Landowner Stories
America’s family forest owners are dedicated to doing right by their land, and each one has a unique story to tell.
Meet Doug and Teresa Moore, Recipients of the National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Award
Doug and Teresa Moore are the recipients of the American Tree Farm System's® 2022 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Award.
Peter and Julie Parker: Good Stewardship Today Helps Secure Our Collective Future
Peter and Julie Parker, Vermont landowners enrolled in the American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program, recently shared their story with Woodland Magazine.
From a Google Search to a Sustaining Impact
When you make a gift during Giving Tuesday, a Global Day of Generosity, you connect with individuals far beyond your own backyard. Together, we can improve forest health, address climate change and support American communities.
West Virginia Landowner Is Keeping It in the Family
Jarrod Hatfield, a West Virginia landowner enrolled in the American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program, recently shared his story with our partners at REI.
Pennsylvania Landowner Talks Lasting Forest Stewardship
Karren DeSeve, a Pennsylvania landowner enrolled in the American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program, recently shared her story with our partners at The Nature Conservancy.
Maryland Landowner Sees the Potential in His Land
Bryce Trezise, a Maryland landowner enrolled in the American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program, recently shared his story with our partners at U.S. Nature4Climate.
Meet Pam Byrne and John Huerta of West Virginia
Pam and John are dedicated to not only protecting a land, but to beginning a legacy. Learn how the Family Forest Carbon Program is helping them.
A Walk in the Woods
Meet three passionate families who share their experiences as forest owners.
A Dedication to Conservation
Pam and Jim Porter’s Jasper County, South Carolina forestland fulfills a life-long dream for Jim and has become a life’s passion for Pam. Both have become tireless advocates for conservation, carbon sequestration and sustainable forestry.
Mary LaHood and Bob Burns: 2021 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year
The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) has named Mary LaHood and Bob Burns the 2021 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. Mary and Bob manage the 320-acre LaHood-Burns Family Forest with their children in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Black Hills Family Named National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year
The American Forest Foundation and the American Tree Farm System are excited to announce the 2021 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year, Mary LaHood and Bob Burns of South Dakota.
Meet the Jacksons of Pennsylvania
When looking for resources to support the health of their forest, Laura and Mike discovered the Family Forest Carbon Program. They learned that the program offered a steady, long-term revenue stream to enable them to take on their forest projects and continue to improve their forest’s health.
Meet Tony and Debbie Wambaugh of Pennsylvania
When the time to retire came, Tony and Debbie Wambaugh were excited to be able to move to their family's land. Their main focus was on farming but they hadn't considered the potential of the 126 forested acres. An ad from the Family Forest Carbon Program changed all that.
The Impact of Philanthropy in Western Forests
Family forest owners Ron and Marianne Dreisbach use land management – and provide philanthropic support – to help wildfire mitigation efforts
Embracing Alabama's Longleaf
As a curious child and Eagle Scout in southeastern Alabama during the 1950s, Salem Saloom was surrounded by longleaf pine forests like the ones he and his wife, Dianne, and son, Patrick, now manage.
Meet the Hartman Sisters of Pennsylvania
For the Hartman sisters, Chestnut Farm is a family heirloom. Like a handmade rocking chair, or well-used quilt, it has a feeling of home and memories.
Planting Seeds for the Future of Family Forestry
Pride of ownership. That’s the driving force for Lois Kaufman and Dave McNamara as they steward their 53-acre property in Oak Run, California, about 30 miles northeast of Redding. They’ve both enjoyed long careers as foresters and mentored countless Tree Farmers.
Mary LaHood and Bob Burns, 2020 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Finalist
Meet Mary LaHood and Bob Burns, finalists for the 2020 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year from South Dakota.
Don Newell, 2020 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Finalist
Don and Patricia Newell acquired their 250-acre property in Thorndike, Maine, in 1978, selling the lots with prime soils to farmers and keeping the forestland for their family. As a real estate broker and a descendent of Maine farmers and loggers, Don understands his obligation to leave the land better than he found it for future generations.
Clifton Taylor, 2020 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Finalist
Clifton Taylor’s tree farm, Elk Cave Farms, in Gravel Switch, Kentucky, has grown from 287 acres in 1959 to 1,076 acres of certified hardwood forestland. That first tract launched the family’s mission of establishing new forests, tending young timber stands, and harvesting sustainable forest products from mature trees. Today, three generations of Taylors actively manage the land and generously share their knowledge with other landowners.
Paul and Joanne Mechling, 2020 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Finalist
Paul and Joanne Mechling moved to Ashtabula County, Ohio, in 1974 to launch a veterinary practice. Although they knew very little about forest management at the time, they knew they wanted to own woodlands. The couple soon purchased their first parcel, 30 acres of reverting agriculture and clear-cut, and enrolled it in the Ohio Tree Farm program in 1978.
Gordon and Gail Culbertson, 2020 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Finalist
Gail and Gordon Culbertson formed Whitewater Forests in 2001 with their first 43 acres in Douglas County, Oregon, eventually adding two more parcels for a total of 151 acres, 111 of which are ATFS certified. They sustainably produce premium sawmill and veneer logs from Douglas fir, Western red cedar, and white fir, while promoting healthy habitats and recreational opportunities.
