Conservation Research Drives Informed Decisions

SFI Inc. is more than a standard. The group states that it recognizes that improving sustainable forestry requires an investment in research and the collaboration of many partners. SFI Inc. also understands the value of investment in science based research to improve best practices and inform revisions to the SFI Standard, which is why since 1995, SFI Program Participants have invested nearly $1.4 billion in research on forestry issues. In 2012 alone, SFI Program Participants invested $69.9 million in this vital research. SFI Program Participants were involved in over 250 conservation-based projects in 2012 with over 600 partner organizations.

Understanding the necessity for research to drive informed decisions in the future, in 2010 SFI Inc. launched its Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program. The program was launched to build on and support the Standard's long-standing commitment to research. It funds collaborative projects that support SFI values, such as endangered species management, landowner outreach and education, strengthening global supply chains, and strengthening community involvement in forestry.

• In collaboration with The American Bird Conservancy (ABC), SFI funded a project where ABC is working to reverse declines in the populations of Lewis's Woodpecker, the Flammulated Owl, the White-headed Woodpecker and Williamson's Sapsucker. These birds of conservation concern, as listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are a barometer of healthy ponderosa pine forests. Working in forests across the Pacific Northwest, ABC is promoting forest management practices that help foster healthy bird habitats, including thinning, understory management and creating snags.


• Working with the World Resources Institute (WRI), SFI funded the Forest Legality Alliance (FLA) Risk Information Tool that will reduce the proportion of wood and forest products of illegal origin imported into the United States. By promoting legal and responsible logging activities, SFI and other certification programs work to keep illegally harvested materials out of the marketplace, where they compete unfairly with responsibly sourced products.


• Collaborating with The National Association of State Foresters (NASF), SFI funded a project designed to improve and protect our nation's water quality by collecting, analyzing and sharing the impact of best practices, state by state. This is important as all state forestry agencies have methods in place to protect water from pollution, like sediment associated with forestry activities. The SFI Standard requires working forests to meet or exceed state best practices, even in states where those practices are voluntary.


• Three non-profit conservation organizations, Land Trust for Tennessee, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and Wildlands Network, were awarded an SFI conservation grant in 2011 to help hardwood forest owners in the southeastern United States understand the value of conservation easements. Each of these nonprofits provided advice and support for landowners and governments on the benefits of working forest conservation easements through direct contact, workshops and written materials. In less than one year, the project has resulted in protection for close to 2,000 acres/800 hectares, and more easements are being negotiated.

“The SFI Standard is making a real and positive difference towards keeping our forests as healthy, working forests,” says Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund, and chair of the SFI Board of Directors. “Certification has fundamentally changed the way forests are managed here in North America.” (More information about SFI's conservation grant programs is available online at http://www.sfiprogram.org/conservation-and-research/conservation-community-partnerships-grant-program/grant-program-home/)

In order to meet the demands of buying products from healthy and sustainable forests, all stakeholders in the supply chain need to be part of investing in the future of our forests. SFI Inc. launched its SFI Forest Partners program in 2012, providing opportunities for a broad base of interests to grow SFI certification in North America, starting in the U.S. South which will advance conservation goals and partnerships. Time Inc., National Geographic Society, Macmillan and Pearson—became Founding Forest Partners in 2012 by making five-year commitments to the program's goals.

The SFI Forest Partners program brings together landowners, manufacturers, distributors, and customers to encourage more landowners to certify their forests and small mills to certify to the SFI Standard.

Helping buyers of forest products, forest landowners, and others collaborate on shared objectives can have a positive impact on our forests, our communities and forest products produced from responsibly managed forests and fiber supply chains.