In January 2014, the 1,480-acre Spitzer Demonstration Forest at NorthWoods was accepted into the American Tree Farm System as a certified tree farm. This status recognizes forest management that meets a variety of requirements to ensure that values such as forest health, wildlife habitat, water quality, soils, and timber quality are protected and enhanced. This management is verified by trained foresters that monitor activities on each certified parcel every 5-10 years, and by third-party audits that verify compliance on a sample of tree farms in each state every year. Organized in 1941, the American Tree Farm System is the oldest certifier of privately owned forestland in the country.
The NorthWoods ownership is unique among most tree farms in being a non-profit owned
demonstration forest where management is used as an educational tool for groups ranging from local elementary schools to visiting foresters from across the country. Most of the property is also protected from future development through a conservation easement held by the Vermont Land Trust. The property is managed by staff of its Forest Stewardship Institute, who also assist private landowners in managing their own properties, including the development of forest management plans and an array of hands-on management activities. The Institute counts among its 30+ clients Allen and Kathleen Yale, who were recognized in 2013 as the Eastern United States Tree Farmers of the Year.