Alabama landowner Brinley Hocutt can trace his family’s forest ownership back to the Civil War, which makes it all the more important to him he does right by the land.

Sitting on a stretch of rolling hills, his 370 acres is mostly loblolly pine, with some hardwoods and a lot of winding creeks. Brinley and his wife Martha have always focused on keeping it healthy, creating a home for wildlife and bringing in income from the land to help pay for itself.

After more than two decades of work, Brinley had tree stands that were marketable, and had created a good habitat for turkey, deer, raccoons, possums and more.

But there was more Brinley and Martha knew they could do. They had built not only a healthy property, but a passion for being good stewards. They were proud of their efforts and wanted to keep learning and improving.

They knew about an education and certification program specifically for small landowners, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), but had never gotten around to pursuing it. They had heard it offered guidance on sustainability, but was also a cumbersome process to enroll, and sometimes even pricey. With other priorities, becoming certified was just not top of the list.

Then one day Martha saw a post on Facebook about ATFS with an opportunity to receive advice from a forester. Interested in a fresh perspective on their land, Martha called, and a forester named Brad met them at their land.

He was impressed with the Hocutt’s work thus far. He gave them advice on future thinnings, areas where they could improve habitat and encourage the native shortleaf pine to grow. He also said they would be candidates to become ATFS-certified. It would give them a green stamp of approval and would provide them more opportunities to network with other landowners.

Brinley wary of the cost and paperwork, asked what it entailed to enroll. To their surprise, they were already meeting the majority of the requirements to enroll, the only item missing was a written forest management plan.

Brinley and Martha had never formalized their goals, opting rather to keep a personal notebook of their activities.  

Brad suggested they could use the newly created landscape management plan, a management plan for the entire northern Alabama region that captured their forest types and goals. Adopting this plan, rather than having an individual one written, would streamline the certification process, and help them get in the program more quickly. Surprised by how simple it was to enroll now, the Hocutts signed up that day.

Within a month’s time, their green diamond ATFS-certified sign arrived. They hung it immediately.  Since enrolling, they are already beginning to get involved in ATFS – Brinley has met with Brad again to discuss future work, and they are planning to attend the next Field Day event in their area. They are glad to be a part of a community of like individuals that that care deeply about sustainability.