Most woodland owners worry about what will happen to their land when they’re gone. But this year’s winners of the American Forest Foundation’s national Conservation Forestry award, Dr. William Jahoda of Lebanon, Connecticut and Campbell B. Lanier III of Hurtsboro, Alabama have a plan. Thanks to conservation easements on their woodlands, their land will continue to provide the clean water, wildlife habitat and sustainably produced wood much as it does today. In recognition of their innovative practices in sustainable forestry, Jahoda and Lanier will receive their awards at a national event October 15th featuring Rolling Stones pianist Chuck Leavell who is himself an accomplished Tree Farmer.

When Dr. Jahoda and his wife Margery inherited 400 acres of woodland in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, their driving focus became sustaining the biodiversity of the land. Notably, Jahoda was the first woodland owner in New Hampshire to enroll his property in the state’s Forest Legacy Program, by placing it under a working forest easement.

Joan Nichols, a forester of over 25 years, said “Bill is the most inspirational landowner I’ve ever worked with. His enthusiasm for conservation inspires other woodland owners, school children who visit, foresters who work with him and the community to do good things on their land.” Jahoda has worked with the local schools, community, and neighbors in promoting sustainable management of woodlands.

Campbell B. Lanier III pioneered working forest conservation easements in Alabama when he placed nearly 18,000 acres under easement with the Alabama Forest Resources Center in 2003. At the time of signing, the easement was the second-largest private woodland easement east of the Mississippi.

 “Cam is one of those remarkable people who doesn’t consider himself the owner of the land. He has been blessed with the ability to look after the land for a short time and then pass it on to the next generation in a condition better than when he acquired title to it,” said Dan Dumont, Executive Director of AFRC. All of Lanier’s management focuses on wildlife habitat, from planting longleaf pine, conducting prescribed burns, to selective harvesting.

Lanier’s woodland is one of only two private properties with a documented population of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and the only population of the American chaffseed, a federally endangered plant, in Alabama. In 2004, Lanier enrolled in a Safe Harbor Agreement for the endangered woodpecker.

Jahoda and Lanier are among more than 10 million family woodland owners in America. Although many people assume that most forests in America are owned by local, state and federal governments, in fact nearly two-thirds of U.S. forests are privately owned.

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) is a nonprofit conservation and education organization that strives to ensure the sustainability of America’s family forests for present and future generations. AFF’s vision is to create a future where North American forests are sustained by the public which understands and values the social, economic, and environmental benefits they provide to our communities, our nation, and our world.