Landowner awareness is developed through a 
public information and education program that dis- 
tributes articles about the TREASURE Forest Pro- 
gram to local newspapers and specialty journals. In 
addition, all TREASURE Forest awards are publi- 
cized locally, with pictures of the landowner in the 
county newspaper. Talks on the TREASURE Forest 
Program are presented frequently to civic groups 
and tours for landowners. All cost-share clients are 
told about the program and encouraged to develop 
full forest resource management plans. The goal of 
the awareness campaign is to enlist landowners 
who wish to practice good forest management. 
Once landowners are enlisted in the program 
by accepting a TREASURE Forest Landowner 
Creed (fig. 1), they begin to receive comprehensive 
technical assistance to help them manage their land 
under the TREASURE Forest standards. The cen- 
terpiece of this effort is the Alabama's TREASURED 
Forest magazine, which is published quarterly by 
the Alabama Forestry Commission. This award- 
winning periodical contains "how-to" articles on all 
aspects of forest resource management. 
All landowners who sign the creed can get a 
TREASURE Forest Management Plan made for their 
property. This plan explains what work needs to be 
done on their particular parcel to qualify it as a 
TREASURE Forest. The work outlined in the plan 
includes forestry practices, wildlife habitat improve- 
ments, and soil conservation practices. Each plan is 
tailored to the landowners specific objectives. 
The basic theme of the technical assistance is 
that landowners can manage their timber (for exam- 
ple) in a way that meets their personal goals and at 
the same time minimizes soil erosion and water 
quality damage and enhances wildlife habitat. Or, in 
another example, landowners can develop their 
land for wildlife in a way that enhances timber pro- 
ductivity and protects the soil, water, and recreation 
resources. 
Good forest management is good wildlife habi- 
tat management. There is an old saw that pine man- 
agement is automatic death to wildlife. This idea, 
which goes by the name of "biological desert," is a 
myth: if pine stands are properly managed, they can 
be homes to a wide variety of animal species. Many 
sites that are pointed out as examples of "biological 
deserts" are also examples of bad forest manage- 
ment. Good forest management that includes 
streamside management zones, residual mast 
trees, an active prescribed burning program, and 
early, frequent thinnings will produce prime wildlife 
habitat. This type of forest management is what the 
TREASURE Forest Program endorses. 
The TREASURE Forest Program has a strict 
quality-control system. When landowners have 
brought their management up to the TREASURE 
Forest standards, they are nominated by their re- 
source manager. The property is then inspected by 
a registered forester, as defined in State law, and a 
certified wildlife biologist, as defined by the Al- 
abama Wildlife Society. The inspection record is 
quite detailed (see appendix) and emphasises 
landowner accomplishments instead of plans. The 
inspection record is reviewed by AFPC's services 
subcommittee and either accepted, rejected, or 
sent back for further clarification. On some ques- 
tionable cases, a member of the subcommittee will 
reinspect the property before final approval. 
The property of an approved landowner be- 
comes certified as a TREASURE Forest. At a public 
ceremony with media coverage, owners receive a 
certificate and a large wooden sign to display on 
their property. The certification is good for 5 years, 
at which time the property is reinspected. 
TREASURE Forest Accomplishments 
In the first 10 years of the program, TREASURE 
Forest has achieved national recognition. Its unique 
combination of multiple-benefit forestry and 
landowner recognition makes it a model of an effec- 
tive public program. 
As of January 1987, there are 431 certified 
TREASURE Forests, covering over 872,000 acres. 
In addition, there are another 600 landowners with 
over 297,000 acres who are actively working toward 
achieving TREASURE status under the landowner 
creed program. 
More important than sheer numbers is the fact 
that TREASURE Forest has accomplished its main 
goal of defining good forest resource management. 
TREASURE 's standards are now the benchmark to 
which landowners and resource managers com- 
pare their practices. TREASURE's definition of good 
forestry has been endorsed by environmental 
groups, such as the Alabama Conservancy, and 
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