Tree Farm Standards

Tree Farm Standards

The American Forest Foundation’s (AFF) 2021 Standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification (Standards) promote the health and sustainability of America’s family forests. These Standards are designed as a tool to help woodland owners be effective stewards of the land as they adaptively manage renewable resources; promote environmental, economic and social benefits; and work to increase public understanding of sustainable forestry. The Standards are based on international sustainability metrics and North American guidelines for sustainable forest management and serve as the basis for the American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) certification program. The ATFS certification program is internationally endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™).

  • Trees and Small Lake

Pioneer Tree Farm status requirements:

The New York Tree Farm Committee recommends that you and your forester develop your management plan around these standards to insure the plan meets the standard. Since the ATFS standards are updated and improved every 5 years, a Tree Farm plan older than 5 years may be missing minor elements of the standards. That can hurt your ability to remain fully certified to the Tree Farm standard. To insure your plan’s compliance, the committee recommends using the ATFS Management Plan Addendum as an update tool to maintain compliance. Download the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) Management Plan Addendum. ATFS developed this Addendum as an easy-to-use resource to help you ensure that your management plan reflects the goals you have for your land, assesses the current health of your woods, and aligns your plan with the latest Standards.


The Addendum is also a great tool to highlight your commitment to good forestry and provides additional resources to ensure that you have considered all the important elements that go into sustainable forestry including:

Forest Health

Soil and Water

Proper Use of Pesticides

Prescribed Burning

Wildlife

Forests of Recognized Importance

Special Sites

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