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Related Links

Association of Consulting Foresters

Practicing of Consulting Forestry Course

Welcome & PFI History

The Practicing Foresters Institute (PFI) is a 501(c)(3) trust dedicated to the purpose of providing training to practicing foresters through assistance grants and scholarships as well as education programs to the general public.

Early Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF) visionaries Edward Stuart, Eley Frazer, John Bradley, Eugene Putman, and Robert Kleiner saw the advantage to establish a charitable arm of ACF with the mission of providing educational
opportunities for ACF foresters, and in general, promote the profession of forestry.  To that end, the Practicing Forestry Institute (PFI) was formed on January 1, 1984.  PFI was initially funded by a contribution from ACF in the amount of $10,000. By 1995, the PFI Board had refined the mission to include funding projects that promoted forestry, providing scholarships and research grants for students, while continuing to offer educational opportunities to practicing foresters. Further, an endowment fund was created at this time to promote charitable contributions with the interest from the fund designated for educational activities, not operating costs.  The Endowment  is intended to be utilized by ACF Chapters and other organizations (e.g. universities, extension services, foundations, museums and research centers) to help underwrite the cost of educational programs.

In 2013, the former volunteer financial contributions made by J. Tobey Wright and Harry Murphy to ACF, PFI and the profession of forestry were honored with the formation of the Wright – Murphy Speaker Series (WMSS) Endowment, designed to support high-caliber speakers at education events. In December 2025, PFI was selected to be the recipient of a portion of the funds distributed by the dissolution of the Bradley/Murphy Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Trust. This extremely generous gift amounted to over $1,700,000 with the primary purpose of 1) establishing links between non-industrial private forest owners and professional foresters, 2) studying and eliminating barriers which affect the connection or links between non-industrial, private forest landowners and consulting foresters, 3) and insuring that a favorable opportunity exists for private non-industrial forest landowners to carry out good forest management and marketing activities in the United States of America. Of these funds, 15% was set aside for use exclusively on qualified projects proposed by the Alabama Chapter of the Association of Consulting Foresters, with the remaining 85% available for other uses.

In 2026, the PFI board voted to merge the former Scholarship fund, created in 2013, into the 1995 endowment fund since the same goals were served by both. Additionally in 2026, the board voted to merge the former Memorial fund, established in 2018 initially by donations made in memory of Eley Frazer, for the same reason. Memorial donations may now be accepted into any active fund.