Posted by Allison Welde, SFI Director, Conservation Partnerships

We just launched our 2012 Request for Proposals for the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program, which supports research and outreach to advance responsible forestry. This year we are looking for projects that will strengthen the role of SFI certification in protecting water resources and helping resource managers respond to climate change.

SFI Inc. has invested more than $1.1 million in conservation grants since 2010 – and the amazing response to each of the RFPs shows the value of the program. Unfortunately our success in the first two years means the 2012 budget is limited to $85,000 for new projects. That’s because a lot of the work we supported in 2010 and 2011 involved multi-year projects that are continuing this year – for example, Clemson University is helping South Carolina landowners improve wildlife habitat and Ducks Unlimited Canada is leading development of best practices for forestry roads that protect boreal wetlands.

In addition to our conservation grants, we will invest $35,000 in community grants this year – it will go to identified projects aimed at encouraging young people to get involved in forestry and natural resource activities and careers.

The SFI conservation grant program is such a fantastic way to bring together conservation groups, resource managers and government agencies to address topics of current importance — like water resources and climate change – and build knowledge that will help SFI program participants improve forest practices. More than 125 organizations are partners in the 24 projects we have funded to date, and their involvement is expected to leverage additional resources to achieve a total value of $4.2 million.

The deadline for 2012 applications is Wednesday, March 14, 2012 – the RFP and additional information is posted on the grant website or you can contact me.

Posted by Barry Graden, SFI Director, Southeast U.S. Community Outreach

When I joined SFI Inc. last month, I knew I would have a chance to work with many partners who share my interest in sustainable forest management and third-party forest certification.

Last week, I learned just how much these partnerships can achieve. The second phase of an innovative pilot project in Maine, involving Time Inc., Hearst Enterprises, National Geographic Society, Verso Paper Corp. and Sappi Fine Paper North America, led to 790,000 acres/320,000 hectares of additional forest lands being certified to the SFI Standard.

Now that’s worth celebrating. These corporate leaders understand we need more certified lands to address the growing market and customer interest in how resources are managed – and they are willing to act. We are interested in replicating this kind of work in other locations, which is why I am currently looking to identify corporate sponsors.

That’s what I have always liked about the SFI program – it has a strong foundation as an internationally recognized forest certification standard then builds on this by supporting responsible forest management locally. It draws on the strengths of diverse partners to improve forest practices across North America through landowner and community outreach, through science, through market awareness.

I’m a registered forester and I have been involved with the forest sector for 31 years so I’ve watched SFI from its inception. I’ve seen how it has helped to improve practices and advance knowledge over time. This view has been reinforced in the last month as I met with members of the vast SFI community – with SFI Implementation Committees, forestry associations and family forest owners; with suppliers and customers.

There is so much happening, and so much more we can do. Let me know if you have ideas about how we can grow certification or if you want to join with SFI and its many partners. Together, we can strengthen third-party certification and spread the word about the benefits of the SFI program – and build more successes like the Maine pilot.

Barry Graden recently joined SFI Inc. in the new position of Director, Southeast U.S. Community Outreach. He will build on the program’s community activities to promote and strengthen forest certification throughout the United States, with emphasis on the south. His office is in Greenville, SC, and he can be reached by email or telephone at 864-451-7958.

There’s a lot to like about SFI annual conferences.

They bring together the SFI community so we can share ideas and explore future opportunities with experts – this year speakers included Kathryn Fernholz from Dovetail, Scott McDougall from TerraChoice, Adam Grant from the World Resources Institute, Mary White from PepsiCo, Michael Luzier from the NAHB Research Center and Jimmie Powell from The Nature Conservancy. A panel of Aboriginal leaders shared their experiences with SFI, and three SFI board members engaged in a thoughtful open discussion.

The conference in Burlington, VT, was our biggest ever, with 226 participants. We welcomed customers – like PepsiCo, IKEA, JCPenney and Time – as well as delegates from companies and communities of all sizes, Aboriginal communities, government agencies and conservation groups. They included academics, students, auditors, biologists, printers, landowners and forest professionals – it truly represented The Bigger Picture – Conservation. Integrity. Community.

I was constantly reminded that it’s the passion, the enthusiasm, the knowledge and the diversity of our many participants and supporters that make the SFI program so strong. That’s why we are able to achieve so much in forests and communities across North America.

The conference awards luncheon gave me a chance to showcase some of this good work.

The Boy Scouts of America received the SFI President’s award for everything they do to promote the value of sustainable forestry. Their Forestry merit badge encourages scouts to explore the complexity of forests, and is especially important when you consider these youth are our future leaders, our future land managers, our future consumers. The Boy Scouts of America are also firm supporters of forest certification – their Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico is certified to the SFI Standard; Boys’ Life magazine is printed on SFI chain-of-custody certified paper; and they are using SFI-certified wood for facilities in West Virginia where the 2013 Scout Jamboree will be held.

