Earlier today, the conservation chamber of SFI’s Board of Directors sent an open letter to media regarding ForestEthics.  The letter is below.   I encourage you to demonstrate your support by commenting on this letter, the SFI program and all the great work the more than 2,500 organizations involved in our program do.

An open letter from the Conservation Chamber of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) Board

As members of the Conservation Chamber of SFI’s Board of Directors, we take strong exception to ForestEthics’ current campaign against SFI.

It is precisely the power of SFI to sustain fish and wildlife, biodiversity, water quality and ecosystem functions (including mitigating and adapting to climate change) on 180 million acres of forest throughout North America that motivates us to serve on SFI’s board. By serving, we help SFI continue to improve an already strong mechanism to conserve forests and their environmental values.

Groups that spread misinformation about SFI could well be harming the forest environment. SFI provides a tremendous amount of on-the-ground conservation value – a value North Americans care deeply about. We believe SFI and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) are both excellent mechanisms that improve the environmental (and social and economic) values provided by forests. There is room and need for both programs.

The six of us who serve on the Environmental Chamber of the SFI Board have dedicated our lives to conservation. We would not be on the SFI Board if we did not believe it is a credible forest certification program, which we are able to advise and guide through our combined and diverse conservation expertise.

Sincerely,

George H. Finney, Ph. D
President
Bird Studies CanadaBird Studies Canada
John M. Hagan, Ph.D.
President
Manomet Center for Conservation SciencesManomet Center for Conservation Sciences
Roger Sedjo, Ph. D
Senior Fellow
Resources for the FutureResources for the Future
Thomas M. Franklin
Senior Director of Science and Policy
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation PartnershipTheodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Lawrence A. Selzer
President and CEO
The Conservation FundThe Conservation Fund
Mike Zagata, Ph. D
President and CEO
Ruffed Grouse SocietyRuffed Grouse Society

SFI IN BRIEF

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