LES PROJETS SOUTENUS PAR UNE SUBVENTION DE SFI POUR LA CONSERVATION
cherchent à mieux comprendre les liens entre l’aménagement forestier et les caractéristiques de conservation importantes.
Depuis 2015, les chercheurs sont mis au défi d’élaborer et de mettre à l’essai des méthodes évolutives pour mesurer les résultats par rapport à la biodiversité, à la qualité de l’eau et à sa quantité ainsi qu’au changement climatique. En reliant les projets aux organisations certifiées SFI, ces efforts acquièrent une pertinence immédiate et aident à améliorer les normes SFI.
BOURSES PAR CATÉGORIE
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Bird Conservation Goes Continental with ABC – Linking Managed Forests at an Unprecedented Scale
Operationalizing Conservation Value Through Multi-species Evaluation on Lands Certified to SFI
Why This Project Matters
Examining the needs of a wide variety of birds helps build understanding of broader ecosystem health and sustainable forest management, which provides wider environmental benefits like clean water and carbon storage. This project is producing data and establishing methodologies to demonstrate the conservation values of forestlands certified to SFI. It is also measuring the conservation values associated with the application of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard.
The project builds on and further refines estimates of conservation values in the American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) five pilot areas in the U.S. Southeast. It also incorporates robust bird and habitat data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird citizen-science database.
How the Project is Linking Managed Forests at an Unprecedented Scale
This proposal is refining methods from ABC’s past projects, supported by SFI, in the U.S. Southeast and Pacific Northwest and expanding this work into a new pilot area. This is demonstrating how research methods can be transferred to regions with different ecological conditions. SFI staff have worked with both ABC and the Boreal Avian Modelling Project (BAM), based at the University of Alberta, to ensure dovetailing of their respective proposals. Strengthening collaboration between ABC and BAM effectively links work across the U.S.‑Canada border while advancing knowledge at a continental scale.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI has engaged with both ABC and BAM to shape this project as a partnership. The partnership features a structured approach to direct coordination between ABC and BAM. The strength of the project hinges on combining the modeling power of BAM with ABC’s experience engaging SFI Program Participants. This partnership will capitalize upon ABC’s relationship skills and BAM’s modeling skills to advance SFI Program Participant implementation of recommended forest management practices.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
This project will help SFI to translate the conservation value of forests certified to SFI to brand owners seeking to communicate the positive qualities of their supply chain choices. ABC will continue to share our progress and results from the Managed Forests and Birds partnership broadly throughout the wildlife conservation community.
This work will also provide credible, defensible assurances that customers are supporting the sustainability attributes they desire when buying forest products. It will also help build understanding about the relationship between these products and the forest values we all care about. Forest managers will also benefit from a range of tools to help guide forest management decisions. For example, managers will be able to estimate the value of young forest habitats to the associated bird species and in turn link decisions to habitat and species management.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, researchers, and SFI Program Participants.
- Project lead: American Bird Conservancy
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- University of Alberta Department of Renewable Resources, Boreal Avian Modelling Project
- NatureServe
- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI)
- Hancock Timber Resources Group (SFI Program Participant)
- International Paper Company (SFI Program Participant)
- Rayonier (SFI Program Participant)
- Resource Management Service (SFI Program Participant)
- The Westervelt Company (SFI Program Participant)
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI Program Participant)
Related Information
- American Bird Conservancy: Bird Friendly Forests – Opportunities for Private Forest Owners in the Southeastern United States
- American Bird Conservancy: Bringing Back the Forest Birds, Phase II
- ABC Wins SFI President’s Award for Putting SFI’s Scale to Work for Birds
- Bird Conservation Reaches Continental Scale through New Partnership with the Boreal Avian Modelling Project
- Collaborating for Conservation of Managed Forested Landscapes (presentation)
- SFI supported a Canada warbler workshop for conservationists and resource managers convened by Nature Canada (media release)
About the American Bird Conservancy
The American Bird Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement.
FONDATION MAINE TREE
La Norme d’aménagement forestier SFI 2022 et la foresterie climato-intelligente
dans le Nord-Est des États-Unis
Pourquoi le projet est important
Les changements climatiques compromettent la biodiversité et la qualité de l’eau. Le projet quantifiera l’atténuation des changements climatiques en étudiant les retombées de la mise en œuvre de la Norme d’aménagement forestier SFI 2002 sur ces deux éléments. La Maine Timber Research and Environmental Education Foundation (ou Maine TREE; en français : Fondation de recherche sur le bois et d’éducation environnementale du Maine) mène une revue documentaire approfondie des études régionales pertinentes qui mettent en lumière les risques liés aux changements climatiques qui menacent les forêts du Maine, du New Hampshire, du Vermont et de l’État de New York. Il y a souvent un écart entre les études sur les changements climatiques et les connaissances des propriétaires forestiers. Le projet analysera les études sur les changements climatiques et l’aménagement forestier et communiquera ses résultats clairement aux propriétaires forestiers et aux organisations certifiées SFI, d’une manière leur permettant de les utiliser directement dans leur prise de décisions d’aménagement forestier.
Comment le projet soutient la foresterie climato-intelligente
Les forêts et les produits forestiers jouent un rôle central dans le cycle du carbone et peuvent, s’ils sont gérés de manière appropriée, être l’une des solutions basées sur la nature parmi les plus efficaces contre la crise climatique. La fondation Maine TREE produira, à l’intention des propriétaires forestiers, des documents et des données qui appuieront les décisions d’aménagement forestier climato-intelligent et durable. Ces outils et données accessibles permettront aux propriétaires et gestionnaires forestiers de maximiser les retombées de l’objectif de SFI pour une foresterie climato-intelligente.
Contribution de SFI
Le Programme de subventions aux partenariats de conservation et d’engagement communautaire de SFI soutient le projet. La fondation Maine TREE collabore avec le Comité SFI Maine et encourage les échanges avec les comités SFI New Hampshire, Vermont et New York. Cela permettra à la fondation Maine TREE de mieux connaître ce qui a été fait et ce qui est fait en matière de foresterie climato-intelligente dans les forêts certifiées SFI du Nord-Est des États-Unis. Elle documentera ces activités ainsi que tous ses rôles et responsabilités lors de sa coordination avec les parties prenantes de SFI et les comités SFI des quatre États.
Comment le projet aide les gestionnaires forestiers
Le projet donnera aux propriétaires et gestionnaires forestiers certifiés SFI accès à la meilleure information scientifique afin de guider leurs futures décisions d’aménagement climato-intelligent lorsqu’ils mettent en œuvre de la Norme d’aménagement forestier SFI 2022. Les résultats de la subvention aideront ultimement les gestionnaires forestiers à gérer les espèces d’arbres comme le sapin, l’épinette, le hêtre, l’érable, le pin et le bouleau face aux changements climatiques.
Un manuel de référence montrera comment les pratiques de préconisées par SFI peuvent atténuer les risques liés aux changements climatiques dans les forêts du Nord-Est des États-Unis, en relevant les pratiques de foresterie climato-intelligente qui peuvent ne pas être désignées comme telles dans la documentation scientifique. En compilant cette information, le projet repérera les lacunes qui existent dans la compréhension qu’a le public de la foresterie climato-intelligente, auxquelles il répondra dans le manuel. La fondation Maine TREE organisera aussi des séances de formation sur la foresterie climato-intelligente.
Partenaires
Le partenariat regroupe des ONG de défense de l’environnement et des entreprises forestières pour assurer la santé de la forêt face aux changements climatiques. Ces partenaires sont :
Responsable du projet : Fondation Maine TREE
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Université du Maine
Comité SFI Maine
Comité SFI New Hampshire
Comité SFI Vermont
Comité SFI New York
Information connexe
Conservation des forêts du Maine : Préparation au marché du carbone dans les forêts certifiées selon la norme SFI (en anglais)
SFI travaille à fournir aux gestionnaires forestiers les données dont ils ont besoin pour atténuer les changements climatiques : Évaluation du carbone forestier au Canada (en anglais)
Voyez comment le réseau de terres aménagées de manière climato-intelligente de Manomet aide les propriétaires à aménager leurs terres pour qu’elles soient résilientes face au climat (en anglais)
À propos de Maine TREE
La Maine Timber Research and Environmental Education Foundation (ou Maine TREE; en français : Fondation de recherche sur le bois et d’éducation environnementale du Maine), fondée en 1989 par un groupe de propriétaires de terres à bois, de fabricants de produits forestiers, de fermiers forestiers et d’autres personnes intéressées par les forêts du Maine, est un organisme à but non lucratif au sens de l’alinéa 501c)3 du Code des impôts des États-Unis ayant son siège à Augusta, dans le Maine. Notre mission est d’éduquer et de promouvoir l’utilisation durable de la forêt et la santé écologique, économique et sociale de la communauté forestière du Maine. Nous accomplissons notre mission par le biais de programmes de recherche et de formation destinés aux écoles, aux gouvernements, aux médias et au public. Nos partenariats avec les membres de la communauté forestière soutiennent des programmes destinés aux propriétaires forestiers, aux travailleurs forestiers et aux usagers de la forêt à des fins récréatives. Notre vision est que le public apprécie les valeurs et soutienne les écosystèmes forestiers, les professionnels et l’aménagement scientifique de la forêt du Maine ainsi que les politiques publiques judicieuses qui appuient la population et les collectivités qui dépendent de la forêt.
NATURESERVE
Devising New Ways to Measure Biodiversity Across Millions of Acres
Measuring the Conservation Value of Forests Certified to SFI in Bi-national Pilot Areas of the U.S. and Canada
Why this project matters
The conservation value of managed forests can be poorly understood and is often negatively perceived by people outside the forest sector. Even for experts working within the forest sector, the ability to quantify and express the conservation values associated with managed forests is challenging. This project is building on previous work by taking several major steps towards quantifying conservation values at a large spatial and ecological scale.
Based on work already completed by NatureServe in the continental U.S., it will implement proposed metrics of biodiversity and conservation value and modify those metrics where needed. This work directly responds to the goal of quantifying the contribution of forests certified to SFI toward the attainment of broadly accepted conservation goals in landscapes of conservation interest.
