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.
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 Canada  |
John M. Hagan, Ph.D. President Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences  |
| Roger Sedjo, Ph. D Senior Fellow Resources for the Future  |
Thomas M. Franklin Senior Director of Science and Policy Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership  |
| Lawrence A. Selzer President and CEO The Conservation Fund  |
Mike Zagata, Ph. D President and CEO Ruffed Grouse Society  |
