Montgomery abrf
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•623 views
Resources available from Board of Registration of Foresters
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
More from Arkansas Forestry Association
More from Arkansas Forestry Association (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Montgomery abrf
- 1. ARKANSAS STATE BOARD OF REGISTRATION FOR FORESTERS (ABORF) WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO… -REBECCA MONTGOMERY, R.F.
- 2. What is ABoRF? • Licensing board for foresters • Began in 1969, with RF #1 – Exists to protect private forest landowners by ensuring that foresters are educated, qualified, and experienced and maintain their continuing education • License foresters, investigate and make findings on complaints • WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!!
- 3. Registered Foresters, defined • Registered foresters have met certain qualifications and received a license to practice forestry and call themselves foresters in Arkansas – They can consult, investigate, evaluate, plan or supervise forestry activities in Arkansas • Exemptions: Practicing forestry on your own land
- 4. How to Identify a RF…. • Common forester abbreviations – R.F., or RF or R.F. ####=Registered Forester – CF=Certified Forester via Society of American Foresters – ACF=Association of Consulting Foresters – SAF=Society of American Foresters – Forester – Timber Buyer, Timber Manager, Timber Consultant, etc
- 5. Types of RFs • RFs can work in a variety of places, most commonly – Industry (ex. Deltic) – Consulting, private or company – Government (ex. AFC, AGFC) • Advises and watches out for their employer’s forestry goals and interests • Enhances efficiency and productivity of your timber investment, just as a financial consultant would your money
- 6. Activities a RF can help you with • Timber estimation, Boundary lines • Fire protection • Management plans • Mapping • Pest and disease identification and control • Regeneration/ Timber Stand Improvement • Timber Marketing and Sales • Representing YOUR interests!
- 7. Who Benefits from Licensing? • Landowners, Society, and Foresters!! • Landowners: – Professional foresters can create improvements in the outcome of management practices such as reforestation, harvest quality, post-harvest stand structure and economic value – In one study landowners who used professional foresters received as much as 87 percent more for their timber than those not assisted. • Society benefits from a well managed forest • Foresters get title protection
- 8. How Do You Know? • Call our office at 501.296.1998 • Look it up online at www.arkansas.gov/abof
- 9. How to Find a RF • Need a consulting forester? – Ask a friend or neighbor for recommendation – AFC’s website, AFA’s website, ABORF website • Questions to ask – Experience and Education – RF Number!!! – Employer, Services and Cost – DO YOU GET ALONG WITH HIM/HER?
- 10. Other States Requiring Licensing • AR is one of several states which requires licensing – We are a member of ASBoRF which includes MS, AL, GA, NC, and SC – Note that some surrounding states do not require licensing
- 11. What does it take to be a R.F.? • Law has changed over the years • Currently, all successful applicants must have: – At least a 2 year forestry degree with 6 years experience – Provide five reference forms – Pass a written R.F. Exam • To maintain annual license, continuing education • Reciprocal licenses with ASBoRF states
- 12. Board Members • Appointed by governor, but nominated by the field – Arkansas Forestry Association, J. Wainscott – School of Forest Resources, M. Pelkki – Association of Consulting Foresters, JD Neely – Society of American Foresters, C. Guffey – Arkansas Forestry Commission, M. Phillips • Governor selects and appoints the consumer representative, D. Daniels • 5 year terms
- 13. Complaints • Board receives complaints, investigates them, and makes findings when appropriate • Complaint forms available from office or online at www.arkansas.gov/abof • Must be notarized • Be familiar with the Board’s jurisdiction
- 14. Jurisdiction of the Board • 1) no person shall use in connection with that person’s name or otherwise assume, use or advertise any title or description that the person is a forester unless they are registered Eric Hempstead, Forester Delta Land and Timber PO Box 122 Stuttgart, AR 78551
- 15. Jurisdiction of the Board • 2) individuals who practice or offer to practice forestry without a valid license – Forestry: practice of managing, harvesting, and using the natural resources which occur on forestlands – Practice: services for hire like consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, or supervision of forestry activity on private or public lands
- 16. Jurisdiction of the Board
- 17. Jurisdiction of the Board • 3) Board may revoke the license of any forester who has been convicted of a felony, or found guilty by the Board of fraud, deceit, gross negligence, misrepresentation, willful violation of contract, misconduct, or gross incompetence
- 18. Arkansas State Board of Registration for Foresters • We are here for YOU! • Please give us a call! • Use our website to locate currently licensed foresters at www.arkansas.gov/abof
Editor's Notes
- 1
- Well, let’s start with what our agency does. Our Board is simply a licensing Board for foresters. Just like doctors, nurses, surveyors, and tow truck drivers, foresters must be licensed to practice forestry in Arkansas. The Board was established via legislation in 1969. The first Board members drew lots to see who would carry RF #1. The most recent forester we registered was #1494. Currently, there are 455 foresters registered in the state. The Board was created to protect private forest landowners by ensuring that foresters in Arkansas are educated, qualified, and experienced as well as maintain their continuing education hours thus keeping them informed of all current information regarding forests and their management. The Board licenses foresters, investigates complaints and makes findings on complaints. Basically, the Board is HERE for you, the public. If you don’t take anything else away from this talk remember that the Board is here for you to protect landowners like yourself.