How the project helps break new ground in measuring conservation
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. NatureServe is collaborating with project partners to produce a metrics-based evaluation of the conservation value of lands certified to SFI that straddle the New Brunswick–Maine border. A major objective of this project is to develop metrics that can be scaled up more broadly and potentially be used by any SFI Program Participant throughout the vast SFI footprint, which covers 305 million acres/124 million hectares.
Eight current metrics have been developed for three U.S. pilot areas, divided among themes of species, ecosystem, and landscape conservation. By extending these metrics to a new bi-national forest ecosystem, we will have sufficient pilot metrics to appeal to any SFI Program Participant, anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. Since the geographic scope of this project is specifically designed around attaining 100% inclusion of lands certified to SFI in the project analysis footprint, another outcome will be the first comprehensive assessment of SFI contributions to conservation values across a given region.
SFI’s contribution
This NatureServe project represents the latest in an ongoing effort to develop strong partnerships across Canada and the U.S. to enhance conservation. Working with NatureServe will allow SFI Program Participants to scale up work to a national level, and ultimately inform continental conservation of some species. This will complement the work of a range of SFI partners in establishing and enhancing the conservation value of lands certified to SFI.
The project is also directly supported by Resource Management Service, Hancock Natural Resource Group, and J.D. Irving. These SFI Program Participants will provide in‑kind data support to help NatureServe in characterizing the conservation values of their certified land base. These partners will also contribute data, expertise, and analysis coordination.
How the project helps forest managers
This project will allow the application of existing conservation value metrics to all lands certified to SFI within an analysis area, so land managers can report, for the first time, the collective SFI conservation impact in a given area. Reporting products will include metrics definition, development, application, results, interpretation, and testing and refinement for expansion into new geographies and new forest ecosystems, emphasizing replicability and transferability. Visually intuitive maps and metric report cards will contribute important outreach materials for communicating project results and inspiring other SFI Program Participants to pursue metrics development for their managed forest lands.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, researchers, and SFI Program Participants.
- Project lead: NatureServe
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Boreal Avian Modeling Project
- American Bird Conservancy
- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI)
- Resource Management Service (SFI Program Participant)
- Hancock Natural Resource Group (SFI Program Participant)
- J.D. Irving (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
- Quantifying Ecological Values Delivered by Forests Certified to SFI and SFI Fiber Sourcing — The Conservation Values of Forests Project, led by NatureServe
- An overview of the SFI Conservation Impact Project and how it focuses on carbon, water and biodiversity
- A media release about the launch of the SFI Conservation Impact Project
- NatureServe was a partner on a previous SFI-funded project with the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement: Piloting a Habitat-Based Approach to At-risk Biodiversity Conservation on Lands Certified to SFI
About NatureServe
NatureServe empowers people to sustain biodiversity by making sure everyone has access to the knowledge they need to be better stewards of our shared lands and waters. NatureServe is an authoritative source of comprehensive, decision-quality biodiversity data.
NatureServe provides the scientific knowledge that supports informed decisions. Together, with its network of over 80 programs, NatureServe collects decision-quality data about imperiled species and entire ecosystems, transforms that data into knowledge products and visualizations, and provides meaning through expert analyses and support to guide decision-making, implement action, and enhance conservation outcomes.
NATURESERVE
Quantifying Evidence of Imperiled Forest-Associated Species on SFI-Certified Lands
Why This Project Matters
This project will help address threats to biodiversity. Over 1,300 different species in the United States are listed as endangered or threatened, according to the US Environmental protection Agency. Environment and Climate Change Canada lists 640 species at risk. Sustainably managed forests can play a significant role in addressing these challenges. This project will quantitatively illustrate the degree to which SFI‑certified forests are known or have potential to support the most critically imperiled species, a key requirement of the SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard.
How the Project is Supporting Imperiled Forest-Associated Species
NatureServe has conducted two sets of pilots in four study areas to develop and measure a diverse suite of metrics covering individual species to landscapes. The project will evaluate two of those metrics across the entire footprint of SFI-certified lands, providing the first-ever quantification of the critical biodiversity value of the combined SFI footprint.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. The project will build on past collaborations between SFI and NatureServe to quantify the conservation value of SFI certification across the US and Canada. SFI’s enormous scale with more than 370 million acres/150 million hectares certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard, and tens of millions of acres positively influenced by the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard supports the scope of this project.
The results will also be summarized in graphs, charts and maps produced in collaboration with SFI, to maximize the broader communication objectives of conveying the multiple values of SFI-certified forests. NatureServe will work with SFI to develop materials that accurately and compellingly convey the results of this effort to a wide audience.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
The project will help forest managers and forestland owners conserve biodiversity. This work aims to provide all SFI‑certified organizations with the ability to view the results for any spatial reporting unit via a secure online interactive tool built on the data analysis conducted for the project. At a minimum, results will be available for individual states and provinces. Finer-resolution reporting units are being pursued, contingent on permission from NatureServe member programs in the US and Canada. Regardless of minimum spatial resolution, results and deliverables will allow for analysis of the entire SFI footprint in both Canada and the US. The project will support SFI-certified organizations with biodiversity data that is directly relevant to the implementation of SFI standards on each organization’s specific forestlands.
Partners
This partnership includes conservation NGO’s, academics, and forestry companies to quantify imperiled forest species. These partners include:
Project Lead: NatureServe
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Weyerhaeuser (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
NatureServe: Devising New Ways to Measure Biodiversity Across Millions of Acres
NatureServe: Quantifying Ecological Values Delivered by Forests Certified to SFI and SFI Fiber Sourcing
About NatureServe
NatureServe empowers people to sustain biodiversity by making sure everyone has access to the knowledge they need to be better stewards of our shared lands and waters. NatureServe is an authoritative source of comprehensive, decision-quality biodiversity data. NatureServe provides the scientific knowledge that supports informed decisions. Together, with its network of over 80 programs, NatureServe collects decision-quality data about imperiled species and entire ecosystems, transforms that data into knowledge products and visualizations, and provides meaning through expert analyses and support to guide decision-making, implement action, and enhance conservation outcomes.
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR AIR AND STREAM IMPROVEMENT
Effets de l’aménagement forestier avant et après feu sur la biodiversité aquatique : une évaluation de la résilience des forêts au feu et de leur rétablissement après feu
Pourquoi le projet est important
Le projet aidera à répondre à la nouvelle réalité de feux de forêt de gravité croissante. Les États-Unis connaissent d’année en année des saisons de feux plus longues, des feux plus intenses, des brûlis plus étendus et un comportement extrême des feux. En septembre 2020, les « feux de la fête du Travail » ont brûlé près de 11 % de l’écorégion des Cascades de l’Orégon, dont au moins 38 % de terres certifiées SFI à l’intérieur des seuls complexes de Riverside, de Beachie Creek et de Holiday Farm. Ces feux ont sévi à différentes intensités et donné lieu à un éventail de conditions riveraines dans les brûlis. L’aménagement forestier après feu varie aussi selon les propriétaires, ce qui a entraîné différentes modalités de rétablissement. Les liens entre l’âge des peuplements forestiers, la gravité et l’étendue des feux et la biodiversité aquatique sont nébuleux, ce qui permet difficilement d’établir la priorité entre la résilience face aux feux et le rétablissement après feu.
Comment le projet soutient l’aménagement forestier avant et après feu pour la conservation de la biodiversité aquatique
Le National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI; en français : Conseil national pour l’amélioration de la qualité de l’air et des cours d’eau), de concert avec des collaborateurs du Service des forêts des États-Unis, de la société Weyerhaeuser et de l’Université d’État de l’Orégon, cherchera à savoir si la biodiversité aquatique varie en fonction de l’aménagement forestier ou de l’étendue et de la gravité des feux. Le NCASI évaluera quels facteurs liés au paysage ou à l’aménagement forestier sont les plus déterminants pour la biodiversité aquatique dans les cours d’eau forestiers. L’analyse de l’aménagement forestier portera aussi bien sur l’aménagement avant feu que sur l’aménagement après feu. Le NCASI évaluera aussi la biodiversité dans des bassins hydrographiques témoins des États de l’Orégon et de Washington qui font partie des terres forestières certifiées selon la norme SFI.
Contribution de SFI
Le Programme de subventions aux partenariats de conservation et d’engagement communautaire de SFI soutient le projet. L’accès au réseau de SFI permet aussi au NCASI de collaborer avec plusieurs organisations certifiées SFI et de donner de l’ampleur au projet. Les partenaires dans le projet aideront à préparer les fiches aux fins de la recherche et participeront à des visites sur le terrain ou à des ateliers menés par le NCASI. Nombre de propriétaires forestiers participants fourniront, à l’appui de l’étude, de l’information portant sur l’aménagement forestier.
Comment le projet aide les gestionnaires forestiers
Le projet aidera les propriétaires et gestionnaires forestiers à soutenir la biodiversité aquatique par leur aménagement forestier avant et après feu. Les principaux messages pouvant résulter des travaux sont des recommandations au sujet des pratiques d’aménagement forestier certifié SFI qui favorisent la résilience des écosystèmes aquatiques face au feu et au climat et des recommandations au sujet de celles qui assurent la conservation de la biodiversité aquatique.
Des recommandations concernant l’aménagement après feu des secteurs riverains afin de maximiser la résilience des écosystèmes aquatiques seront intégrées dans d’autres produits livrables, dont une fiche d’information sur les réactions des espèces en péril aux facteurs liés aux feux et à l’aménagement forestier, afin d’aider à répondre aux objectifs de la norme SFI. L’information sera aussi communiquée aux petits propriétaires forestiers au moyen de dépliants et de présentations au comité SFI de l’Orégon et à l’Oregon Small Woodland Association.
