In an acronym-crazed city like Washington, even the simplest combination of letters can have multiple meanings. Take NIH, for example. Most citizens would recognize this as the National Institutes of Health. A good thing. Most bureaucrats, however, will see another, more troubling combination of letters — Not Invented Here. A bad thing.

Anthony Downs, in his seminal 1967 book Inside Bureaucracy, argued that the first principle guiding workers in large organizations isn’t just to do their job; it’s to make sure the organization survives, with a place for them in it. Survival, in other words, can be more important than success. Consider the last time you heard about an organization that had accomplished its mission, declared victory, and shut itself down. It might have been the Continental Army after victory in the Revolution; but the Founders thought twice and rebuilt it just a couple of years later.

Having labored in the same patch for nearly 25 years, I’d be the last person to claim survival is a bad thing. But the fact is, as Downs points out, without taking special care, both leaders and organizations bent on forever growing, can fall into some deep traps.

In some respects, large organizations are like medieval villages — full of people laboring behind the city walls. Downs suggests they develop their own language, culture, and world view. What’s happening outside the wall might be a total mystery, he says, or it might be skewed by the particular lens through which folks in that particular village peer over the walls. In any event, when it’s hard to see clearly the world outside, the appearance of something “new” on the horizon [a problem, a challenge, an opportunity] becomes a singular event for that organization – even if other organizations have been dealing with it forever.

At the same time, there’s a powerful impulse to “home-grow” the solution. First, because every organization tends to view itself as “unique,” with particular needs, interests and skills. Second, because potential “problem solvers” naturally seek to earn credit within the organization for their vision and ingenuity. Often, something “Not Invented Here” simply won’t do.

Behavior like this is rampant, for example, in the field of environmental education. In the life cycle of any organization there comes a time when leaders realize that 6th graders will actually be voting in six years — and that schools have become among the most durable of community institutions, one of the few places where parents come together in our fractionated society.

After revelation comes reaction. Perhaps the organization plans a new environmental education initiative, a poster series or website, or commissions a consultant to write a new curriculum, or decides that a well-illustrated children’s book can solve the problem. Sometimes new ideas emerge, and everybody profits. Reinventing the wheel can be a good thing, if it produces a better wheel.

But too often, what’s deemed new simply mirrors something that others have already done — and done well — before.

How does this hurt? Most immediately, the organization limits its opportunity to learn from what others have already tried. It can cost money too. Sometimes, the most efficient, effective route to a particular objective will be on a vehicle someone else built and operates.

But the most pernicious effects will be felt more broadly. In a field like environmental education, funding is scant, episodic and uncertain. What’s deemed “new” often diverts resources from programs that might be “old” but effective. We become locked into an endless cycle of innovation without impact, as each new set of players emerge. That’s why people who care about environmental education must learn to invest wisely and, in a way, selflessly. The biggest returns just might flow from partnerships with programs already in place.

Laurence Wiseman, President

American Forest Foundation
1111 Nineteenth Street, NW
Suite 780
Washington, D.C. ▪ 20036
Phone 202.463.2462
Fax 202.463.2461

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ATFS Notes
Largest Group In North America Earns ATFS Certificate 36,000 Properties Certified in Wisconsin

ATFS announced that the largest third-party group forest certification ever achieved in North America has been issued to Wisconsin’s Managed Forest Law (MFL) Program. The MFL Group Organization includes 29,000 forest owners holding 36,000 forested properties totaling 1.9 million acres, making it the largest certified group in North America.

NSF-International Strategic Registrations, Ltd, (NSF-ISR) an ATFS accredited auditing firm, judged conformance to the American Forest Foundation’s 2004-2008 Standards of Sustainability and the Standard Operating Procedures for Group Organizations, Group Managers and Group Members (SOP-01), and issued the certificate. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry will manage the group.

NSF-ISR closely reviewed the MFL program using two audit teams during two different seasons to assess a broad cross-section of forestry activities by private landowners enrolled in the program. Mike Ferrucci, NSF-ISR lead auditor said, “Our auditors found consistent conformance with the requirements of the AFF Standard, as well as a strong commitment from landowners to long-term sustainable forestry.”

