Washington, D.C. - The American Tree Farm System® (ATFS), a program of the American Forest Foundation, has named Jo and Kathy Pierce of Cumberland County, Maine as the 2007 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. The Pierces received the award during the 14th Annual National Tree Farmer Convention held in Madison, Wis. This annual ATFS award recognizes outstanding sustainable forest management on privately owned forestland.

Jo and Kathy Pierce devote their time to teaching people about sustainable forest management and Tree Farm ownership. The sixth generation of his family to reside on the family property, Jo Pierce and his family are considered champions of forest management and conservation. The original Josiah Pierce (Jos great, great, great grandfather) built his home and established his sawmill business in 1785 in Flintstown (now Baldwin). The Pierce family has been in and out of the lumber business ever since. 360 acres of heavily cut woodlands were reverted back to timber in the late 19th century. Between 1917 and 1920 all of the trees over six inches in diameter were harvested and processed into logs using portable sawmills. In the 1960s Jos father, Curtis, acquired woodlots to add to the family lots and implemented prudent estate planning to guarantee the land would remain in the family.

During the past 20 years, Jo and Kathy Pierces Tree Farm has grown to more than 2,000 acres. The Pierce Tree Farm was placed under a written forest management plan and became a certified Tree Farm in 1961. Certified Tree Farmers own at least 10 acres of forestland and actively follow a forest management plan developed in partnership with an ATFS volunteer forester. The plan addresses forest sustainability, wildlife habitat, recreation, and water and soil conservation.

Beyond forestry management, the Pierce family is dedicated to wildlife conservation. As partners with the Maine Fish and Wildlife Department, they have successfully relocated wild turkeys in an effort to reinvigorate the bird population in Maine. Additionally, their land is home to deer, bats, barn swallows, red-tailed hawks, moose, and bobcats. A black bear has made a den in a pile of rocks at the 100 year old former railroad construction sight. As part of their wildlife conservation efforts, Jo Pierce was appointed to the Northern Cottontail Group which considered whether to place the rabbits on the endangered species list for protection against extinction. Furthermore, a wild island on the Saco River on the Pierce Tree Farm property has been reserved for canoeists and campers to enjoy the slendors of the Maine wilderness. The Pierce Family Tree Farm is the tangible exhibition of the Pierce family pride in land ownership and management.

ATFS also honored three Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year.

North Central Region - Nancy Livingston of Adams County, Wis.

For nearly 30 years Livingston has transformed the former sandy pine barren area near Hancock, Wis. into a premiere example of forest management and conservation. Originally founded by Nancys parents, Spencer and Laura Munson in 1954, The Full Cycle Tree Farm consists of 280 acres of productive forest and outdoor educational classrooms. Named to honor the generational tradition of the property as well as the cycle of growth from seedling to marketable timber, the Full Cycle Tree Farm was placed under a written forest management plan 53 years ago and became a certified Tree Farm in 1979.

Southern Region - Johney Haralson of Bamberg County, S.C.

The story of Haralsons career as a leader and tree farm advocate began in his early childhood. He was raised on his fathers small operating farm during the early days of the old Soil Bank program. The program, started in 1956, was part of the Agricultural Act to pay farmers to idle farm land for up to fifteen years and make improvements to aid conservation. Following college, military obligations and a career as an insurance agent in Denmark, S.C., Haralson acquired his first property in Denmark, S.C. in November, 1988. With guidance from the Nartual Resources Conservation Service, Haralson established the land with 30 foot plots in every field. He later purchased 117 acres of Conservation Reserve Program monoculture and eventually acquired a third field. His 405 acres has been under a written forest management plan since 1996 and was certified as a Tree Farm in 2001.

Western Region - Bob Playfair and Thelma Fry of Stevens County, Wash.

The story of the Rafter-Seven Ranch began generations ago when Robert Lunan and Gertrude Hull Playfair, Bob and Thelmas grandparents, acquired 160 acres of cutover timberland just east of Cheweleh, Wash. in 1910. Additional acreage was added by subsequent generations and grew into the 2,817 acres of the Rafter-Seven Ranch, Inc. of today. The Playfair siblings, Bob and Thelma, were both born and raised on the family farm which thay have maintained as a certified Tree Farm since 1962. Over the years, Rafter-Seven Ranch has grown from a farming homestead into a comprehensive wood utilization operation which encompasses over 3,000 acres of timber and 260 acres of farmland that includes 80 acres of the original 1910 homestead. For the past 20 years, Rafter-Seven has operated under a written forest management plan that includes the annual harvest of 5 to 30 acres in a "seed-tree" prescription. Their seral species seedlings include western Larch, Pondorosa pine and western White pine plantings.

The American Tree Farm System ® (ATFS) is a national program that promotes the sustainable management of forests through education and outreach to private forest landowners. Founded in 1941, ATFS has 27 million acres of privately owned forestland and 87,000 family forest owners who are committed to excellence in forest stewardship. Tree Farmers manage their forestlands for wood, water, wildlife, and recreation with assistance from 4,400 volunteer foresters. ATFS is a program of the American Forest Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works for healthy forests, quality environmental education, and informed decision-making about our communities and our world.