Partenaires
Le partenariat regroupe des ONG de défense de l’environnement, des entreprises forestières et le gouvernement pour améliorer la santé de la forêt face aux feux. Ces partenaires sont :
Responsable du projet : NCASI
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Service des forêts des États-Unis
Weyerhaeuser (organisation certifiée SFI)
Université d’État de l’Orégon
Information connexe
SFI et le NCASI s’associent pour répondre au défi climatique avec des outils visant le carbone et l’eau : communiqué (en anglais)
Le NCASI obtient une subvention fédérale de conservation pour une recherche collaborative visant à protéger les espèces en péril : communiqué (en anglais)
À propos du NCASI
Le National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI; en français : Conseil national pour l’amélioration de l’air et des cours d’eau) est une association exonérée d’impôts en vertu de l’alinéa 501c)(6) du Code des impôts des États-Unis organisée pour servir de centre d’excellence offrant la recherche scientifique et l’information technique impartiales nécessaires à l’atteinte des objectifs de l’industrie des produits forestiers en matière d’environnement et de développement durable. Le NCASI a pour mission d’aider ses membres à répondre à moindre coût à leurs objectifs sur les plans de l’environnement et du développement durable grâce à de la recherche fondamentale et appliquée, à du soutien technique et à de l’éducation. En poursuivant notre mission, nous offrons à nos membres de l’industrie des produits forestiers un soutien essentiel dans leurs efforts pour assurer la disponibilité de sources d’approvisionnement en fibre aménagées durablement et pour évaluer et améliorer l’efficacité des mesures de lutte contre la pollution aux installations de fabrication, ainsi que des perspectives et une assistance précieuses pour la fabrication de produits forestiers écologiquement soutenables.
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR AIR AND STREAM IMPROVEMENT
Quantification de la contribution des pratiques forestières durables à la conservation
des espèces en péril et des communautés terrestres et aquatiques
Pourquoi le projet est important
Le projet aidera à répondre aux menaces pour la biodiversité. Aux États-Unis, selon l’Agence de protection de l’environnement, plus de 1 300 espèces sont inscrites comme en voie de disparition ou menacées. Les propriétaires de forêts privées, qui prennent soin de plus de 180 millions d’hectares de terres forestières (60 % des forêts des États-Unis), sont incontournables pour la réussite des initiatives de conservation. Le projet quantifiera le rôle des paysages forestiers aménagés durablement dans la conservation des espèces en péril et dans le maintien des communautés aquatiques et terrestres. La zone d’étude englobe quelque 200 000 hectares de forêts productives privées dans six comtés de l’Alabama (Monroe, Escambia, Baldwin, Conecuh, Covington et Butler) et dans trois de la Floride (Escambia, Santa Rosa et Okaloosa).
Comment le projet soutient la contribution des pratiques forestières durables à la conservation des espèces en péril
Le National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI; en français : Conseil national pour l’amélioration de la qualité de l’air et des cours d’eau), de concert avec une coalition de partenaires travaillant dans le cadre de la Wildlife Conservation Initiative, examinera plusieurs espèces sur une longue période dans un paysage dominé par des forêts privées certifiées SFI et aménagées principalement pour la production de bois. Les travaux comprendront l’échantillonnage de l’ADN environnemental (ADNe) dans différents milieux, comme le sol et l’eau, plutôt que des prélèvements effectués directement sur des organismes individuels. Les espèces en péril ciblées qui bénéficieront de la recherche comprennent la Tortue géographique de l’Alabama, la Tortue alligator, la Gophère polyphème, la Salamandre des collines rouges et le Crotale diamantin de l’Est.
Contribution de SFI
Le Programme de subventions aux partenariats de conservation et d’engagement communautaire de SFI soutient le projet. Les travaux tireront profit de projets antérieurs soutenus par des subventions de conservation : « Des forêts productives pour les oiseaux » et « Quantification des retombées de la norme d’approvisionnement en fibre de SFI en Géorgie ». Plusieurs organisations certifiées SFI, qui possèdent ou gèrent des forêts à l’intérieur de la zone d’étude, participent aux travaux. Leur engagement comprend une participation active à la conception et à la réalisation de l’étude, du soutien en nature et l’accès des chercheurs aux forêts certifiées SFI.
Comment le projet aide les gestionnaires forestiers
Un aménagement forestier actif revêt une importance cruciale pour la plupart des organisations certifiées SFI, et il est nécessaire de comprendre en quoi les forêts visées peuvent contribuer à la conservation des espèces en péril. Le projet s’inscrit dans un effort à grande échelle afin de documenter la valeur des forêts productives privées pour la conservation des espèces en péril. Il aidera les propriétaires et gestionnaires forestiers de la région, en déterminant dans quelle mesure leur taux de conformité élevé aux meilleures pratiques d’aménagement forestier (MPAF) soutient les espèces en péril. Il établira la présence et la persistance d’amphibiens des milieux secs, de reptiles terrestres, de tortues aquatiques, de communautés aviaires, de communautés de poissons, de moules d’eau douce et de plantes.
Le projet démontrera la valeur des forêts certifiées SFI pour la conservation des espèces en péril et celle de la mise en œuvre des MPAF pour la qualité de l’eau et la conservation à long terme des communautés aquatiques. Il aidera à faire un lien direct, rarement établi, entre les MPAF et la conservation des espèces aquatiques. De plus, différents outils de communication seront offerts aux organisations certifiées SFI pour les aider à faire connaître la valeur de leur travail pour la conservation.
Partenaires
Le partenariat regroupe des ONG de défense de l’environnement, le gouvernement et des entreprises forestières pour quantifier le rôle de la foresterie durable dans le soutien des espèces en péril. Ces partenaires sont :
Responsable du projet : NCASI
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Service de la pêche et de la faune des États-Unis
National Alliance of Forest Owners
Tangled Bank Conservation
Wildlife Conservation Initiative
Conservation Resources (organisation certifiée SFI)
Forest Investment Associates (organisation certifiée SFI)
Hancock Forest Management (organisation certifiée SFI)
Molpus Woodlands Group (organisation certifiée SFI)
Potlatch Deltic Corporation (organisation certifiée SFI)
Rayonier (organisation certifiée SFI)
Resource Management Service (organisation certifiée SFI)
Westervelt (organisation certifiée SFI)
Weyerhaeuser (organisation certifiée SFI)
Information connexe
Université de Géorgie: Quantification des retombées de la norme d’approvisionnement en fibre de SFI en Géorgie (en anglais)
Des forêts productives pour les oiseaux [NEED LINK]
SFI et le NCASI s’associent pour répondre au défi climatique avec des outils visant le carbone et l’eau: communiqué (en anglais)
Le NCASI obtient une subvention fédérale de conservation pour une recherche collaborative visant à protéger les espèces en péril: communiqué (en anglais)
À propos du NCASI
Le National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI; en français : Conseil national pour l’amélioration de l’air et des cours d’eau) est une association exonérée d’impôts en vertu de l’alinéa 501c)(6) du Code des impôts des États-Unis organisée pour servir de centre d’excellence offrant la recherche scientifique et l’information technique impartiales nécessaires à l’atteinte des objectifs de l’industrie des produits forestiers en matière d’environnement et de développement durable. Le NCASI a pour mission d’aider ses membres à répondre à moindre coût à leurs objectifs sur les plans de l’environnement et du développement durable grâce à de la recherche fondamentale et appliquée, à du soutien technique et à de l’éducation. En poursuivant notre mission, nous offrons à nos membres de l’industrie des produits forestiers un soutien essentiel dans leurs efforts pour assurer la disponibilité de sources d’approvisionnement en fibre aménagées durablement et pour évaluer et améliorer l’efficacité des mesures de lutte contre la pollution aux installations de fabrication, ainsi que des perspectives et une assistance précieuses pour la fabrication de produits forestiers écologiquement soutenables.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
Studying Climate Change Mitigation and Preventing Biodiversity Loss in Forests
This research emphasizes the crucial role that managed forests play in facilitating a critical conservation value: landscape connectivity
Why This Project Matters
Maintaining and enhancing landscape connectivity is an essential strategy for combating the effects of climate change and preventing biodiversity loss. Landscape connectivity represents the extent to which a landscape supports the ability of plants and animals to move across it. Some species with a limited range, like salamanders or pitcher plants, depend on connected landscapes to maintain healthy populations.
How the Project Contributes to Sustainability Objectives
The goal of this project is to forecast the trajectory of forests in the Piedmont and Sandhills ecoregions of North Carolina under high and low climate and land use change. The project will quantify how these forests, especially restored longleaf pine and managed production forests, contribute to landscape connectivity. This research is crucial to understanding forest contributions to connectivity under global climate change. It will help prioritize and incentivize forest restoration and sustainable forest management to promote biodiversity.
SFI’s Contribution
Collaboration is at the heart of the SFI Conservation Grants Program, which is supporting this project.
It fosters partnerships between organizations interested in measuring conservation outcomes and motivating improved forest management and responsible procurement. This project brings together academics, NGOs, forest producers, and government agencies to help ensure a positive future. These stakeholders are extremely interested in the project and have agreed to continued engagement and follow up.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
This research will quantify the contribution of SFI-certified forests toward the attainment of landscape connectivity in central North Carolina, which is a widely accepted conservation goal in an area prioritized for its high biodiversity and conservation needs. Weyerhaeuser, an SFI-certified company, is interested in using the results of this study to inform outreach to private landowners to help enhance their forest management practices. Domtar, an SFI-certified company, is interested in learning more about longleaf pine restoration under climate and land use change, and how these efforts will advance landscape connectivity in the study area.
Partners
This partnership includes conservation NGO’s, government, and industry to assure forest health in the face of climate change. These partners include:
- Project Lead: North Carolina State University
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
- South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI-certified organization)
- Domtar (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
- Bird Conservation Goes Continental with ABC – Linking Managed Forests at an Unprecedented Scale
- Private Landowner Outreach in the Cape Fear Arch – Sustaining Working Forests
- Developing a Tool to Restore the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
- Sustainable Forest Management and Protection of Special Sites for Southeastern Forests Through Conservation Easements
- Getting the Most Bang For Your Conservation Buck
About North Carolina State University
NC State University began as a land-grant institution grounded in agriculture and engineering. Today, it’s a leading public research university that excels across disciplines. NC State is a powerhouse in science, technology, engineering, and math. NC State University leads in agriculture, education, textiles, business, and natural resources. It’s at the forefront of teaching and research in design, the humanities and the social sciences. The university is also home to one of the world’s best colleges of veterinary medicine. The student body of more than 36,000 undergraduate and graduate students learns by doing. They pursue research and start new companies. They forge connections with top employers and serve local and global communities.
