recognized standards, the 

 trustees of the American 

 Forest Products Industries 

 approved the "Principles of 

 the American Tree Farm 

 System.' Although revised 

 periodically, the major 

 criteria for their tree farm 

 certification remain 

 essentially the same: the 

 property must be privately 

 owned, managed for the 

 growth and harvest of forest 

 crops, and protected 

 adequately from fire, insects, 

 disease, and destructive 

 grazing. Significantly, 

 harvesting practices must 

 ensure prompt restocking 

 with desirable trees. 



Reorganization of the 

 American Forest Products 

 Industries in 1964 into the 

 American Forest Institute, 

 dissolution of State forest 

 industry committees, and 

 reorganization of 

 independent State 

 associations to sponsor 

 and administer the tree 

 farm program had the 

 program and its 

 recordkeeping system in a 

 condition close to collapse. 

 The early 1 970's saw a 

 rejuvenation, with the 

 American Forest Institute 

 computerized and updating 

 its records and initiating a 

 program to reinspect every 

 tree farm in the Nation. By 

 the middle of the decade, 



with thousands of foresters 

 from industry, government, 

 and consulting firms 

 volunteering their time, the 

 massive effort brought the 

 tree farm system back to a 

 well-run and 



well-documented program. 

 Today, the American Tree 

 Farm System is a program 

 of the American Forest 

 Foundation, administered 

 by the American Forest 

 Institute and supported by 

 membership dues from 

 forest industry and voluntary 

 contributions from tree 

 farmers and others. 



The number of tree farms 

 in the 12 Southern States 

 and the acreage involved 

 are illustrated in the 

 following tabulation, 

 extracted from American 

 Forest Institute data. 



Perhaps industry's 

 continuing interest in the 

 productivity of the Nation's 

 forest lands is best 

 exemplified by the vast 

 forest productivity project 

 initiated in 1974 by the 

 Forest Industries Advisory 

 Council (then known as the 

 Economic Council of the 

 Forest Industries). The 

 objective of the study was 

 to analyze and make 

 recommendations for 

 improving forest productivity 

 in the United States 



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