- So that brings us to the slide that I think Rob really wanted me talk about, what registered foresters can do and can’t do. Basically, RFs are any individual who holds a valid RF license. They have met all qualifications to become a registered forester and have been Board approved to conduct forestry work in Arkansas. These individuals can consult, investigate, evaluate, plan or supervise forestry activities in the state. You have to be a registered forester to pursue these activities for a fee on someone else’s land in Arkansas. If you as a landowner, or company, etc wish to manage your forestland on your own land, you are free to do so.
- So how do you know if someone is a RF just by advertisement or other communication? Well you don’t really unless you have looked up their name on our roster. They may provide you with some clue on their communication in the form of a abbreviation. I have listed a few of the abbreviations you might have seen after someone’s name in either a letter addressed to you or other advertisement. The only abbreviation which means the person is licensed in Arkansas is the RF abbreviation. CF means the person is a certified forester from SAF. They have basically met certain criteria, maybe passed a exam and maintain a number of continuing education hours to keep their license. ACF means the forester is a member of the Association of Consulting Foresters which John McAlpine will talk about later on today. SAF just means they maybe a member of the Society of American Foresters, a national organization. Forester can mean many things to many people. If you see this term without the RF, then you need to contact our office or check out our website to determine if that person is registered in the state. Timber Buyer or timber managers are not necessarily registered foresters.
- There are various fields a forester can work in such as industry, managing lands owned by corporations such as Deltic. Now some industry foresters might work with landowners in their LAP programs, but primarily foresters who work with landowners for a fee are consultant foresters. Or they may work at state agencies such as the AFC as public foresters. Some RFs are even lawyers or work for the IRS. In each of these niches, the forester carefully speaks with the landowner to better understand the landowner’s goal and then advises and watches out for their employers forestry goals and interest doing his/her best to ensure that landowner objectives are met.
- There are numerous activities a forester can assist you with on your land. Foresters can provides estimates of timber on your land, locate boundary lines and paint them (they can not determine boundary lines..only a registered surveyor can do that), create a management plan for your land, provide you with maps of your timberland, identify pests and diseases present on your land and inform you of any newly identified pest in the area (such as the Emerald Ash Borer). They may provide assistance planning regeneration that will best work on your land and planning timber stand improvement operations, mark your timber to meet your objectives and market your timber to get you the best price. Mainly the forester represents your interests.
- Why is it important to register foresters you ask? Well everyone benefits from licensing. Professional foresters, such as those registered by the state, can create improvements in the outcome of mgmt practices such as reforestation, harvest quality, post harvest stand structure and economic value. In one study (Cubbage et al) it was shown that landowners who utilized a professional forester received as much as 87 percent more for their timber than those not assisted. In addition, society benefits from the use of forester who understands management, best management practices, etc and can apply his/her knowledge so that water quality, wildlife and other aspects of nature are protected and enhanced during management. And of course as with any licensing profession, foresters themselves benefit from registration by protecting the title and profession from use by individuals lacking forestry knowledge.
- So how do you know if someone is a registered forester? Its simple you can call our office at 501.296.1998 or look up a forester on our roster located on our website www.arkansas.gov/abof
- If you someone you know is trying to find a consulting forester, it can be task. The best resources I know to point you to is to ask a friend or adjacent landowner for a recommendation. You can check the AFC’s website at www.forestry.arkansas.gov. They have a listing of consulting foresters. You can also check with AFA or on our website. One thing to note is that only individuals who sign up or are members are listed on the AFC and AFA list. ABoRF provides a comprehensive list but it also includes industry, government as well as consulting foresters. Once you narrow down your search there are some important questions to ask. Ask about their experience, education, what their RF number is, who they are employed by (since some foresters are employed by timber buying companies, you want to be aware of any conflict of interest). What services do they provide and at what cost. And the NUMBER ONE consideration is how well you get along with the forester. This is someone you will most likely be working with long term. Do you feel comfortable around them? Do you communicate well with them and they with you? One of the number one complaints I receive from landowners revolves around communication issues.