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
Examining the Role of Forest Certification in Advancing Conservation Outcomes in the U.S. Southeast
This project builds on previous collaborations between the University of Georgia and SFI, and is part of SFI’s Conservation Impact research portfolio
Why This Project Matters
The Southern Coastal Plain of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama is home to many imperiled species including the gopher tortoise and red cockaded woodpecker. SFI is collaborating on research with the University of Georgia (UGA) to assess the positive impact of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard on water quality and biodiversity in the region. The SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard promotes sustainability on a wide range of ownerships and helps ensure that managed forests provide habitat for many species at risk in the region.
How the Project Contributes to Sustainability Objectives
By simultaneously analyzing the impact of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard on water quality and biodiversity best management practices, this project will establish the effectiveness of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard as a conservation tool in this important ecoregion.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Conservation Grant Program is supporting this project. This project builds on previous collaborations between UGA and SFI, and is part of SFI’s Conservation Impact research portfolio, which is working to enumerate conservation outcomes from SFI’s certification programs, relative to water quality, biodiversity and climate change.
In 2015, an SFI Conservation Grant led by UGA showed that 20 years of implementation of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard had a significant positive influence on non-certified forestlands across Georgia. Additional research from UGA has shown that the compliance rate of forestry best management practices for water quality was higher within the fiber sourcing areas of SFI‑certified mills. This is important because these millions of acres of managed forests provide watershed protections that directly benefit aquatic species and provide for the needs of millions of people downstream.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
The project will illustrate the value of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard on water-quality and biodiversity related sustainability on a wide range of forest lands in Georgia. The methods developed for this study will be applicable to measuring the environmental benefits associated with application of the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard in other states. UGA and partners will ultimately disseminate their findings to local and regional stakeholder groups and the general public. The project will also help prove the value of SFI objectives to protect water resources through the utilization of best management practices and promotion of logger training programs.
Partners
This partnership includes researchers, conservationists, and forestry sector representatives.
- Project lead: University of Georgia
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- NatureServe
- Georgia SFI Implementation Committee
Related Information
- University of Georgia: Quantifying Impacts of SFI’s Fiber Sourcing Standards in Georgia
- Georgia SFI Implementation Committee Wins Award for Logger Training, Water Quality, and Community Collaboration
- Stakeholder Perceptions of Fiber Sourcing BMPs
- Impact of SFI Fiber Sourcing on BMP Implementation Rates in Georgia
About the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources offers programs in forestry, fisheries and wildlife sciences, natural resources management and sustainability, and parks, recreation and tourism management. As the oldest forestry school in the Southeast, its faculty and research are known nationally and internationally, with a particular focus on new and better ways to preserve and use our natural resources. Learn more.
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
Partnering to Improve Climate Change Benefits of Working Forests
Assessing and monitoring the influence of forest management practices on soil productivity, carbon storage and conservation in the Acadian Forest Region
Why this project matters
Well-managed forests have a major role to play in creating a planet that is resilient to a changing climate. Forests absorb about one-third of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, accounting for as much as 45% of the carbon stored on land, and providing the principal means for mitigating the effect of greenhouse gases.
This project examines the impact of the SFI Forest Management Standard and the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard to enhancing climate adaptation, and carbon-related conservation values. How well-managed forests contribute to climate change mitigation is an important ongoing question. Clarification of these values will help make the case for sustainable forest management, and carbon storage, regardless of whether a given forest is participating in the carbon market. Increasing our knowledge related to forests and climate change has the potential to make a real difference in forest management practices implemented on the ground, and in mitigating one of the most pressing global environmental challenges.
How the project helps our understanding of forest management and climate change
The research team will use empirical soils data from across the Acadian Forest Region to inform SFI objectives and measures related to soil productivity, carbon storage, and conservation. Specifically, the project will evaluate the influence of different forest management practices and site qualities on short-term soil carbon stocks as well as on soil health and conservation of the soil resource across research installations in Maine.
SFI’s contribution
SFI has an interest in advancing our shared understanding of the contribution well-managed forests make toward climate change mitigation. Research initiatives currently underway by SFI and by SFI Program Participants are actively developing clearer links between the value of growing, sustainable forests and climate change. Managed forests certified to SFI provide climate change mitigation benefits over time by adhering to high environmental standards, which ensure that harvested areas are regenerated.
How the project helps forest managers
Climate change has the potential to diminish forest ecosystem services and productivity. Ultimately, this work will identify forest management practices, soils, and geographic regions that most influence soil productivity, carbon storage, and related conservation values in the Acadian Forest Region. By integrating a network of existing and new sites for monitoring the effects of forest management practices on soils, continual research-based refinements could be made to forest management practices or guidelines.
These results are expected to enlighten our understanding of best forest management practices for added carbon, which is a compelling story and will be valuable to SFI Program Participants who want to communicate their contributions to climate change mitigation. Future potential certification of additional sites in Maine could contribute to the creation of new demonstration sites and teaching tours relative to this work and other SFI objectives related to UMaine’s University Forest.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, conservationists, researchers and forestry professionals.
Project lead: University of Maine
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Cooperative Forestry Research Unit
Center for Research on Sustainable Forests
Northeastern Soil Monitoring Cooperative
University of Toronto
Related information
Keeping Maine’s Forests: Preparing for the Carbon Market in Forests Certified to the SFI Standard.
SFI Is Working to Give Land Managers the Data They Need to Mitigate Climate Change: The Canadian Forest Carbon Assessment.
Learn how Manomet’s Climate Smart Land Network is helping landowners manage their land for climate resilience.
At COP21 in Paris, international governments recognized and acknowledged the key role that resilient forests play in mitigating climate change.
About University of Maine
Founded in 1865, the University of Maine is a land and sea grant institution, and the flagship campus of the University of Maine System. It is Maine’s only research university. Its world-class faculty are leading scholars and researchers in their fields, helping address issues globally and locally.
UMaine’s commitment to public service ignites passion in students and puts research to work in communities statewide and across the globe. Located in Orono along the banks of the Stillwater River, this vibrant and dynamic university serves Maine, the nation, and the world through its teaching, research and outreach mission. UMaine students come from every county in Maine, more than 49 other states and 67 countries.
VIRGINIA TECH
Measuring and Improving the Water Quality Benefits of Sustainable Forest Management Across the Southeastern U.S.
Monitoring and Quantifying the Effects of State Forestry BMP Programs on Soil Erosion and Sediment Delivery for the Southeastern US
Why this project matters
This collaborative project, led by Virginia Tech, will comprehensively compare and contrast the implementation and effectiveness of the 13 Southeastern states’ forestry best management practices (BMPs) for water quality. This will require monitoring sediment delivery ratios, erosion rates, and BMP‑implementation scores across multiple regions. Findings will allow state forestry organizations and other stakeholders to quantify sediment protection provided by state BMP programs and highlight the sustainability of forest management.
How the project helps enhance best management practices for water quality
Sediment is the largest stream water pollutant from forest management in the southeastern U.S.
Currently, relationships between actual soil erosion and sediment delivery are poorly understood. This comprehensive multiregional and multi-sponsor study will collect, analyze, and interpret data using seven major objectives, including:
- Estimating sediment-delivery ratios (i.e., soil eroded and the amount of sediment deposited into streams) by forest region and forest operation
- Quantifying the relationships between BMP implementation percentages and sediment delivery and/or soil erosion
- Estimating the impact that state and regional BMP programs have had on sediment reduction
SFI’s contribution
This program features strong partnerships and an ambitious scope that is poised to deliver a major contribution to SFI’s Conservation Impact Project work around water values. The goal of 10 peer‑reviewed studies adds considerable credibility to this work and provides a base for broad communications among less‑technical audiences. Results will also be delivered on the ground through logger training programs and professional conferences. The collaboration across multiple states represented by this project will advance both understanding and the ability of researchers and practitioners to compare and quantify the efficacy of BMP implementation across broad geographies and disparate ownerships.
How the project helps forest managers
This project directly relates to the SFI priority area of quantifying the impact of SFI Program Participant activities relative to improving stream habitat and/or water quality. Project results will have benefits across the U.S. South with regard to documenting the effects of BMP implementation on sediment delivery to streams on lands managed by SFI Program Participants. This information will also help compare forestry to other land uses and show benefits of sustainable forest management and BMP implementation.
SFI will use the data generated by the project to guide best practices and provide information to forest managers that may help them enhance water quality. Better and more consistent data will enable forest managers across the U.S. and Canada to build understanding of BMPs for water quality.
Results will also be presented to resource professionals at multiple venues such as the Biennial Southern Silviculture Research Conference, Council on Forest Engineering, Society of American Foresters National Convention, SFI Annual Conference, and the Soil Science Society of America conference. Information will also be incorporated into logger training presentations, which are required under SFI forest management and fiber sourcing certification.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, conservationists, researchers, SFI Program Participants and state government officials.
Project lead: Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Virginia SFI Implementation Committee
National Council for Air and Stream Improvement
Southern Group of State Foresters
Virginia Department of Forestry
North Carolina Forest Service
Texas A&M Forest Service
Related information
Recognizing the Value of Forest Certification in Protecting Water Quality (media release).
EPA: No Further Regulation of Forest Roads Necessary — Science-Based Best Management Practices Programs Offer Effective Water Quality Protections (media release).
Ducks Unlimited Canada: Development of best practices for forestry road design and construction around wetlands.
About the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation is one of four departments within the College of Natural Resources and Environment and it’s one of the top programs in natural resource management in the United States. It focuses on the latest applications to uncover the science needed to manage forests and other natural resources. Its programs are diverse and approach critical natural resource issues from many disciplinary perspectives. From protected areas management and economic policy to forest soil productivity, urbanization, and genomics, researchers seek to discover new knowledge and technology to address the global challenges to come.