At this year’s conference, we also celebrated the achievements of the Mississippi SFI Implementation Committee, The Lyme Timber Company and the Wildlife Management Institute.

The Mississippi SFI Implementation Committee met a broad range of criteria – including leadership, logger education, landowner outreach and education, SFI program integrity, and SFI program growth – to earn the 13th Annual SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award. I can’t say enough about the fantastic contributions our SFI Implementation Committees make. By representing SFI locally, they help us support strong communities and responsible forest practices.

The Lyme Timber Company and Wildlife Management Institute received an SFI Conservation Leadership Award for Biodiversity Research for a project that is improving forest habitat for the American woodcock in northern New York State. As always, there are a lot of other partners involved – including New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; and Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Thanks to everyone who made the 16^th Annual SFI Conference such a great success – including delegates, sponsors and speakers. Check our conference website where we have posted speaker presentations, including the inspiring keynote address by Larry Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund and an SFI board member.

I hope to see you at next year’s conference from Sept. 11 to 13 in Milwaukee.

J. Sterling Morton would have been a great partner in the SFI program.

Morton loved nature and as editor of a Nebraska newspaper, he encouraged his readers and civic organizations to plant trees. But he went beyond this. In 1872, as secretary of Nebraska Territory, he proposed Arbor Day as a tree-planting holiday in the United States.

Today, as we celebrate the 139^th Arbor Day, just think about the impact Morton has had. Today, the Arbor Day Foundation plants and distributes 10 million trees each year, recognizes more than 3,300 communities through the Tree City USA program, and provides resources for childcare centers, elementary schools, preschools and parks to connect children with nature.

It’s this kind of broad outreach that really can make a difference. It’s something we understand at the SFI program, which is why we go beyond our forest certification standard. Our bigger picture embraces conservation, integrity and community. No other third-party forest certification program in North America can match this broad perspective.

We started with a rigorous third-party forest certification standard, then built on it so we could accomplish even more in the forest, in communities and in the marketplace. We make sure forest landowners have access to the knowledge and training they need to manage forestlands responsibly.

Our unique Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is yielding benefits by building knowledge, strengthening global supply chains and showing landowners how they can manage forests to enhance wildlife habitat. We give back through our 37 community-based SFI Implementation Committees and our partnerships with Habitat for Humanity affiliates.

The SFI program may have earned international respect but our roots will always be deep in North American communities – addressing their needs and gaining insight from their knowledge.

Thanks to our many partners who help us collectively achieve so much. And thanks to J. Sterling Morton for starting the enthusiasm and vision that is still with us today.

Allison Welde is SFI Director, Conservation Partnerships and Communications, and identifies areas of potential collaboration with conservation groups and other SFI stakeholders.

The Wildlife Habitat Improvement  Practices program at Clemson University, is one of nine projects awarded funding earlier this year as part of SFI’s Conservation and Community Grant Program.  The goal of the Clemson program is to research and share wildlife habitat improvement practices, inform SFI Standard Objectives for wildlife management, and help other forest landowners implement activities to improve wildlife habitat.  Through this program, Clemson aims to foster greater understanding, acceptance and support of responsible forest management by the general public.  As part of their outreach efforts, Clemson recently launched a new website which provides background information and updates on the project achievements.

Clemson University students majoring in forest resources, wildlife and fisheries biology, and environmental and natural resource management are a key component in the success of the SFI-funded project.  This fall, 42 undergraduate students enrolled in a Wildlife Management class are working with project co-directors to establish and sample a series of vegetation plots in demonstration sites to evaluate the effects of select silvicultural practices on wildlife habitat.  Two graduate students enrolled in the course are also helping to develop a plan to have the Clemson forest certified to the SFI Standard.   By participating in the project students are gaining a better understanding of integrated forest and wildlife habitat management,  as well as the requirements and goals of the SFI program.  The SFI project has become an invaluable teaching tool that is enriching the education experience of students majoring in natural resource management and related fields.

The Wildlife Habitat Improvement  Practices program is not only researching best forest management practices, but will demonstrate lessons learned to those who can benefit from learning about improved management activities, including forest landowners, forest managers, foresters, wildlife biologists and conservationists who are interested in integrating wildlife habitat improvement practices into forests managed for timber products. Upon completion of the research, Clemson and its partners, including SFI, will host a field day to demonstrate their findings to landowners and managers, taking the next step to inform new practices that benefit wildlife, meet SFI requirements and assist in gaining public support for responsible forest management.

Check out the Clemson Wildlife Habitat Improvement Practices program’s new website and keep up to date with the great work going on there.