ACF Identity Statements

Mission: To advance the practice of professional consulting forestry.

Vision: To be the preeminent resource driving excellence for professional consulting foresters, with our members recognized as the gold standard, empowering landowners and stakeholders to make informed decisions and implement responsible management of forest and natural resources.

Core Values:

  • Professional and ethical excellence
  • Belief in a strong free enterprise system
  • Commitment to science-based stewardship of natural resources
  • Cooperative relationships among ACF foresters

Values Statements:

The Association of Consulting Foresters of America:

  1. Promotes professional, ethical, science-based, and economic expertise in management of forest and natural resources.
  2. Endorses the free enterprise system, including all rights and privileges inherent to the ownership and management of private property.
  3. Believes that private forest and natural resource management activities are essential enterprises that yield public benefits.
  4. Encourages and promotes cooperative relationships among ACF foresters.
  5. Believes that where subsidies are conducive to economic viability of private forest and natural resource management, such subsidies are most effectively and economically applied through the private sector.
  6. Supports fair and equitable income, estate, and property tax policy that promotes long-term investment in forest and natural resources.
  7. Recognizes that healthy and economically viable forestlands and forest products industries provide the greatest good for the nation.
  8. Believes forest and natural resources education, fire protection and research are public services that are beneficial to society.
  9. Believes that management of public forestlands for multiple-use best serves the public interest.
  10. Recognizes that ecosystem services markets can benefit forest landowners and society.