BANDE INDIENNE DE PENTICTON
Évaluation de l’efficacité de l’aménagement riverain amélioré
sur le territoire de compétence de la bande indienne de Penticton
Pourquoi le projet est important
Le projet aidera à répondre au besoin d’intégrer la reconnaissance et le respect des droits et des connaissances traditionnelles des peuples autochtones dans les pratiques de foresterie durable. Il reliera les connaissances autochtones et les connaissances scientifiques en évaluant l’efficacité de l’aménagement riverain amélioré sur le territoire de compétence de la bande indienne de Penticton, en Colombie-Britannique. Le projet montrera de quelle façon la mise en œuvre de la Norme d’aménagement forestier SFI 2022 et des normes d’aménagement riverain amélioré de la bande indienne de Penticton (BIP) intègre la reconnaissance des droits autochtones et donne lieu à un aménagement amélioré et à des retombées positives pour les valeurs autochtones liées à la qualité de l’eau sur les terres forestières certifiées SFI.
Comment le projet soutient l’aménagement riverain et le lien entre les connaissances autochtones et les connaissances scientifiques
Les anciens et les gardiens du savoir autochtones joueront un rôle clé dans le projet. Le projet préparera le secteur forestier à l’adaptation des normes forestières syilx et aidera l’industrie à répondre aux normes SFI. Les syilx de la nation Okanagan forment une tribu transfrontalière divisée par la frontière entre le Canada et les États-Unis. La nation comprend sept collectivités, dont la bande indienne de Penticton. La BIP échantillonnera des blocs forestiers choisis sur des terrains gérés par SFI ou la BIP. Le projet produira des données empiriques et des données culturelles syilx sur la santé et l’abondance des valeurs et des paramètres syilx de qualité de l’eau des cours d’eau (cecwixa dans la langue nsyilxcən) et de leurs secteurs riverains sur des terrains gérés par SFI et la BIP, comparativement à d’autres endroits. La BIP élaborera les procédures d’échantillonnage avant récolte et après récolte.
Contribution de SFI
Le Programme de subventions aux partenariats de conservation et d’engagement communautaire de SFI soutient le projet. SFI s’est engagée à établir et à promouvoir des collaborations axées sur la forêt et reposant sur la reconnaissance et le respect des droits et des connaissances traditionnelles des peuples autochtones. SFI croit fermement que les approches d’inclusion et de collaboration dans l’élaboration des politiques, des programmes et des relations mènent à de réels progrès sur le terrain et améliorent la vie des gens. La Norme d’aménagement forestier SFI 2022 comprend l’objectif 8, qui reconnaît explicitement et respecte les droits des peuples autochtones, assure le respect des droits et des connaissances traditionnelles des peuples autochtones et s’aligne sur les principes de la Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les droits des peuples autochtones.
Comment le projet aide les gestionnaires forestiers
Le projet aidera les propriétaires et gestionnaires forestiers à comprendre en quoi l’atteinte de l’objectif 8 de la norme SFI peut soutenir les autres objectifs de SFI, comme la qualité de l’eau et la biodiversité. La BIP organisera un webinaire qui mettra les gardiens du savoir et les gestionnaires des ressources de la nation syilx en contact avec des représentants de l’industrie forestière et du gouvernement pour discuter des normes forestières et des droits et responsabilités d’intendance syilx. Ce dialogue ouvrira la porte à une collaboration véritable. Le projet examinera aussi les possibilités de présenter ou d’exposer les résultats du projet à l’Association of BC Forest Professionals et aux organisations certifiées SFI.
Il n’existe pas de majuscules en nsyilxcən parce que, selon les locuteurs de cette langue, cela donnerait à penser qu’une personne ou que quelque chose a plus d’importance qu’une autre, ce qui est contraire à l’éthique syilx.
Partenaires
Le partenariat regroupe des représentants autochtones et des entreprises forestières qui travaillent ensemble pour améliorer l’aménagement riverain. Ces partenaires sont :
Responsable du projet : bande indienne de Penticton
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Interfor (organisation certifiée SFI)
BC Timber Sales (organisation certifiée SFI)
Information connexe
Splatsin Indian Band: Les forêts certifiées SFI aident à conserver les plantes d’importance culturelle et promeuvent ainsi les valeurs autochtones (en anglais)
Répondre aux intérêts des Autochtones et établir des partenariats (en anglais) fact sheet
The Module d’aménagement forestier à petite échelle de SFI pour les particuliers, les familles et les collectivités autochtones au Canada
À propos de la bande indienne de Penticton
SnPink’tn (bande indienne de Penticton) est l’une des sept collectivités de la Okanagan Nation. Les six autres collectivités sont les bandes indiennes d’Upper Similkameen, de Lower Similkameen, d’Osoyoos, de Westbank, d’Okanagan et d’Upper Nicola. SnPink’tn est situé sur un magnifique replat dans la partie sud-ouest de la vallée de l’Okanagan. La réserve de SnPink’tn est la plus grande de Colombie-Britannique. La réserve borde le territoire de la municipalité de district de Summerland au nord, la Ville de Penticton et les lacs Okanagan et Skaha à l’est. Le terrain a un relief varié et comprend des collines à pente douce, des escarpements rocheux, des ravins et des prés.
BOREAL AVIAN MODELLING PROJECT
Bird Conservation Goes Continental with BAM – Linking Managed Forests at an Unprecedented Scale
Operationalizing Conservation Value Through Multi-species Evaluation on Lands Certified to SFI
Why this Project Matters
The diversity of bird communities acts as an indicator of an ecosystem’s overall biodiversity. While single‑species assessments are important, evaluating forestlands in terms of the composition of larger bird communities can show how they contribute to regional biodiversity. This project, led by the Boreal Avian Modelling Project (BAM), is employing metrics that estimate the contribution of forest stands and landscapes to regional bird biodiversity. A key feature of these metrics is that they emphasize rare species and distinctive communities in addition to species richness. These metrics can also be modeled in different types of forests and at different scales.
This research project is an extension of an existing project supported by SFI: Applying Data-Driven Measures to Evaluate and Improve the Conservation Value of Managed Forests for Birds. It is also linked to another research project led by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and supported by SFI: Managed Forests for Birds.
How the Project is Linking Managed Forests at an Unprecedented Scale
This project will provide explicit measures of conservation value, allowing project partners to determine and report on the direct contributions to regional biodiversity made by lands certified to SFI. This research will be co-produced with interested partners, such as ABC, NatureServe and SFI Implementation Committees. The ultimate goal is to facilitate on-the-ground implementation of conservation measures by SFI Program Participants. Because this project represents a collaborative effort with ABC, it is effectively taking both bird population science, and SFI Program Participant engagement, to a continental scale.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI has engaged with both BAM and ABC to shape this project as a partnership. The partnership features a structured approach to direct coordination between ABC and BAM. The strength of the project hinges on combining the modeling power of BAM with ABC’s experience engaging SFI Program Participants. This partnership will capitalize upon ABC’s relationship skills and BAM’s modeling skills to advance SFI Program Participant implementation of recommended forest management practices.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
This project will give forest managers methods, based on bird community diversity, to define and measure conservation value. Metrics combining species richness and rarity will quantify the contributions of forest stands and landscapes to overall regional biodiversity. It will also strengthen SFI’s collaborative framework by working directly with partners in the co‑production of the research. Co-production will facilitate results being translated into actionable recommendations that can be implemented on-the-ground by SFI Program Participants.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, researchers, SFI Program Participants, and government agencies.
- Project lead: University of Alberta Department of Renewable Resources, Boreal Avian Modelling Project
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- American Bird Conservancy
- Boreal Ecosystems Analysis for Conservation Networks (BEACONs) Project
- Canadian Forest Service
- Canadian Wildlife Service
- Center for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Forest Products Association of Canada
- fRI Research
- Fuse Consulting
- Nature Canada
- NatureServe
- Université Laval
- University of British Columbia
- Central Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee
- Western Canada Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee
- Canfor (SFI Program Participant)
- Daishowa‐Marubeni International Ltd. (SFI Program Participant)
- EACOM (SFI Program Participant)
- Interfor Corporation (SFI Program Participant)
- Resolute (SFI Program Participant)
- Tolko (SFI Program Participant)
Related Information
- Collaborating for Conservation of Managed Forested Landscapes (presentation)
- SFI supported a Canada warbler workshop for conservationists and resource managers convened by Nature Canada (media release)
- Bird Conservation Reaches Continental Scale through New Partnership with the Boreal Avian Modelling Project
- American Bird Conservancy: Bringing Back the Forest Birds, Phase II
About the Boreal Avaian Modelling Project
The Boreal Avian Modelling Project is a collaborative science program committed to improved understanding of the ecology of birds and their habitats in the boreal region of North America. Using quantitative modelling techniques and a comprehensive dataset assembled from projects across North America, we derive information on abundance, distribution and habitats of boreal birds, and use this to evaluate and predict the effects of human activity.
FRI RESEARCH
Collaborating to Enhance Caribou Habitat through Active Forest Management
Caribou Conservation through Better Cutblock Design
Why this project matters
Working towards caribou conservation on a shared working landscape, this project will investigate the role of silvicultural practices in reducing habitat for species that destabilize predator-prey systems, ultimately to the detriment of caribou in forested ecosystems. The results will provide information for cutblock design that could be used to evaluate sustainable forest management and develop best‑management practices in caribou ranges. Cutblocks are specific areas, with defined boundaries, authorized for harvesting.
There are several factors that negatively impact woodland caribou and may contribute to their decline. For example, roads, powerlines, pipelines and forest harvesting contribute to conditions which may give predators like wolves and bears easier access to caribou habitat. Younger forests that grow after disturbances like fire or harvesting also initially attract deer and moose, which in turn can increase the number of predators.