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F²W² Update
Wisconsin Educational Field Day

On June 11, Dan Bohlin, a Wisconsin family forest owner, hosted a landowner field day on his property, End-O-Way Tree Farm, in Stitzer, Wisconsin. More than 130 natural resource professionals and family forest owners, who together own 15,000 acres, attended this educational event. The field day coincided with Wisconsin’s Invasive Species Awareness Month, established by Wisconsin Governor, James Doyle, to address the state’s escalating problem of the destructive impact of ecologically invasive plants. Family forest owners observed the habitat work Bohlin had done, heard from wildlife and invasive species experts, and learned about technical and financial assistance that can help landowners with conservation goals. Participants learned how to identify invasive plants and learned methods to control them. They also saw invasive species control tools in action and the results of various control methods. Since 2001, Bohlin has reintroduced fire to prairie remnants or areas with restoration potential. He’s removed buckthorn and, working with consulting foresters and timber buyers, has “cleared out” a 15-acre oak savanna restoration area, as well as other areas. Bohlin has also enhanced habitat for other wildlife by planting trees and shrubs, establishing native grass cover, restoring a small wetland, and creating ponds on his property.

F2W2 Publishes Forest Ecosystem Conservation Handbook for Birds in Georgia:
A Guide for Family Forest Owners

Written for landowners, the handbook discusses forest management for birds and other wildlife. According to data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, a number of southern pineland bird species are declining, due partly to a loss of forest habitat. The Northern Bobwhite alone has had populations decline by two-thirds in the last 40 years. Pine habitat with an open, healthy understory is necessary for the survival of the Bobwhite and many other bird species. Bird conservationists in the Southeast recognize that working family forests are vital to conserving this habitat. The Forest Ecosystem Conservation Handbook for Birds in Georgia educates landowners about forest management options that conserve critical wildlife habitat and at the same time provide an economic return, thus ensuring the long-term health and viability of forests.

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PLT Cornerstone
PLT Gathered in Oregon for the 19th International Coordinators’ Conference

PLT held its annual conference in Welches, Oregon, June 8-12. More than 125 environmental educators gathered for the five days of professional development and the announcement of PLT’s 2005 Outstanding Educators.

Susan Castillo, Oregon’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, was a featured keynote speaker at the Conference on Thursday at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon. Other distinguished guests and speakers included: Hal Salwasser, professor of Forest Resources and Forest Science, dean of the College of Forestry, and director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory at Oregon State University; Ann Goos, the Development Director for the Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation; and Dale Waddell, Executive Director of Wolftree. PLT presented Mike Baker, Director of the Office of Environmental Education, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a Gold Star Award. The PLT Gold Star Award is the highest annual honor bestowed by PLT National. It honors a recipient’s enduring and unflagging dedication to the mission and goals of the PLT program as demonstrated by their years of exemplary service to the organization.

Other events featured the PLT Outstanding Educators luncheon sponsored by a grant from MeadWestvaco. This year’s awardees: Mary Cutler, a naturalist with the Tippencanoe County Parks & Recreation from West Lafayette, Indiana; Linda Desai, education director & co-founder of Placer Nature Center from Auburn, California; Peggy Herbert, 4th grade teacher at Henniker Community School in Henniker, New Hampshire; and Larry Kowalski, science specialist at Midway Elementary School in Anderson, South Carolina. Congratulations to these five outstanding environmental educators.

These five outstanding educators exemplify the criteria of the award: exceptional teaching skills, commitment to the PLT curriculum, exemplary use of environmental education (EE) in the classroom, and sustained use of PLT. They represent the diversity that is one of the strengths of PLT: they work in different parts of the country, in rural and urban communities, and with all ages of learners.

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Back Issues:
An archive of back issues is available at our News Center

At A Glance is a monthly e-newsletter of the American Forest Foundation. At A Glance highlights the activities, events, and projects of the Foundations programs, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife (F2W2), and Project Learning Tree (PLT).

		The American Forest Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works for healthy forests, quality environmental education and informed decision-making about our communities and our world. Our vision is to be recognized for our commitment to sustainable forestry, quality environmental education, and wildlife habitat and watershed protection.
		The American Tree Farm System sustaining forests, watersheds, and healthy habitats through the power of private stewardship.
		Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife links family forest landowners with conservation partners from private, state, and federal wildlife agencies to improve and restore wildlife habitat.
		PLT uses the forest as a window on the world to increase students understanding of our complex environment and to help students learn the skills they need to make sound choices about the environment.

We hope that the AFF At A Glance e-newsletter provides our readers with current news on our program activities, events, and initiatives. However, if you wish to be removed from this email list please hit reply and put "Remove" in the subject heading. We’ll be happy to accommodate your request.

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