Family Forest Blog
October 9, 2026
Meet The 2026 Western Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year: The Kesterson Family
For six generations, the Kesterson family has built their life along Oregon’s Umpqua River. It started 1908, when Charles Franklin Kesterson purchased 300 acres near Elkton, and now has grown into a 2,200-acre family operation that balances forestry, ranching, and recreation.
October 5, 2026
Meet the 2026 Northeast Regional Tree Farmers of the Year: Gerry and Karen Hawkes
For Gerry Hawkes, a life in the woods was decided at an early age. Growing up on his family’s farm in Vermont, working alongside his grandfather and uncles in the woods and at the sawmill, by seventh grade, he knew he wanted to become a forester.
October 2, 2026
Meet the 2026 North Central Regional Tree Farmers of the Year: Jerry and Portia Brown
For Jerry and Portia Brown, Tree Farming is a family tradition that stretches back seven decades.
October 1, 2026
AFF Announces 2026 Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year
Each year, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), a program of the American Forest Foundation, celebrates the work being done by ATFS-certified landowners with the Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year (OTFY) award.
June 16, 2026
New Approach Could Help Solve One of Carbon Markets’ Biggest Problems
The American Forest Foundation, Beyond Alliance, and RMI today released findings that introduce a new legal and financial framework to manage risk for all carbon removal pathways that will bolster the integrity and scalability of the market.
May 28, 2026
Fighting Forest Invasives For A Healthier Future
Laura and Mike Jackson were among the first-ever landowners to enroll in the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP). As one of the 78 members of FFCP’s first cohort, they launched the program to become a current network of over 1,400 landowners stewarding over 200,000 acres of land across the Eastern United States. The Jacksons shared how the program has helped their forest goals these past 6 years.
May 13, 2026
Looking Back at Bear Town
FFCP caught up with Susan Benedict, our third-ever-enrolled landowner, to reflect on her six years with the program and what she is looking forward to in the future.
May 4, 2026
How to Navigate AFF's New Data Visualization Tool
By compiling several previously disparate data sources into one centralized map, the tool shows how the Family Forest Carbon Program, alongside communities, companies, and policymakers, can protect the health of family forests and unlock their environmental, social, and economic potential.
March 9, 2026
Alabama Field Tour Highlights the Value of Collaboration
It’s just past 7 am when folks start filing into a charter bus on a cool February morning in Montgomery, Alabama. They’ve come from all over the country – from Portland, Oregon, to Cleveland, Ohio, to Lincoln, Nebraska, to St. Petersburg, Florida – all with one goal: equipping family landowners to improve the health and productivity of their forests.
February 24, 2026
A One Millionth Tree for a One-in-a-Million Landowner
In February 2026, Portia's land was even the site of a project milestone: the celebratory planting of Fields & Forests millionth tree! “I wouldn’t have ever dreamed this as being something that could possibly even happen,” She shared her excitement for being a part of this incredible milestone.
November 20, 2025
New Film Showcases Carbon Project’s Impact on Family Landowners and Nature
The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a national organization committed to empowering family forest owners to create meaningful conservation impact, announced today the release of a new film that tells the story of the Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) and its impact on people and the planet.
June 3, 2025
Why Wildlife Loves Loblolly—And How These Pines Can Benefit Your Land
A quiet stretch of pine trees can offer more than just scenery—it can provide vital habitat for wildlife across every season. Loblolly pine, the most common native tree species in the Southeast, plays a particularly important role in creating habitat for a wide variety of game and non-game species, from wild turkeys and rabbits to songbirds and squirrels.
March 25, 2025
Goats, Trees, & Community: the Power of Family Forests
The Family Forest Carbon Program has connected Monica with a forester who helps her navigate how to use her land more sustainably. Landowners often fear that enrolling in a carbon projects limits the way they can use their land, but Monica is proof that a property enrolled in FFCP can be just as versatile as any other.
January 3, 2025
A Forest Full of Surprises
A hidden wildflower field, butterflies dancing among the ironweed, and beavers hard at work building their new home. Pennsylvania landowner Kathy McClure’s property is full of small surprises that come together to create a magical place for her family.
April 23, 2024
Turning Farm to Forest: Growing Loblolly Pine with Field to Forest
Wade Rabun has been working his land for years: he has most recently become the steward of a growing loblolly pine forest after enrolling in Field to Forest.