In case you didn’t read our wrap up summary, check it by clicking below.

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

If anyone ever asks you why the SFI Standard has objectives to conserve working forests, tell them to take a take a look at these pups on the cover of the third quarter report of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Red Wolf Recovery Program. The red wolf is one of the most endangered canids in the world, and the territory of one of the reintroduced packs includes working forest land owned by Weyerhaeuser.

Red wolves (Canis rufus) were once common across the eastern and south-central United States but fell victim to predator control programs and loss of habitat. To protect the species from extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured as many as possible in the 1970s so they could breed them in captivity and reintroduce them. The Service found 17 pure red wolves, and 14 of them became founding members of the captive-breeding program, which means they are ancestors of all red wolves existing today.

When the wolves were released in 1993, some were located in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina, near Weyerhaeuser lands. One of the packs included the company’s lands as part of their territory, and Weyerhaeuser allowed USFWS access to the land to keep track of the wolves.

The Weyerhaeuser pack consists of a radio-collared breeding pair, and in April 2010 they had five pups in a den located on Weyerhaeuser land. They are among 74 known red wolves, including 13 breeding pairs, in the recovery area – about 1.7 million acres in northeastern North Carolina. This year, the Red Wolf Recovery Program documented nine litters, totaling 42 pups.

The red wolf is the first predator to be restored to the wild after being extirpated in the wild. Restoring them brings back diversity, balance and stability to the natural ecosystem. If you’re interested in the Red Wolf Recovery Program, you’ll want to check out a new weblog that combines text, images, videos and links.

The SFI program recognizes exemplary conservation projects through our conservation awards or supports them directly through our SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants. But there are plenty of examples of stewardship and partnerships that fly under the radar – like red wolf recovery on working forest lands.

Photo: Ryan Nordsven, USFWS.

Nadine Block, who manages Government Outreach for SFI, shares announcement of world-wide support for USGBC to open its LEED standard.

The call for a change in the LEED standard is truly global.  Twelve nations have urged USGBC to end LEED’s discrimination against wood and accept all credible forest certification standards.

In a July 22nd press release, the international non-profit Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), a leading umbrella organization that endorses national forest certification systems, stated:  “Standards from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with forest industry associations and companies from many of these countries, have joined North American elected and government officials, professional foresters and other leaders who have told USGBC that  in order to increase the use of wood in buildings, all credible certification systems, including PEFC and FSC, need to be accepted.”

Approximately 543 million acres are certified to national standards endorsed by PEFC- including 377 million acres in North America alone- none of which are recognized by the USGBC’s LEED standard.

Several of these same countries, along with others, accounted for the more than 5,800 signatures on SFI’s online petition that was delivered to USGBC’s President and CEO, Rick Fedrizzi, Thursday, July 15th.

USGBC must do the right thing.  It is not just North America.  The whole world is watching.

Not only have we received broad support to open the LEED rating system from government and forest community leaders, but have also received thousands of comments on the petition. More than 5,600 individuals have signed. Many of these comments encompass points we’ve made in our U.S. and Canadian statements. I’ve included a few below, and I encourage you to read other comments (and sign the petition/comment if you haven’t done so already).

“Exclusive recognition of FSC by the USGBC and LEED foolishly narrows the availability of sustainably managed forest products and adds fuel to the unnecessary debate over which certification standard is ‘better.’ The USGBC should embrace standards that support sustainability, not standards that reflect political activism. ”
– Guy Gleysteen, SVP of Production at TIME, Inc.

“I strongly urge LEED to include wood sourced from all forests that are certified as being sustainably managed by credible programs using third party verifiers. This is critically important to ensure that green building is broadly adopted and has global significance.”
– John A. Helms, Professor Emeritus of Forestry at the University of California, Berkeley

“In 1995 I was a member of the team from SFI and FSC that compared the two systems under the mediation of Tim Mealey of Meridian Institute. That comparison over a decade ago found little substantive difference between the two systems in their actual application, and since then there has been continuing steady convergence toward a high degree of commonality. (See http://www.merid.org/showproject.php?ProjectID=9140). About the same time, Richard Donovan of Smartwood, an FSC certifier, told a meeting at the World Bank that in his own experience ‘there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the two systems on the ground.’ If LEED wants to be a constructive force for improved forestry, it needs to take an open, unbiased view of forest certification and not allow itself to be — or appear to be — the captive on one system and its advocates. That posture is a disservice to forest certification and green construction.”
– Scott Wallinger, Forest Sustainability Advisor

Seeing these and other heartfelt comments gives me optimism for the expansion of responsible forestry. In a recent Dovetail report, Kathryn Fernholz concludes, “Significant changes have occurred within the major certification programs in recent years, and, in several ways, it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between certification systems in North America.”  This statement supports why we at SFI think LEED should be open to all the credible standards in North America.  We’re encouraged by the widespread support and the comments we’ve received from around the world, supporting changes to the LEED standard and advancing wood as a viable option for green building.

Dovetail also released a report on green building in 2010 that said recent developments point to increasing convergence in green building requirements among various standards: “Consistent elements of such green building programs and standards are: third-party certified wood, regional materials, recycled-content materials, and reuse of salvaged materials. And, as indicated, programs are beginning to align in awarding use of life cycle assessment to inform building design and materials selection.”

Several organizations have demonstrated inclusivity in their standards, which I’ll talk about in tomorrow’s post. Additionally, find the latest information regarding the LEED issue on our website.

Earth Day messages and actions around reducing, reusing and recycling have been a great success. But when it comes to wood products like paper and lumber, consumers have two ways to take care of the forests – buying recycled and certified products.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI Inc.) promotes responsibly managed forests in North America and around the world.  Consumers can look for the SFI label to know they are buying paper or wood from responsible sources – whether it is reams of paper, packaging, lumber or furniture.

Next time you head out to pick something up from the store; don’t limit yourself to looking only for a recycled label on the packaging.  By looking for both recycled goods and products from well-managed forests, you are encouraging responsible forest management, protecting woodlands for the future and showing you truly care about our forests and the communities that they support.