Today, the American Forest Foundation, a national conservation organization that empowers family forest owners to make a positive impact through their woodlands, announced Bob Burns and Mary LaHood of Piedmont, South Dakota as the American Tree Farm System’s (ATFS) 2021 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year. The LaHood-Burns family was selected from among more than 70,000 certified Tree Farmers nationwide, and are being recognized for their decades of dedicated, proactive stewardship of their 320 acres of forestland.
“I am privileged to know Mary and Bob personally and can attest to their commitment to building community among forest landowners, in addition to caring for their land in a way that would make past and future generations proud,” said Angela Wells, Director of the ATFS. “Their efforts to empower their neighbors to protect themselves and their forests from wildfire, while tirelessly advocating for the rights of South Dakota’s family forest owners, are an embodiment of what makes the ATFS network so special.”