The Tree Farm Committee has been meeting regularly since December 2012 and is working diligently to keep the program growing and strong throughout the state. Our strategic planning process began in earnest in April 2013 and is a work in progress. We post it here for your review and welcome your comments and your participation. If you would like to join the Tree Farm committee, you’d be most welcome.
RESOURCES REFERRED TO ON THIS WEBSITE:
Forms/Documents:
- DIY Management Plan for Woodland Owners
- ATFS 021 Form/Tree Farm Inspection Record
- ATFS Directions for Completing the 021/Tree Farm Inspection Record
- ATFS 021 Form Editable PDF for PIONEER Tree Farms
- American Forest Foundation (AFF)’s 2021 Standards of Sustainability
- ATFS Management Plan Addendum for the 2021 Standards of Sustainability
- AFF Standards for Certification
- Vermont Tree Farm Inspectors (2023)
Websites:
- American Tree Farm System
- Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Educational opportunities:
The Vermont Woodlands Association invites you to learn about its programs that provide information on forestry-related topics, including our Walk in the Woods.
More resources to assist in your tree farm and stewardship education
American tree farm program DVD
This great DVD gives an in-depth look at the Tree Farm Program through wonderful photos and interviews with Tree Farmers across America. We Grow Stewardship from the Roots (7:18 long)
Got woods? Visit MyLandPlan.org, AFF’s resource for woodland owners, by woodland owners, designed to help you protect and enjoy your woods.
Our Vermont Woods – This website was developed by University of Vermont Extension and Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation, in collaboration with other partners. The goal of the website is to:
- Provide a go‐to place for information and resources on Vermont’s forests, including organizations engaged in woodland education and outreach.
- Offer easily navigable access to resources, information, effective communication tools, and a user-friendly platform for online education.
- Attract and engage new audiences in the care of our woods.
- Lay a foundation for greater coordination among organizations and agencies in forestry outreach and education.
Leopold Land Ethic Training: This conservation organization works to inspire an ethical relationship between people and nature through Leopold’s legacy. Join them as they work to weave a land ethic into society and encourage its unfolding in myriad ways.
BOOKS and DOWNLOADABLE FILES
Appalachian Mountain Club, Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance, 4th Edition
Beattie, Thompson, and Levine: Working with your Woodland, latest edition, University Press of New England. A forest landowner’s guide.
Degraaf, Yamasaki, Leak, and Lester, Landowner’s Guide to Wildlife Habitat – Forest Management for the New England Region, University Press of New England, 2005
Dobbs and Ober: The Northern Forest, Chelsea Green Publishing Co. Commentary on our Northern Forest, and understanding the working forest concept.
Evans, Trevor, Forest Trees of Vermont, Forestry Press, 2nd Edition
Foster and Aber: Forests in Time, Yale University Press. Environmental consequences of 1000 years of change in New England.
Heinrich: Trees in My Forest, Harper Collins. The hidden life of a forest.
Johnson: Good Woodcutters Guide, Chelsea Green Publishing Co. Chainsaws, portable mills, and woodlots.
Leopold, Aldo, A Sand County Almanac, Oxford University Press. Latest printing
Long, Steve. More Than A Woodlot: Getting the Most from your Family Forest. Northern Woodlands, 2012. http://www.northernwoodlands.org/programs/morethanawoodlot
Long, Stephen, Thirty-Eight- The Hurricane That Transformed New England, Yale University Press, 2016
McLeod, Brett, The Woodland Homestead- How to Make Your Land More Productive, Storey Publishing, 2015
McEvoy, Thom J. Planning Family Forests, Forestry Press. 2013
McEvoy: Positive Impact Forestry, Island Press. A sustainable approach to managing woodlands.
McEvoy, Thom J. Owning and Managing Forests, A guide to legal, financial, and practical matters: Island Press, 2005.
McEvoy, Thom J. Introduction to Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Second Edition: Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) Cooperative Extension, 2000.
McKibben, Bill. Wandering Home: Crown Journeys, 2005.
McKibben, Bill. The End of Nature: Penguin Group, 1990.
Northern Woodlands. The Place You Call Home: A Guide to Caring for Your Land in Vermont. This “owner’s manual” is for landowners in the greater Northern Forest region of New England and New York. Each manual is available as a PDF, or you can order it on the Northern Woodlands online store. http://northernwoodlands.org/programs/place_you_call_home
Northern Woodlands. The Outside Story.
Palik, D’Amato, Franklin, and Johnson; Ecological Silviculture- Foundations and Applications. Waveland Press, Inc. 2021
Schama: Landscape and Memory, Knopf. A historic look at the ways people have found myth and meaning in woods, rivers, mountains.
Sheldon, A.G., Life of Asa G. Sheldon: Wilmington Farmer. E.T. Moody, Woburn, MA: 1862.
Simpson, J., Restoring the Acadian Forest: A Guide to Forest Stewardship for Woodlot Owners in Eastern Canada 2E. Nimbus Publishing Ltd: 2015.
Thompson, E.H., Sorenson, E.R., and Zaino, R.J. Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont, 2E. Chelsea Green Publishing: 2019.
Thorson: Stone by Stone, Walker and Company. Geologic history of New England, and stonewalls.
VT Dept of Forests, Parks and Recreation: Landowner Guides to a Successful Timber Harvest. 2020.
VT Dept of Forests, Parks and Recreation: Creating and Maintaining Resilient Forests in Vermont: Adapting Forests to Climate Change, May 2015.
http://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/Forest_and_Forestry/The_Forest_Ecosystem/Library/Climate change report_final_v6-18-15a.pdf
VT Fish and Wildlife Department, Stream Crossing Handbook.
VT Fish and Wildlife Department, Wildlife Habitat Management for Lands in Vermont – A Landowners Guide, 2014. Click here to download the PDF.
Wessels, Tom, Forest Forensics – A field Guide, Countryman Press, 2010
Wessels, Tom, Reading the Forested Landscape, Norton and Company, 1999
Wilcox, Dave, Vermont Water Quality: Acceptable Management Practices: Manual for Logging Professionals, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 2019.
Wojtech, Michael, Bark – A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast, University Press of New England, 2011
USDA-NRCS, Low Volume Roads Engineering. https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/programs/forest_mgmt/projects/lowvolroads/
USDA- Forest Service, Trail Construction and maintenance Handbook, latest edition. https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm07232806/page02.htm
PERIODICALS:
Northern Logger and Timber Processor : $18/year, Monthly magazine. (315) 369-3078 or npetrie@northernlogger.com; good advice & information on marketing, trends, logging, equipment, politics, laws, regulations, etc; excellent editorials.
Northern Woodlands: $23/year (included as part of VWA membership!!), Quarterly magazine. (800) 290-5232; perhaps the best woodlands periodical ever to be published! Good book reviews and recommendations.
VERMONT Forest Exchange & Information BULLETIN: Free bi-monthly publication of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. Provided as an aid to the wood using industries, and wood producers of the State of Vermont.
