Allison Welde manages SFI’s outreach to conservation groups and other SFI stakeholders and identifies areas of potential collaboration. She also manages the new SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program.
Key components of the SFI program are support for research and landowner outreach, and these requirements in our standard have already led to countless benefits in forests and communities across North America. To further our long-standing commitment to conservation and research through innovative partnerships, we created the Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program earlier this year. This program is designed to foster relationships between organizations interested in improving forest management in the United States and Canada, and responsible procurement globally.
That is why today we are incredibly proud to announce that SFI is committing $675,000 to fund nine conservation projects in North America dedicated to—among other things—improving forest habitat and biodiversity, and reducing illegal logging globally. Through the involvement of partners, these projects will leverage additional resources and are expected to achieve a total value of almost $2.7 million. Now that’s the power of partnerships!
The projects announced today include partnerships with numerous SFI Program Participants and are led by:
- Bird Studies Canada, along with the Canadian Wildlife Service and Regroupement QuébecOiseaux will work to conserve bird biodiversity across Canada.
- Clemson University will help South Carolina landowners adopt and implement practices to improve wildlife habitat on managed forest lands in partnership with local conservation organizations and government agencies.
- Forest Trends will hold the fourth Potomac Forum on Illegal Logging & Associated Trade, helping U.S. suppliers navigate legality in the global supply chain.
- South Coast Conservation Program, in partnership with nine First Nations holding tenure in British Columbia, will help identify and protect habitat and populations of forest-dependent species at risk along British Columbia’s Pacific Coast.
- The American Chestnut Foundation will help restore the American Chestnut, including test plantings of blight-resistant trees.
- The National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, working with State Natural Heritage Programs and NatureServe will pilot a habitat-based approach to protecting at-risk imperiled species and communities.
- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, along with 11 state agencies and two Canadian provinces, will enhance the biodiversity of young forest habitats, helping to reverse the declines of some 80 species at risk.
- The Ruffed Grouse Society will hold six Wisconsin Coverts workshops, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin’s Extension and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology to help private landowners in the Great Lakes Region manage their land for wildlife.
- World Resources Institute will create an online dynamic risk assessment tool to reduce illegal wood imports into the United States.
SFI and its program participants have a history of supporting conservation work. In fact, since 1995, SFI program participants have invested more than $1.1 billion in research to improve forest management. This newest program is just one more step SFI is taking to promote responsible forest management by working together.
To learn more about the grant recipients and specific projects click here to read our announcement. You can also learn more about the grant program and the funded projects on our website or contact Allison.Welde@forests.org or 202.596.3452.