Boreal caribou, a type of woodland caribou, live in Canada’s boreal forest. Like many wide-ranging species, caribou rely on Canada’s network of protected areas, unmanaged areas, and well-managed forests to meet their habitat needs. Woodland caribou are listed as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), as well as under provincial legislation in some provinces (e.g., Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec). The federal recovery strategy for woodland caribou specifically recommends the management of prey and predators and to mitigate the threat of high predation rates through habitat restoration and management.
How the project helps conserve caribou
This project provides a method of directly measuring how the application of the SFI Forest Management Standard provides better habitat for wildlife and species at risk. Specifically, this work will deliver spatial habitat models that forest managers can use to measure how silviculture decisions contribute to deer, moose and elk habitat, which in turn affect predator populations. In addition, these habitat models will help inform how timber harvesting and silviculture planning could impact caribou. Results will be scalable from the stand level to the landscape scale, where the potential benefit of multiple age-classes and structure in managed forests can be quantified for the regional landscape of western Alberta.
SFI’s contribution
SFI funds research that helps inform decisions and provide clear action steps for forest managers to aid in management of Species at Risk. SFI has contributed $260,000 to caribou research, which, when leveraged with partner contributions, has resulted in research investments exceeding $1.9 million. We are committed to bringing researchers, community representatives, and forest managers together to make the best decisions possible. SFI’s vast scale also has the potential to bring these solutions to a new level and magnify their impact. There are more than 89 million hectares/220 million acres of forestland certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard in Canada.
The study area is in a region where threatened caribou herds occur within forests managed by five companies with forestland certified to SFI: ANC Timber, C&C Resources Inc., Weyerhaeuser, West Fraser, and Canfor. The region also has an established federal caribou recovery strategy.
How the project helps forest managers
SFI is helping forest managers manage for healthier caribou populations by focusing on important themes such as habitat changes, nutritional needs, and the effects of climate change. SFI’s work with its partners also recognizes the complexity of forest management planning when it comes to managing for multiple conservation objectives involving myriad species. The SFI community shares a goal of using responsible forest management practices to proactively manage risks to caribou and other species. SFI Program Participants in this region will be provided with an opportunity to support specific research indicated in the caribou recovery strategy, and to directly incorporate the results of this research in forest management practices in caribou ranges.
This project will also promote public awareness and outreach through collaboration with multiple forestry companies, and by building on an existing collaboration with the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada. The project will connect with external audiences by sharing fieldwork and project results online and through national and international conferences. The project results will also be published as a peer-reviewed scientific article in an open-source journal, making the results freely available to the widest possible audience. Communicating the results directly to forestry managers will promote the incorporation of project results into forestry planning in west-central Alberta, contributing to best practices on shared working landscapes in caribou ranges.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, conservationists, researchers and SFI Program Participants.
Project lead: fRI Research
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Canfor (SFI Program Participant)
Weyerhaeuser (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
Landscape Change: What it means for two species at risk in Alberta (presentation).
SFI and Woodland Caribou (factsheet).
About fRI Research
fRI Research is a unique community of Partners joined by a common concern for the welfare of the land, its resources, and the people who value and use them. fRI Research connects managers and researchers to effectively collaborate in achieving the fRI Vision and Mission. fRI Research works toward sustainable land and resource management. To do so, it engages a range of forest and forest resource users, a consensus-driven partnership, and a shared decision-making process. It looks at the impact of primarily industrial use on the local ecology, economy, society, and culture. This practical research searches for answers to specific land and resource management questions.
PROJET DE MODÉLISATION AVIAIRE BORÉAL
La valeur et la résilience des forêts certifiées SFI pour les oiseaux forestiers de l’Est de l’Amérique du Nord face aux changements climatiques
Pourquoi ce projet est important
Le Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal (PMAB) guidera la science de la planification de l’aménagement forestier au bénéfice d’une grande variété d’oiseaux face aux changements climatiques. Il atteindra cet objectif en permettant de mieux comprendre la valeur et la résilience des forêts certifiées SFI pour les oiseaux forestiers de l’Est de l’Amérique du Nord.
Le projet produira des descriptions exhaustives des pratiques d’aménagement actuelles et potentielles conformes aux normes SFI et pouvant être reliées à des changements dans la structure forestière. L’incidence de l’aménagement forestier passé et présent sur les populations d’oiseaux dans les forêts certifiées SFI et non certifiées sera aussi évaluée. De plus, le projet simulera l’incidence potentielle des futures pratiques d’aménagement forestier sur les populations d’oiseaux dans les forêts certifiées SFI en comparaison de forêts non certifiées dans différents scénarios potentiels de changements climatiques.
Comment le projet soutient les oiseaux forestiers face aux changements climatiques
Le PMAB profitera de vingt années d’expérience dans la construction de modèles régionaux prenant en compte la structure d’âge, la composition des espèces et la configuration de la forêt ainsi que la variation régionale du climat et la sélection de l’habitat des différentes espèces d’oiseaux. Le projet intégrera plus particulièrement les effets des meilleures pratiques d’aménagement (MPA) relevées sur la densité des populations d’oiseaux face aux changements climatiques. À l’aide de ces modèles, le PMAB déterminera les pratiques, les types d’habitats et les endroits qui contribuent de façon importante à l’abondance totale des espèces dans l’Est de l’Amérique du Nord.
Contribution de SFI
Le Programme de subventions aux partenariats pour la conservation et l’engagement communautaire de SFI soutient le projet. Le projet profitera des collaborations passées entre SFI et le PMAB visant à quantifier la valeur de la certification SFI pour la conservation au Canada. La vaste envergure de SFI, avec plus de 150 millions d’hectares (370 millions d’acres) certifiés selon sa norme d’aménagement forestier et des dizaines de millions d’autres sur lesquels s’exerce l’influence bénéfique de sa norme d’approvisionnement en fibre, soutient la portée du projet. Au Canada, cette superficie comprend des parties de l’Ontario, du Québec, du Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Nouvelle-Écosse, de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard et de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Aux États-Unis, elle comprend des parties du Minnesota, du Wisconsin, du Michigan et du Nord de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. La portée du projet comprendra aussi les États des Grands Lacs, où une collaboration transfrontalière a déjà été établie dans le cadre de travaux antérieurs du PMAB soutenus par SFI.
Comment le projet aide les gestionnaires forestiers
Le projet présentera des évaluations utiles des effets des MPA sur les futures populations d’oiseaux dans les forêts certifiées SFI dans différents scénarios de changements climatiques. Cette information soutiendra des recommandations quant à savoir si les organisations certifiées SFI devront adapter leurs pratiques dans l’avenir et de quelle façon elles devraient le faire pour soutenir la conservation des oiseaux, et quelles MPA seraient les mieux adaptées. Une boîte à outils et une application Web soutiendront les gestionnaires forestiers et influeront directement sur la mise en œuvre des résultats du projet pour la conservation des oiseaux.
Partenaires
Le partenariat regroupe des ONG de défense de l’environnement et des sociétés forestières pour assurer la santé des oiseaux forestiers face aux changements climatiques. Ces partenaires sont :
Responsable du projet : Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal (Université de l’Alberta)
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Comité d’implantation de la norme SFI au Québec
Produits forestiers Résolu (organisation certifiée SFI)
Département des ressources naturelles du Wisconsin (organisation certifiée SFI)
The Forestland Group (organisation certifiée SFI)
Information connexe
Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal : SFI soutient la recherche afin d’aider des milliards d’oiseaux dans la forêt boréale (en anglais)
Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal : La conservation des oiseaux prend une envergure continentale grâce à un nouveau partenariat avec le Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal (en anglais)
La collaboration pour la conservation des paysages forestiers aménagés. (Présentation). (en anglais)
SFI a soutenu un atelier sur la paruline du Canada à l’intention des écologistes et des gestionnaires des ressources, organisé par Nature Canada. Communiqué. (en anglais)
L’organisme American Bird Conservancy reçoit le Prix du président de SFI pour avoir mis l’envergure de SFI au service des oiseaux. Communiqué. (en anglais)
Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal
Le Projet de modélisation aviaire boréal (PMAB) est une collaboration scientifique internationale qui met au point et diffuse de l’information et des produits scientifiques fiables, fondés sur des données ou des modèles, pour soutenir la gestion et la conservation des oiseaux migrateurs dans la région boréale de l’Amérique du Nord. Le PMAB a été lancé en 2004 afin de combler les lacunes dans les connaissances utiles à la gestion et à la conservation des oiseaux boréaux d’Amérique du Nord. Le PMAB repose sur la compilation de données relatives aux oiseaux boréaux. La base de données du PMAB a été créée en regroupant et harmonisant des données aviaires provenant d’un sondage sur les oiseaux nicheurs, d’atlas des oiseaux nicheurs et de travaux de recherche, de surveillance et d’inventaire individuels réalisés dans la région boréale et semi-boréale du Canada et des États-Unis. Nous avons mis au point des approches statistiques spécialisées pour harmoniser ces ensembles de données en corrigeant les écarts dus à la méthodologie des sondages et la détectabilité des espèces pour estimer la densité des populations.
SPLATSIN INDIAN BAND
Forests Certified to SFI Work to Conserve Culturally Significant Plants, Enhancing Indigenous Values
Studying Culturally Significant Plant Regeneration Post-harvest in the Splatsin Territory
Why This Project Matters
Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. and Canada have long relied on forests for cultural, spiritual and material needs. The SFI Program recognizes forest operations may have an impact on Indigenous communities in a variety of ways, including culturally significant ones. This study will provide data on how culturally important plant biota regenerate after forest management activities, such as harvests. Understanding and maintaining biodiversity in the forest, while also respecting culturally significant plants, is critical for both the Splatsin Indian Band and Tolko Industries in their management of forest lands in the south-central interior of British Columbia. Tolko is an SFI Program Participant.
