About AFF Staff

Here at the American Forest Foundation, our staff is dedicated to helping people like you who own woodlands to enjoy your special haven in the best ways possible.

If you’re a birder, we can give you tips on how to attract more songbirds to your property. If you want to attract more wildlife like deer and other critters, we can help with that too. And if you want to learn how to keep your woods healthy, and growing strong, there’s lots of information here on mylandplan.org to help you do that.

The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a 501c3 nonprofit, works on the ground with families, teachers and elected officials to promote stewardship and protect our nation’s forest heritage. A commitment to the next generation unites our nationwide network of forest owners and educators working to keep America’s forests healthy and our children well prepared for the future they will inherit.

We know that there are a lot of woodland owners out there that are just getting started on learning about woodland ownership and caring for their woods. Folks wonder about their woods—am I doing the right thing? Are my trees healthy? What do I do about something that just doesn’t look right that’s growing on my property? What if I want to take down some trees, who do I call? There are so many questions! And there are also so many ways to enjoy our woods, and ensure that our family and friends can enjoy them safely too. MyLandPlan.org is designed to help answer these questions and give you a tool to capture all the favorite places and the favorite moments you have on your property.

As woodland owners themselves, AFF’s staff wanted to create a place for woodland owners to find the right kind of information for them – no matter how large or small their wood lot is.So we thought about our own journeys…

	Amanda, who works in Communications, has 40 acres of family woodlands in Maine. Her dad is a birder and photographer who wanted a special place to enjoy his hobbies and spend time with their family. Together they are beginning to learn about how to care for the property's trees, waterfront, and wildlife.
	Caroline, Outreach Manager, graduate of Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and the mother of a two year old, is saving money with her husband to purchase their first woodland property. She wants her daughter to grow up with a strong connection to the land and an appreciation for the beauty of nature. Caroline is using the forest journal to document the search for their perfect piece of woods.
	Jennifer, she’s our VP for Communications, bought some woodlands with her husband, Gary, in Western Maryland. It’s a 10-acre woodlot bordering an important scenic river corridor. She’s learning about how to bring back native cherry trees, and thin the pine that is overgrown on the property. She also keeps a close watch for black bear.
	Emily, AFF's Web Communications Manager, is a life-long nature enthusist and grew up camping each summer with her family. She still loves the outdoors (here she is hiking Peru's Inca Trail to Machu Picchu) and hopes to own her own woodland retreat one day.
	Mike, he’s an AFF Forester, and calls himself a “landless forester who plays in and around other people’s woods.” There are many other staff people here at AFF that want to help you and other woodland owners enjoy and protect your property.
	Rita, she’s our VP for Public Affairs, and leads our effort to ensure federal policy helps family forest owners stay on their land. Her Mom still lives on the family farm in New York, almost 300 acres of farmland and woods with a view of the Adirondack Mountains. The farm still produces a hay crop and also is home to deer and turkey and other game species.  Rita is working with her Mom on actions she can take to ensure her woods stay healthy.
	Tom, the CEO at AFF inherited land in Wisconsin that his grandfather Bump and Bump's children bought in the 1960s. Tom now owns the 200-acre property with his sister, and he and his family plan to spend time there as often as they can. Tom will tell you that the one constant in his life, and now for his own children, has been their Wisconsin woods.

At MyLandPlan.org you’ll find lots of information to help you take good care of your woods and help you enjoy all the benefits of woodland ownership – wildlife, recreational opportunities, privacy. Our hunch is that your family land has meaning for you that is sometimes hard to describe, but never hard to feel, deep in your heart. We share your love of the land and hope that you’ll find this site an easy and fun tool to use to help keep your woodlands healthy and beautiful! We hope you'll come back to it time and again and use our tools to guide and document your own journey as a woodland family.