The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is about to begin the fourth public comment period on draft credit language for LEED 2012. Respected organizations are calling on USGBC to recognize all credible certification programs used in North America through LEED – including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, American Tree Farm System, Canadian Standards Association, Forest Stewardship Council and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. SFI Inc. has invited views on how USGBC should treat third-party forest certification: In this post, award-winning Georgia tree farmers Earl and Wanda Barrs talk about the value of SFI and ATFS certification to family forest owners.

For the past 25 years, my wife Wanda and I have managed 1,500 acres of forestland in Bleckly County, Georgia. My family first settled this land in the late 1800s. Now, I am proud to say that our tree farm, Gully Branch, has been recognized nationally as a state-of-the-art forest.

Gully Branch is certified to the American Tree Farm System^® standards, and our ATFS management plan outlines in great detail how we will protect and enhance our tree farm for timber, wildlife, water and recreation. I am a trained forester and Wanda has dedicated her professional life to education. Gully Branch has been used as one of Georgia’s premier outdoor classrooms and since 1994, more than 7,000 students and adults have visited our tree farm.

Offering opportunities for children to learn about how a working forest provides wood products for our homes, schools and businesses; cleans our air and water, and provides critical habitat for wildlife brings us great satisfaction. Students of all ages need to learn about the value of well-managed forests and the multiple benefits that come from healthy forests.

Across the country, families and individuals own more of America’s forestland than any other group, including the federal government or industry. In Georgia, families own more than half of the forestland in the state, and 70 percent of the wood used by industry comes from family forest owners like us. These families play a key role in providing jobs and economic vitality for rural communities.

But we will only continue to see the benefits that our forests provide – clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, recreation, wood products, jobs and economic vitality – if we continue to work to ensure healthy markets for our wood products.

Green building markets are an important emerging opportunity for products from Georgia’s sustainably managed forests. USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system has helped increase awareness about green building, and several government agencies have adopted the LEED system for their building policies. Unfortunately, LEED standards have continued to shortchange wood as a renewable and environmentally preferable building material. LEED offers few credits for the use of wood in green building, and the credits that are related to wood products are restrictive.

In the new LEED 2012 draft, we remain strongly opposed to the USGBC’s treatment of forest certification, only recognizing wood certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certification standard. Builders would not have the same incentives to build with wood from forest certification standards, like our ATFS Certified Family Forest, or the SFI Standard which also supports our communities and our forests.

However, we were encouraged to see some improvements in LEED 2012 that would allow for greater consideration and recognition of the environmental benefits of wood. Tools like Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Product Declarations scientifically measure and describe the environmental impacts of materials. Overall, wood tends to do well compared to other products, and by including these tools, LEED would hopefully create a greater demand for wood products in green building – strengthening markets for family forest owners like us.

When markets were healthiest, so were America’s forests because landowners had the resources to reinvest in their forests.  It is important that the USGBC do more to recognize wood grown and certified to the ATFS and SFI standard so that family forest and working forests can be sustained and help grow in the green building market.

Earl and Wanda Barrs of Cochran, GA, were recognized as 2009 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year, by the American Tree Farm System, a program of the American Forest Foundation (AFF). Wanda serves as Vice-Chair of the AFF Woodlands Operating Committee and on the AFF Board of Trustees. Earl serves as Chair of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Board.

The U.S. Green Building Copuncil (USGBC) is about to begin the fourth public comment period on draft credit language for LEED 2012. Respected organizations are calling on USGBC to recognize all credible certification programs used in North America through LEED – including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, American Tree Farm System, Canadian Standards Association, Forest Stewardship Council and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. SFI Inc. has invited views on how USGBC should treat third-party forest certification: In this post, Robert S. (Bob) Tomlinson, Manager of Strategic Land Asset Management and former Assistant Director of the Division of Forestry, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and a member of the independent SFI External Review Panel, talks about the value of SFI certification when managing public forests.

In Minnesota, 4.9 million acres of state-administered forestlands are certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. Minnesota was the first state with public forest lands to be certified in the Unites States, establishing us as a nation-wide leader in forest certification. Our experience with SFI and FSC has taught us that both make a positive contribution to our forest management, and both should be recognized by USGBC in its LEED rating tool.

Minnesota’s state forests are managed for multiple purposes – to produce timber, provide outdoor recreation, protect watersheds and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. The SFI certification process is a useful framework that brings together inter-disciplinary representatives from the different natural resource divisions involved in managing these important public resources – professionals responsible for watersheds, wildlife habitat, timber, and recreation.

SFI’s focus on results allows for the flexibility to consider site-specific needs without losing any of the rigor required to support exceptional practices. And SFI’s requirement for continual improvement has led us to closely examine and re-examine our forest management practices, and demonstrate our progress to a third-party auditor. Indeed, continuous improvement within our agency and with our partners in forest management is one of the outstanding benefits of SFI forest certification.

SFI’s unique grassroots structure of establishing and empowering SFI Implementation Committees goes even further by helping to address local concerns (such as invasive species management), and raise community understanding about sustainable forestry. This has led to a greater recognition of the fact we are managing forest lands to promote the conservation, enjoyment and use of Minnesota’s forests for multiple purposes. The Minnesota SFI Implementation Committee also supports our outreach and education programs for family forest land owners, and loggers who are key partners in managing the state’s forest resources.