How the Project is Studying Culturally Significant Plant Regeneration
Splatsin, with the assistance of Tolko and a professional Biologist, will measure the presence and regeneration success of select culturally sensitive plants pre- and post-forest harvesting. Study areas will be in Splatsin traditional areas and sample plots will be established to measure pre- and post-harvest plant presence, health and vitality of selected plants. The study and its methodology will be developed and managed by the biologist in consult with Splatsin.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. SFI also promotes Indigenous rights, respect and engagement through its standards and partnerships with Indigenous communities. The SFI Forest Management Standard is aligned with Indigenous values, including rights, knowledge, and environmental considerations. Indigenous communities began certifying to SFI in 2010. Today, 39 Indigenous groups across Canada and the U.S. work on over 4-million hectares/10-million acres of land certified to SFI.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
SFI builds partnerships with Indigenous communities and improves awareness of the SFI Program and its community involvement requirements. This project will enhance these efforts by providing a model for evaluating the importance of culturally significant plants.
Many requirements of the SFI Forest Management Standard reflect and support values and an approach to land management that are important to Indigenous communities. For example, Objective 6 calls for the protection of special sites and requires SFI Program Participants to manage lands that are ecologically, geologically, historically or culturally important, in a manner that takes into account their unique qualities. This includes sites special to Indigenous Peoples. This project will help to support forest managers in their efforts to manage forestlands in ways that respect Indigenous values.
Partners
This partnership includes Indigenous representatives, conservationists, researchers, an SFI Program Participant and government officials.
- Project lead: Splatsin Indian Band
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Yucwmenlucwu (Caretakers of the Land) LLP.
- B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
- Ecora Engineerting and Resource Group Ltd.
- Mountain Labyrinths Inc.
- Sicamous Model Forest
- Tolko Industries Ltd. (SFI Program Participant)
Related Information
About the Splatsin Indian Band
<>The Splatsin are the most southern tribe of the Shuswap Nation, the largest Interior Salish speaking First Nation in Canada whose aboriginal territory stretches from the B.C.-Alberta border near the Yellowhead Pass to the plateau west of the Fraser River, southeast to the Arrow Lakes and to the upper reaches of the Columbia River. The Splatsin people reside on Indian reserve lands adjacent to the City of Enderby to the south and across the Shuswap River to the east.
American Bird Conservancy
Project Overview
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) received $70,000 over a two year period, beginning in 2011 from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to improve bird conservation in ponderosa pine forests in the US Northwest. ABC’s work contributed towards reversing declines in Lewis’s Woodpecker, the White-headed Woodpecker, the Flammulated Owl, and Williamson’s Sapsucker, all of which are US Fish and Wildlife Service species of concern. The project created on-the-ground habitats, through stand thinning treatments, snag creation, and deployment of nesting boxes, for ten private landowners across 12,000 acres of forest land. ABC used these sites to host field visits and workshops which taught easily implementable bird conservation best management practices to dozens of landowners, collectively responsible for managing over 100,000 acres,. The project also hosted State and Federal wildlife and forestry agency staff seminars in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. To supplement this work, ABC published two management guides: Land Managers Guide to Cavity Nesting Bird Habitat and Snags, Bark Beetles, and Cavity Nesters. Over 18,000 copies of these guides were distributed to land managers including 2,500 private landowners who manage over 500,000 acres of forest land.
The project intersects with Sustainable Forestry Initiative goals through conservation of biological diversity and wildlife habitat as well as landowner education and outreach.
Project Partners
American Bird Conservancy partnered with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Deschutes Land Trust, and Pacific Stewardship LLC.
About American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement.
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Enhancing North American Bird Habitat
Project Description
In 2014, American Bird Conservancy was awarded $86,000 from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to work with a broad array of SFI-certified landowners to identify priority habitats for bird conservation, develop improved management scenarios for these habitats, and focus on locations where those ownerships intersect with critical habitats and flyways in North America. This analysis was combined with existing understanding of optimal habitat conditions, and an economic and feasibility analysis to determine the actual cost associated with managing certified forests to maximize habitat value. The combination of scale (major forest regions and forest types), along with the collaboration with SFI Program Participants on economic feasibility, made this project truly unique and practical. The breadth of partners involved enabled ABC to focus on a range of habitats and forest regions, and promote individual involvement of these various companies in places where their operations are focused. This Project has continued into Phase II, with an additional SFI grant to ABC in 2015.
The project intersects with SFI Certification Standards through conservation of biological diversity, and requirements for wildlife habitat conservation.
Project Partners
American Bird Conservancy partnered with NatureServe, Resource Management Service, LLC, Plum Creek Timber Company, Weyerhaeuser, Hancock Timber Resource Group.
Project Resources
About American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement.
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Managed Forests for Birds, Phase II
Project Overview
Birds require a range of forest types—from mature stands to early successional habitats—for successful breeding, and migration, and wintering. Forest management activities can result in favorable or improved habitat conditions that support healthy bird populations. To enhance forest management for bird species of special concern, SFI provided the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) with a 2014 grant to engage SFI Program Participants in development of bird conservation strategies at a large scale. Building upon strong partnerships and tested management techniques, ABC will pursue phase II of this work through a $150,000, two-year grant from SFI.
The project will focus on the Klamath Mountains Region of Oregon and the pine and bottomland forests of the Southeastern United States. ABC will work with forestry and technical partners to assess the current management practices for birds resulting from the application of SFI Standards. They will then identify additional opportunities for management practices that benefit birds and develop recommendations to increase value for specific species, in partnership with SFI Program Participants. Ultimately, ABC will develop technical reports and outreach to guide other SFI Program Participants as well as federal, state, and private forest managers and landowners on the benefits of sustainable forestry and the conservation value of lands managed to the SFI Program Standards.
This project supports SFI’s objectives to conserve biological diversity, enhance wildlife habitat, and strengthen relationships between the forestry and conservation communities.
About American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement.
Project Partners
For this project American Bird Conservancy will partner with the Klamath Bird Observatory, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Avian Research and Conservation Institute, East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture; as well as SFI Program Participants Hancock Timber Resource Group, Weyerhaeuser Company, Resource Management Service, LLC, Campbell Global LLC, Forest Investment Associates, Georgia-Pacific, Molpus Woodlands Group, Potlatch Corporation, Rayonier, Inc., The Westervelt Company, Lone Rock Timber, and Enviva.
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Ponderosa Pines
Project Overview
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) received $70,000 over a two year period, beginning in 2011 from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to improve bird conservation in ponderosa pine forests in the US Northwest. ABC’s work contributed towards reversing declines in Lewis’s Woodpecker, the White-headed Woodpecker, the Flammulated Owl, and Williamson’s Sapsucker, all of which are US Fish and Wildlife Service species of concern. The project created on-the-ground habitats, through stand thinning treatments, snag creation, and deployment of nesting boxes, for ten private landowners across 12,000 acres of forest land. ABC used these sites to host field visits and workshops which taught easily implementable bird conservation best management practices to dozens of landowners, collectively responsible for managing over 100,000 acres,. The project also hosted State and Federal wildlife and forestry agency staff seminars in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. To supplement this work, ABC published two management guides: Land Managers Guide to Cavity Nesting Bird Habitat and Snags, Bark Beetles, and Cavity Nesters. Over 18,000 copies of these guides were distributed to land managers including 2,500 private landowners who manage over 500,000 acres of forest land.
The project intersects with Sustainable Forestry Initiative goals through conservation of biological diversity and wildlife habitat as well as landowner education and outreach.
Project Partners
American Bird Conservancy partnered with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Deschutes Land Trust, and Pacific Stewardship LLC.
Resources
Land Manager’s Guide to Cavity-Nesting Bird Habitat and Populations
About American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement.
THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION
Restoring the American Chestnut Grant
Project Overview
Starting in 2010 The American Chestnut Foundation received $60,000 over two years to establish some of the first plantings of blight-resistant American Chestnuts in the southeastern United States. Approximately 3,000 of the most advanced American Chestnuts were planted on SFI partners Georgia-Pacific and MeadWestvaco land, near Rupert, West Virginia; Big Island, Virginia; and Bridgestone, Tennessee. The project offered a robust start to Chestnut re-establishment and provided critical baseline information needed to perpetuate the process of species restoration. Through this grant the Foundation created a Best Management Practices manual for American Chestnut reintroduction. Additionally a web-based database was created where restoration participants enter follow up reports on landscape level progress relating to the project.
View the American Chestnut Foundation’s final report here.
View ACF’s Chestnut Reintroduction BMP manual here.
Supporting the SFI Standard
This project supports Objective 4 of the SFI 2010-2014 Standard by providing critical long-term information needed to restore the American chestnut to its historic range, and addressing knowledge gaps to ensure the future success of American Chestnut restoration. Objective 4 requires that program participants “manage the quality and distribution of wildlife habitats and contribute to the conservation of biological diversity by developing and implementing stand- and landscape-level measures that promote a diversity of types of habitat and successional stages, and conservation of forest plants and animals, including aquatic species.” One of the indicators (4.2) is a program to protect threatened and endangered species.
Project Partners
In addition to The American Chestnut Foundation, partners included the Tennessee Tree Farm State Committee and the SFI Implementation Committee, as well as SFI program participants Georgia-Pacific and MeadWestvaco (MWV).
News
West Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation and MeadWestvaco Committed to Species Restoration as part of SFI Conservation Grant Project
Press Release
May 2, 2011
About The American Chestnut Foundation
The mission of The American Chestnut Foundation is the restoration of the American chestnut tree to its historic range, from Maine to Georgia. The American chestnut, a valuable food source and source of high-value wood products, was functionally removed during the first half of the 20th Century by chestnut blight, an exotic fungal disease.
AMERICAN FOREST FOUNDATION
Motivating Forest Stewardship and American Tree Farm Certification among Family Forestland Owners in Priority Ecological Areas
Project Description
The American Forest Foundation (AFF) was awarded $30,000 to support North Carolina family forestland owners in certification to the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) and engage landowners who may not be ready for certification, on a pathway to sustainable forest management.