New White Paper Details Opportunities to Empowering Family Forest Owners to Address Climate Change
The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a conservation organization that focuses on empowering family and private forest owners to protect and improve their forests, has released a new white paper outlining the case for working with family forests to sequester and store more carbon.
White Paper: Family Forests and Carbon Markets
It’s undeniable that our environment and climate face extreme challenges that must be addressed. Detailing America’s family-owned forests and their owners, the white paper explores the values and motivations of landowners, their barriers to action, and a crucial mechanism — carbon markets — that can help enable them to take action.
Outstanding Efforts to Restore Critical Habitat
The New family, David and Dar New, and their daughter’s family, Jennifer and Jeff Parker and their sons, are owners of the Nourse Family Tree Farm in Bellingham, Washington. The 165-acre property has been in Dar’s family for three generations.
Giving Back for the Forests of Tomorrow
Vermont Tree Farmers Peter and Julie Parker went from Tree Farm newcomers to advocates of how sustainably managing forests provides many benefits to the ecosystem, including wildlife habitat.
Bearing the Cost of Forest Ownership
Susan Benedict's 2,087 acre tract of forestland in Pennsylvania has been in her family for 3 generations. She is devoted to making it 5. But it hasn’t always been easy. The cost of owning – and sustainably caring for land each year has been a significant barrier.
FourTee Acres: Connecting the Generations
Tyrone Williams squinted into the sun as he looked toward the newly planted tract of loblolly pines on his 62-acre property in Enfield, North Carolina. The air was fragrant with the trees’ scent. He thought about his ancestors and how they surely stood in this very same spot.
Managing White Oaks During the Bourbon Boom
Bourbon’s popularity is on the rise around the United States. That means an equal rise in demand for white oak. Coopers use large, knot-free logs of this durable hardwood to make the barrels that give the spirit its rich flavors and amber hue.
Family Forest Owners Are Key to Conservation Impact
While our forests can feel like one vast expanse, forest ownership in the U.S. is actually a patchwork of lands, with public and private lands of all types and sizes interlocking to create a forested landscape. Regardless of ownership boundaries, forests and the important resources they provide—clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, and sustainable wood supplies—thrive as an entire ecosystem or landscape.
Giving Landowners the Right Resources and Tools to Manage their Forests
Landowners want to do right by their land, but often run into barriers. In the Southern Wildlife at Risk: Family Forest Owners Offer a Solution report - being unsure of what to do, finding the right professionals and programs to assist them, and cost can often stop family forest owners from taking action to improve their property.
National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year 2018: Koral and Randy Clum
Koral and Randy Clum of Ohio have dedicated their professional and personal lives to managing forests for healthy trees, wildlife, and clean water and air. Over the past 25 years, they’ve shaped Hepatica Falls Tree Farm into a showcase of productive, sustainable forestland, all the while helping others manage their woodlands for generations to come.
Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers Amazing Examples of Long-term Commitment to Stewardship
Recently, we announced this year’s four American Tree Farm System (ATFS) Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year: Jon and Carol Gould of Vernon, Florida; Russell Black of Wilton, Maine; Randy and Koral Clum of Dover, Ohio; and Dan Kingsbury of Olalla, Washington. As you read about their accomplishments, you will notice a common thread throughout each of their stories: a long-term commitment to stewardship of their forests.
Even Wildland Firefighters Need Help to Handle Wildland Fire Risk
When it was time to retire for Roy and Karen Stock and their friends, all their friends headed south to the warmth, but the Stocks made the decision to move north. After years of vacationing in Montana, they wanted a place with mountain views and big open skies. But rather than purchase a small bungalow like other retirees, they decided to take on a much bigger adventure—75 acres of forestland tucked into the Big Belt Mountain Range in Cascade.
2017 Successes from AFF’s Placed-based Conservation Work
The Zorenskys in Colorado were able to overcome outrageous costs to restoring fire-resilency to their forests; the Smiths of Connecticut have a management plan in place to create wildlife habitat and climate-resilency in their woods; Dorothy of Alabama, a wildlife lover, now understands the benefits of forest management and just conducted her first prescribed burn. There are hundreds of stories like these thanks to the American Forest Foundation’s (AFF) conservation work with partners and family forest owners across the U.S.
Report: Protecting Northeastern Wildlife Habitat
Learn more about the role family-owned forests can play in protecting and improving key wildlife habitat in the Northeastern U.S.
Report: Southern Wildlife at Risk
The Southern forests in the U.S. host more wildlife than any other region of the country. With ownership of 134 million acres, families and individuals can play a vitally important role in protecting and improving wildlife habitat, meeting demand for wood products, and maintaining overall forest health across the South.
Report: Western Water Threatened by Wildfire
As wildfire seasons continue to worsen, clean water sources are being put at risk. Addressing this issue requires working across both public and private lands and empowering landowners with the tools and resources they need to take action.