While Minnesota has experienced its own share of mill closures during the recent economic downturn, we are blessed to have retained a viable forest products industry still operating in the state. I am convinced this is due in part to a stable supply of certified fiber coming from our state forest lands, and stronger market access made possible by forest certification. Minnesota in total has seven million acres certified to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard. I am convinced that this large amount of well-managed and certified forest land will help to sustain both healthy forests and healthy forest product industries for future generations.

Wood from responsibly managed forests is an excellent environmental choice for green building, and markets for wood products are a key avenue to sustain our rural communities. Hopefully, the USGBC will recognize the value that SFI has brought to forest management in Minnesota, and realize that SFI should be recognized equally alongside FSC.

SFI opened up our blog for comments about why USGBC should recognize SFI, including areas where our program is without question stronger than the Forest Stewardship Council – and we were both impressed and gratified by the response. (If you missed the posts, we have pulled them together in one on-line document.)

I summarized many of these feelings when I sent an open letter to USGBC leadership last week setting out 10 reasons why LEED should recognize all credible forest certification standards.

We aim to keep the discussion going through the fourth comment period, and beyond. This issue is just too important, and at SFI we care too much for our forests and communities. LEED is a precedent setting standard that can promote or undermine responsible forestry through its actions – let’s make sure USGBC knows this and acts accordingly.

Remember you have May 1 to May 15 to comment on the next draft, and if you are a member of USGBC, you have to opt in by May 1 so you are eligible to vote.

The goal for Earth Day 2012 this Sunday is to help Mobilize the Earth™ by collecting A Billion Acts of Green^® and elevating the importance of environmental issues around the world. At SFI, we collaborate with many groups and individuals committed to responsible forestry because we know our collective efforts can make quite a difference.

SFI Program Participants and partners work hard every day to support good forestry, and Earth Day is a great time to recognize their efforts.  We all believe that responsible forest management must meet more than just the needs of humans, and that’s why we incorporate wildlife habitat protection, support for biodiversity and water quality protection into the many standard requirements of the SFI program. In addition to biodiversity requirements included as part of our standard, SFI is dedicated to conservation research – both in our standard and through our Conservation and Community Grant Program. Launched in 2010, SFI has funded a total of 24 conservation projects to date through this program. Thanks to the over 125 partners involved in these projects, SFI is supporting real and tangible benefits on-the-ground.

We know that the conservation research we are investing in and those partnerships that we are forming today are helping to build a brighter future for our forests – and Earth Day is a great time to acknowledge some of the tremendous contributions of our grant recipients, including:

• The Land Trust for Tennessee, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and the Wildlands Network, who are showing landowners and governments how conservation easements can protect ecosystem services while generating a return from forestlands.
• Bird Studies Canada, which has collected scientific data forest companies are using to improve forest habitat management beyond regulatory compliance for the conservation of bird biodiversity and species-at-risk across Canada.
• Ducks Unlimited Canada and Dalhousie University which, along with a wide assortment of partners, are improving forest road crossings to protect the future of wetlands in the western boreal region and Atlantic Canada.
• Clemson University, which has created a demonstration forest and led workshops and webinars so landowners can learn how good forest management supports objectives like providing wildlife habitat.

It means so much to me to see these results – and to realize this is just a small sampling of what our grantees have accomplished so far is truly gratifying. And there is more to come – we’re about to announce 2012 grants that focus on protection for water resources.

And this is only one of our programs – about 2,000 organizations are directly involved in the SFI program; more than 200,000 individuals support us in different capacities, and everyone who chooses an SFI-certified forest product is joining in our good work. We work with forest professionals, indigenous communities, universities, tree farmers, conservation groups, government agencies, and companies of all sizes.

By celebrating Earth Day, we can reflect on the fact that the future is decided now – every company, every organization and every individual in North America can shape the future of our forests and our rural communities through their actions today. Asking for SFI-labeled wood and paper products is one way to help transform markets and support a healthy future for forests, for communities and for conservation.

For the fourth year in a row, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative will be a part of the Easter celebration at the White House. We are very excited that the official White House Easter Egg will be packaged in a gift box made from paper certified by SFI. 

We continually promote responsible purchasing decisions to the public, and we hope that this action taken by The National Park Foundation to use SFI-certified boxes will inspire the American people and American companies to make the decision to choose SFI products. In so doing, an important signal is sent in support of responsible forestry and conservation, not to mention buying SFI directly supports American jobs and communities who depend on keeping these working forests healthy and thriving.  

Four years ago, the National Park Foundation decided to start making the conservation of American forests an integral part of the historical White House Easter Egg Roll by packaging the eggs in paperboard sourced by responsible managed forests.

By recognizing SFI in the White House Easter Egg Roll, The National Park Foundation sends the message that selecting certified forest products is not only a smart environmental choice but also a commitment to U.S. communities.  We have been honored to be part of this American tradition the past four years and look forward to continuing the recognition and importance of multiple forests certifications.