American Tree Farm System (ATFS)

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
For Small, Low Intensity Managed Forests (SLIMF)

Certifying
Accreditation Body

ANSI-ASQ (American National Standards Institute – American Society for Quality) National Accreditation Board and Standards Council of Canada

FSC International Center, Accreditation Services International

Standard Revision Period

Every 5 years

Every 5 years

Number of Standards of Sustainability

8

10

Number
of Verifiable Indicators

23

180

Maximum Size Allowed

20,000 acres

2,470 acres

Market Recognition

1. Tree Farm fiber recognized by SFI
2. Recognized by the Chicago Climate Exchange
for carbon credit trading programs
3. Recognized under Green Globes “green
building” rating system through SFI recognition

1. No mutual recognition between SFI and FSC
2. Recognized by the Chicago Climate Exchange for
carbon credit trading programs
3. Recognized under U.S. Green Building Council’s
LEED “green building” rating system (presently
under revision)

Cost of Certification

3rd-party certification provided to landowner free of charge under regional group certification

Landowner pays for both a certification audit every 5 years and surveillance audits in the interim

Management Plan

Plan components include:
1. Title page
2. Type of ownership
3. Management objectives
4. Tract map
5. Special sites
6. Management recommendations for wood and
fiber production, wildlife habitat, and
environmental quality

Plan components include:
1. Summary management plan is available to the
public
2. Objectives
3. Property description, environmental limitations,
land use and ownership status, profile of
adjacent lands
4. Silvicultural systems chosen based on ecology of
site and forest inventories
5. rationale for rate of annual harvest monitoring
6. Environmental assessments
7. Plans for protection of rare, threatened and
endangered species
8. Tract map
9. Justification of harvesting techniques and
equipment to be used

Special Site Protection

1. Sites include: historical, biological,
archaeological, cultural, and geological sites of
interest
2. Landowner notes sites in the management plan
and managed in a manner consistent with
landowner objectives

1. Sites include: significant concentrations of
biodiversity; large landscape level natural
forests; threatened or endangered ecosystems;
areas that meet basic needs of local
communities; and areas critical to cultural
identity
2. Landowner consults with stakeholders to
ensure sites have been accurately identified and
appropriate options for maintenance have been
adopted
3. A summary of site assessment is included in the
management plan and made available to the
public
4. When sites cross ownership boundaries,
landowner attempts to coordinate conservation
efforts with adjacent landowners

Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Water Quality

Required to follow State BMPs

Required to follow State BMPs

Riparian Zone Management

Landowner should minimize disturbances within riparian zones

Streamside management zones are specifically described in the management plan, included in a map of forest management area, and designed to protect and/or restore water quality and aquatic and riparian populations and their habitats (including river and stream corridors, steep slopes, fragile soils, wetlands, vernal pools, seeps and springs, lake and pond shorelines, and other hydrologically sensitive areas)

Prescribed Fire

Required to follow applicable laws and regulations

Periodicity, intensity, variability, seasonality and timing of fires follow natural disturbance patterns

Forest Chemicals

Use as necessary to achieve objectives. Label instructions strictly followed.

Only use chemicals on list approved by FSC

Genetically
Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Genetically engineered trees via forest tree
biotechnology shall adhere to all applicable federal, state, provincial regulations and international protocols (SFI requirement)

Prohibited

Clearcuts

1. ATFS does not limit use of appropriate
silvicultural techniques
2. Landowners comply to recommendations in
management plan
3. All harvest activities are conducted with
sensitivity to other forest values such as water
quality, regeneration, wildlife habitat,
biodiversity and special sites

1. Does not allow conversion of natural forests to
plantations
2. Limited to 40 acres with some exceptions
allowing up to 80 acres
3. Clearcuts not allowed when trees greater than
100 years old are present
4. Live trees and native vegetation are retained
within the harvest unit in a proportion
consistent with the characteristic natural
disturbance regime
5. A proportion of overall forest management area
shall be managed to restore the site to a natural
forest cover:
a. 100 acres or less, at least 10 percent
b. 100 to 1,000 acres, at least 15 percent
c. 1,000 to 10,000 acres, at least 20 percent