committee plans to invite each participating Tree Farmer to a gathering to discuss the upcoming field visits, have any questions they have answered, and discuss the schedule for the Tree Farm visits.

In late winter, we will set up a schedule to do on the ground checks of the selected Tree Farms – the actual inspections will take place sometime between April 15th and July 1st.

The on-the-ground visits are expected to take 2 days in total and involve visiting each Tree Farm for about one hour, discussing the management with the Tree Farmer and their forester, and checking any sites of recent management (ie harvests, trail work, planting, etc.) The visits will give the selected Tree Farmers a chance to show off the good work they’ve done in their woodlands for many years. Taking part in the visit would be the Tree Farmer, their forester, an NSF assessor, and a representative from the Massachusetts Tree Farm Committee.

If any Tree Farmer is not able to take part in the on-the-ground visit, we will ask that they have a representative knowledgeable about their woodland (most likely their consulting forester) take part in their place.

What Can a Tree Farmer do to Prepare for the Assessment?

Tree Farmers selected for on-site visits should check their management plans and make sure they are up to date. If they’d like to compare their plans to the Tree Farm Standards of Sustainability, they can find a copy of the 2010-2015 Standards on this website by clicking “Tree Farm Standards”.
Last year Tree Farms in Maine and Vermont were assessed, as well as 10 other states. The northeastern states have done very well in these assessments. The Tree Farm visits have shown that most Tree Farmers do an exemplary job of managing and caring for their woodlands on the ground, which is of course where it really counts.

In some cases, however, the visits found that while Tree Farmers do a great job of managing their woods and protecting sensitive habitats and wildlife, they don’t always document what they’d done and why in their management plans.

To help Tree Farmers do a good job of documenting what they’ve been doing, the American Tree Farm system has developed a management plan amendment form. The form asks Tree Farmers about what they’ve done (or considered doing) to protect sensitive habitats, special sites, encourage wildlife or deal with invasive species. The completed form can then be attached to the existing management plan.

Copies of this form are available by emailing MFLA at massforests@verizon.net or calling Greg Cox at (413) 339-5526.

If Tree Farmers have questions or concerns about the Tree Farm assessment, they can contact the Massachusetts Tree Farm Committee by emailing gcox@crocker.com or calling (413) 339-5526, or the American Tree Farm system staff by emailing info@treefarmsystem.org or calling 1-202-463-2738.