- Arkansas is one of several states which requires licensing. According to a report by the Society of American Foresters, 16 states have some form of forester credentialing: 7 states (AL, CA, CT, MA, MD, MA, NH) have licensing laws, 5 have (AR, GA, MS, NC, SC) mandatory registration statutes, and 4 (MI, NJ, OK, WB) have voluntary registration laws. Arkansas’s Board is actively involved in the Association of Southern Boards of Registration for Foresters or ASBoRF for short. This association includes the states MS, AL, GA, NC, and SC. We offer reciprocal licenses with these states as long as the applicant has passed his/her state’s RF exam and is currently in good standing. It is good to note that some surrounding states such as TX, LA, and TN do not have registration laws and are not aware of Arkansas’s registration law.
- So as alluded to before, initially in 1969 individuals could become registered by simply practicing forestry for five or more years. Of course new graduates could become registered as well as long as they either had experience or passed a written exam. Now, there are still foresters out there that were licensed via this methods but today’s standards are a bit different. Current law states that applicants must have a minimum of a 2 year forestry degree along with six years of subsequent forestry experience before sitting for the exam. That’s right all applicants with the exception of reciprocal applicants, must pass a four long tough exam. Applicants must also provide reference forms from at least five people (three of which are RFs) who can attest to their personal or professional knowledge of the person’s character. Those individuals who become licensed must complete at least eight hours of continuing forestry education each year with at least one of these hours being a forestry ethics course.
- The Board itself is comprised of six members who meet approximately three times per year. Unlike some other Boards, our Board positions are appointed by the governor from nominations given by the forestry field. The governor does select the consumer representative without any input from field foresters. All members are appointed to five year terms and all work very hard in these voluntary positions to enhance the forestry profession.
- So one of the primary functions of the Board is to receive and investigate complaints regarding individuals. Currently, we do not receive many from the public. Most complaints come from registered foresters protecting their title. If anyone ever needs to file a complaint please feel free to call our office or download a complaint form online at our website. One thing to note is that you can not file a complaint anonymously, since the forms do need to be notarized. Before filing a complaint you need to be familiar with what a registered forester does and exactly where our Board has jurisdiction. The Board has three primary areas of jurisdiction which I will briefly go over here.
- One of the most common complaints we receive is about individuals representing themselves as foresters when they are NOT licensed to do so in Arkansas. These complaints typically come from licensed foresters. The most common type is the mass letter sent to individual landowners offering to buy their timber, or saying they are working in the area. These people receive a cease and desist letter from the Board and if needed can be prosecuted.
- The second type of complaint comes about because unlicensed individuals are offering to practice or practicing forestry (for a fee) without a valid license. According to the RF law, the practice of forestry is defined as services for hire like consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning or supervision of forestry activities on private or public lands. Forestry itself is defined as the practice of managing, harvesting, and using the natural resources which occur on forestlands. We receive some complaints regarding this issue, again typically these scenarios can be found in the mass letters sent to landowners offering management of their trees and the purchase of their timber.
- Here is just an example of one complaint we had. You can see that Mr. Epperson was offering to practice forestry by offering for hire forest management plans (planning), cruising (evaluation), etc. These complaints receive cease and desist letters and can be followed up with prosecution if need be.
- The last type complaint the Board can handle, I think are the most serious, but fortunately are the most infrequent. That is a complaint against a registered forester in which the individual has been convicted of a felony or found guilty by the Board of fraud, deceit, gross negligence, misrepresentation, willful violation of contract, misconduct, or gross incompetence. Basically, the Board would receive this complaint. A complaint committee would investigate the complaint and bring it before the full Board in a hearing in which the individual presents his/her side of the issue. The Board then makes a finding herein, and has the power to revoke a license if needed.
- I hope this presentation has given you a better understanding of what ABORF is, what registered foresters do, and why you need one. Please remember that the Board is here for you and give us a call anytime. You can always find out who is registered at our website www.arkansas.gov/abof.