American Forest Foundation Blog

Ecosystem Markets and Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic

For conservationists, the concept of doing right by the land is supposed to be engrained in our every action, but is it so? Can we honestly say, without a doubt, that we are doing what’s best for our natural world?

Ecosystem Markets Key to Future of America's Forests

My family has owned woodlands in Wisconsin for three generations.

I spent my childhood surrounded by 200 acres of forests of maple, ash, oak and walnut trees, playing and learning in the woods.  I love it in Wisconsin.

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) is co-hosting the 4th annual Ecosystem Markets Conference here this week because we think that environmental markets are key to the future of America's forests (and Wisconsin is the home of Aldo Leopold!).

On the Front Line of Fires

I’m trying to get work done in the crunch time before our National Tree Farmer Convention and have to pause to reflect on the amazing corps of volunteers that ATFS relies on.  This is even more apparent to me in the recent days with fires burning across the country.

Ecosystem Services in Aldo Leopold’s Landscape

Wednesday kicks off the Ecosystem Markets Conference in Madison, Wisconsin.  The annual conference is hosted by AFF and World Resources Institute.  Brent M. Haglund, president of Sand County Foundation, discusses the important role that ecosystem markets play in private landowner conservation efforts.

First in the Nation: Maryland Requires Students to be Environmentally Literate

On Tuesday, Maryland became the first state in the nation to require students be environmentally literate in order to graduate from high school. 

“I am thrilled about the environmental literacy requirement for students to be able to graduate in Maryland,” said Dr. Sarah Haines, Director of the Center for Science & Mathematics Education in the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University, and Maryland Project Learning Tree State Coordinator. 

Hundreds of Groups Urge Natural Resource Investment

It’s usually next to impossible to get folks in Washington to agree on anything.  And yet, when it comes to protecting our natural resources, you can bet that there is little to argue about.  On June 21, the American Forest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, the Land Trust Alliance and more than 350 other organizations released a letter to the Obama Administration and Congress  to protect conservation programs in the federal budget. 

2011 Forests in the Farm Bill Progress Report Shows On-the-Ground Success

The 2008 Farm Bill gave unprecedented access to U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs to family forest owners and Tree Farmers.  To find out how the programs have been working on the ground, check out AFF's  A Forests in the Farm Bill Progress Report: 2011 Updated Edition , released this week.

New Rule Will Help U.S. Stop Invasives

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has the authority to stop the importation of suspicious plants, but the current rules draw the process out for months and allow potentially harmful plants to continue to enter the country until a final decision is reached.

Deep in the Heart of Texas: A Look at PLT’s 25th Coordinators’ Conference

Last week, 120 environmental educators from the United States, Japan, and Mexico gathered together in Montgomery, Texas.  The participants convened on Lake Conroe for Project Learning Tree (PLT)’s 25^th International Coordinators’ Conference.  This annual event serves as a platform to provide ongoing professional development for state and international PLT leaders, launch new PLT initiatives, share models of success, and celebrate our accomplishments.

USDA Finds Agroforestry as a Real Solution

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan recently announced a plan to promote agroforestry to farmers, ranchers, and woodland owners to enhance their productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship.

Spring Creek Greenway Reconnects Houston to Nature

On June 8, Project Learning Tree state and international coordinators headed out on a field trip to Spring Creek Greenway.  Together we narrowly avoided poison ivy on the newer trails, saw wildlife like a wading yellow-crowned night heron, learned about riverside forests in Texas, and gasped when we heard we were just two miles north of Houston's Intercontinental Airport.

2011 Outstanding Educators: Honoring Excellence Deep in the Heart of Texas

Since 1994, Project Learning Tree has formally recognized the efforts of outstanding educators for their commitment to environmental education, their exemplary use of PLT, and their exceptional teaching skills.

On June 7, the second day of the Project Learning Tree conference in Montgomery, Texas, our coordinators gathered for the 2011 National Outstanding Educator awards presentation.  Check out some photos on www.facebook.com/projectlearningtree.

Southwest Wisconsin Tree Farmers, John and Sally Ouellette, Host Field Day

The iconic Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin is famous for its rugged landscape of rivers, farms, and hardwood forests. Deep within the heart of this region lies the Dayton Ridge Tree Farm of John and Sally Ouellette, recognized as this year’s Outstanding Tree Farmers in Wisconsin.

AFF’s effort to help more land owners care for their forests

Last week I trekked South with AFF's Southern Forest Conservation Director, Paul Trianosky, to southeast Mississippi to test the waters for the Foundation’s latest pilot project.

Personal Statement to Congress Boosts Tree Farmer Voice in the 2012 Farm Bill

On May 31^st, Karen Serfass testified before Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. 

Karen, a Tree Farmer from Dafter, Michigan, spoke for both the American Forest Foundation and the 95,000 Tree Farmers the foundation works with every day.

Karen reminded the Committee that most Americans don’t realize that forests provide tremendous public benefits: clean water, clean air, wood products, and wildlife habitat.