Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee Wins Award for Collaborating to Advance Conservation and Outreach

By: Sustainable Forestry Initiative via GlobeNewswire

June 04, 2024 at 16:38 PM EDT

ATLANTA, June 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to announce the winner of the SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award at the 2024 SFI Annual Conference.

Lasting solutions to pressing conservation and sustainability challenges, such as species extinctions and climate change, require local collaborations that draw on our collective expertise. The Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) has been selected as this year’s award winner for effectively leveraging technical knowledge and outreach platforms to increase the uptake of sustainable forest management practices. Their leadership in providing expert technical guidance has profoundly influenced sustainable forestry practices across the state and throughout the SFI network.

The Pennsylvania SIC’s contributions include high-quality assessment and training resources to conserve Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value (FECVs), advance water and soil conservation, and support climate-smart forestry practices. “The Pennsylvania SIC provides critical on-the-ground support and serves as a model for sharing knowledge across SFI’s network,” said Nadine Block, SFI’s Senior VP of Community and Government Relations.

The Pennsylvania SIC demonstrated the value of collaborating to encourage forest-focused solutions by proactively coordinating with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to produce fact sheets on SFI standard requirements related to biodiversity and FECVs, which received high marks from auditors for being best-in-class. Other notable achievements include contributions to an updated “Best Management Practices for Timber Harvest Operations” booklet, and for supporting career pathways exploration with the distribution of the publication Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers.

“The Pennsylvania SIC is an exceptionally skilled team of volunteers that embraced the new collaborative opportunities highlighted in the 2022 SFI Standards. Their collective experience in forest resource management gave them the technical basis for providing leadership on these initiatives,” said Chuck Coup, Pennsylvania SIC Program Manager. “The achievements highlighted above stand as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our members, who are deeply committed to improving sustainable forestry practices in Pennsylvania.”

The SFI External Review Panel, which provides ongoing, independent review of SFI and its work, selects the award winner. “The review panel was extremely impressed by the quality of community collaboration demonstrated by SICs across the country. We commend the Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee for its high impact, strategic education efforts to help landowners and loggers successfully execute sustainable forestry practices,” said Alice Ewen, Chair of the SFI External Review Panel and Assistant Director of Cooperative Forestry, USDA Forest Service.

About the Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee
The Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee promotes wise forest stewardship, enabling Pennsylvania communities to thrive with the support of a successful forest products industry. SFI responds to local needs through SFI Implementation Committees at the state, provincial, and regional levels. These committees work with local, forestry, and professional associations, as well as universities, government agencies, landowner groups, conservation groups, and many others. They play a vital role in promoting logger training, landowner outreach, youth and adult education, community engagement, the integrity of SFI’s work, and responsible forestry at local levels. Learn more: sfiofpa.org.

About the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Inc.
SFI advances sustainability through forest-focused collaborations. We are an independent, non-profit organization that leverages four interconnected pillars of work: standards, conservation, community, and education. SFI works with the forest sector, conservation groups, academics, researchers, brand owners, resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and governments. Collaborating with our network, we leverage SFI-certified forests and products as powerful tools to help solve sustainability challenges such as climate action, conservation of biodiversity, education of future generations, and sustainable economic development. Learn more: forests.org.

Media Contact
Christine Leduc
Vice President, Communications
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
media@forests.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e46031ac-b5df-41b0-bab4-2d8ddfdcd733