In this unique project, AFF conducted outreach utilizing several coordinated targeting methods, which together ensured both the certification relevance and ecological impact of efforts. The first level of targeting was selecting lands within the North Carolina Significant Geographic area identified by the “America’s Longleaf Conservation Plan.” That focus was further refined to reflect highest priority areas based on an assessment of ecological importance at the landscape level. The resulting priority areas were then compared against the ownership boundaries of State Forest Stewardship Landowners that lie within the procurement areas of SFI certification participants to determine the core area of focus. Lastly, within this focal area, landowners were screened using practices developed by AFF that identify individuals most likely to certify their lands or pursue sustainable forestry. These landowners were contacted and offered field visits and expert advice by ATFS Foresters. Landowners not ready to certify were encouraged to join local and state stewardship efforts and offered MyLandPlan, an AFF online resource for landowners interested in sustainable forestry.
The project supported SFI objectives to increase sustainable forest management within the family forest landowner community, and protect ecologically significant landscapes.
Project Partners
For this project The American Forest Foundation partnered with The American Tree Farm System and the North Carolina Tree Farm Committee.
About American Forest Foundation
The American Forest Foundation (AFF) works on-the-ground with families, teachers and elected officials to promote stewardship and protect the values provided by our nation’s forest heritage. A commitment to the next generation unites our nationwide network of forest owners and teachers. These devoted professionals work to keep our forests healthy and our children well-prepared for the future they will inherit.
AFF works nationwide and in partnership with local, state and national groups to address ecological and economic challenges that require the engagement of family forest owners.
AMERICAN FORESTS
Une approche fondée sur les pratiques pour mieux évaluer l’atténuation des changements climatiques par le carbone forestier en prenant en compte les sols forestiers
Favoriser la compréhension et créer des outils pour aider les propriétaires forestiers à protéger et à mettre en valeur le carbone des sols forestiers
Pourquoi le projet est important
Les sols constituent une composante souvent négligée des réservoirs de carbone forestier, alors qu’ils retiennent souvent davantage de carbone que la biomasse aérienne d’une forêt. Le sol est une composante qu’il est essentiel de considérer lorsqu’on aborde la question de l’atténuation des changements climatiques et d’intégrer dans les plans d’action pour le climat. Or, il est difficile de prendre en compte le carbone du sol dans les objectifs d’aménagement. Les données disponibles sont limitées et il est coûteux d’obtenir des données à l’échelle des sites, qui est la plus pertinente pour les propriétaires forestiers individuels et les décisions d’aménagement propres aux sites. De plus, les impacts des différents types d’aménagement forestier et de perturbation (p. ex., la récolte, le reboisement ou le feu) sur le bilan carbone du sol dépendent des endroits.
Comment le projet améliore l’évaluation de l’atténuation des changements climatiques par le carbone forestier en prenant en compte les sols forestiers
Le projet a permis de mettre au point une approche pour inclure les sols dans les calculs du carbone forestier, de mieux comprendre la dynamique du carbone dans l’ensemble de l’écosystème ainsi que les impacts de l’aménagement forestier sur l’ensemble du réservoir de carbone forestier. American Forests a aidé à créer des outils d’aide à la décision pour un partenaire du projet, le Service des forêts du Département des ressources naturelles du Maryland, permettant de déterminer les secteurs de grande vulnérabilité et de possibilité à l’égard du carbone du sol dans les forêts du Maryland. II a interprété des données nationales et régionales sur les sols forestiers et les effets différents des pratiques d’aménagement forestier afin de déterminer l’applicabilité de ces données et de ces résultats aux sols forestiers du Maryland. S’appuyant sur l’analyse, l’organisme a produit des documents de référence pour les écorégions du littoral de l’Atlantique et des Appalaches centrales, qui recommandent les meilleures pratiques en fonction des différentes stratégies d’aménagement. Il a aussi relié ces approches à des sections particulières de la norme d’aménagement forestier SFI en tant qu’outil de soutien aux gestionnaires forestiers de la région.
Contribution de SFI
Le Programme de subvention aux partenariats de conservation de SFI soutient le projet. Le programme encourage les partenariats entre les organisations souhaitant mesurer les retombées pour la conservation et à motiver un aménagement forestier amélioré et l’approvisionnement responsable. Le projet réunit des universitaires, des ONG, des producteurs forestiers et des organismes gouvernementaux pour aider à assurer un bon avenir.
Comment le projet aide les forêts
Les promoteurs du projet ont dressé une liste de pratiques et de lignes directrices d’aménagement forestier favorables au carbone du sol, qui permet aux propriétaires et gestionnaires forestiers de mieux protéger le carbone du sol existant et de le mettre en valeur comme outil d’atténuation des changements climatiques. L’équipe de projet a effectué une analyse documentaire et une méta-analyse portant sur des ensembles de données de profils de sol et a conclu que la récolte n’avait aucun effet global important sur le carbone du sol des forêts. Toutefois, la variation des effets de la récolte sur le carbone du sol dépend du relief et de l’ordre et de l’horizon de sol. À certains endroits, les pratiques de récolte peuvent aussi influer sur l’ampleur et la variabilité du changement dans le carbone du sol. Le reboisement des sols cultivés augmente le carbone du sol. La biomasse et le carbone du sol se rétablissent simultanément lors du reboisement. Le feu entraîne des diminutions du carbone du sol variables et potentiellement importantes.
Partenaires
Responsable du projet : American Forests
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science
Université du Michigan
Service des forêts du Département des ressources naturelles du Maryland (organisation certifiée SFI)
Information connexe
L’outil carbone SFI-NCASI : Les avantages carbone des forêts certifiées SFI aux États-Unis (en anglais)
Les terres humides et le carbone — Amélioration des connaissances (en anglais)
À propos d’American Forests
American Forests crée des forêts saines et résilientes, dans des villes autant que dans de grands paysages naturels, qui procurent des bienfaits essentiels pour le climat, les gens, l’eau et la faune. L’organisme poursuit sa mission par l’innovation en foresterie, par la création de partenariats locaux visant à planter et à restaurer des forêts et par la construction de mouvements. American Forests imagine un monde dans lequel les importants bienfaits environnementaux, sociaux et économiques des forêts sont pleinement réalisés et disponibles équitablement à tous. Il accepte des perspectives diverses, se concentre sur les questions les plus pressantes du moment, habilite d’autres intervenants et s’engage dans des projets, même si les résultats ne seront ressentis que par les générations futures. Pour en savoir plus.
AUDUBON NEW YORK
Conserving Bird Habitat through Sustainable Forest Management
Project Overview
Forest dwelling birds require large, unfragmented forest landscapes that includes a mix of successional stages and quality brood-rearing habitat for successful reproduction, and migration. To meet these needs, the New York Chapter of Audubon Society received $14,000 over two years beginning in 2011, to create a stronger link between forest management and bird conservation, and transfer knowledge and best practices to seven other states along the Atlantic Flyway. Audubon hosted five workshops to advise landowners how to integrate bird habitat considerations into their forest management plans and practices. These workshops were attended by 137 forest owners and forest managers, who manage over 815,000 acres of private forest lands as well as large areas of state forest across New York and Vermont. Audubon also created two informational bulletins, which were distributed to landowners across the region.
Audubon New York’s forest conservation and stewardship work is part of a larger effort being undertaken by Audubon throughout the Atlantic Flyway region, with similar work underway or planned in Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, and North and South Carolina, as well as at wintering sites for priority migratory species in Central and South America.
The project directly relates to Sustainable Forestry Initiative goals of protecting and promoting biological diversity as well as improving the practice of sustainable forestry through training, education programs, and landowner outreach.
Project Partners
For this project Audubon New York, partnered with the Empire State Forest Products Association, which leads the SFI Implementation Committee in New York State.
About Audubon NY
Audubon New York, the 50,000-member State program of the National Audubon Society, is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitats that supports them. As part of a national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, Audubon New York helps to engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.
Latest News
SFI Grant Helps Audubon New York Link Forest Management to Bird Conservation
Press Release- June 6, 2011
BIRD STUDIES CANADA
Improving Forest Habitat Management
Project Overview
Bird Studies Canada will receive $80,000 a year for three years, beginning in 2010, for a total of $240,000 to provide science-based data and tools that SFI program participants can use to improve forest habitat management beyond regulatory compliance for the conservation of bird biodiversity and species at risk across Canada.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will build on the well-established, volunteer-based Canadian Breeding Bird Atlas program, helping forest managers meet legal, regulatory and SFI Standard requirements with respect to biodiversity conservation and protection of threatened and endangered species. This includes Objective 4 of the SFI 2010-2014 Standard calling for program participants “to manage the quality and distribution of wildlife habitats and contribute to the conservation of biological diversity by developing and implementing stand- and landscape-level measures that promote a diversity of types of habitat and successional stages, and conservation of forest plants and animals, including aquatic species.”
Project Partners
In addition to Bird Studies Canada, partners include the Canadian Wildlife Service, Regroupement QuébecOiseaux, and Breeding Bird Atlas projects in the Maritimes, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia as well as seven SFI program participants – NewPage, Port Hawkesbury Corporation, Bowater Mersey Paper Company Ltd., Abitibi-Bowater, J.D. Irving Ltd., Acadian Timber and Louisiana-Pacific Corp.
Project Details
Information from Breeding Bird Atlases about the distribution of breeding bird species will be supplemented by data gathered from forest areas not easily accessed by volunteers, and from harvesting data already collected on existing and potential SFI project participant lands in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. The project will lead to a customized web portal where forestry companies can request, obtain, manage, and potentially analyze data specific to their managed lands.
SFI program participants will be able to use the data to develop programs and management plans to promote the conservation of native bird diversity and threatened and endangered species. Birds are an excellent indicator of biological diversity with measureable responses to forest management practices.
About Bird Studies Canada
Not-for-profit Bird Studies Canada advances the understanding, appreciation, and conservation of wild birds and their habitats, in Canada and elsewhere, through studies that engage the skills, enthusiasm, and support of its members, volunteers, and the interested public. It was a partner in a unique study of bird populations expected to improve forestry practices in Canada’s Acadian forests that won an SFI Leadership in Conservation Research Award in 2008.
Latest News
Bird Studies Canada Project Supported by SFI Exceeds Expectations
Press Release- January 5, 2011
Project Resources
Annual Conference Presentation
An innovative conservation partnership to inform best management practices and facilitate regulatory compliance.
THE BOREAL AVIAN MODELLING PROJECT
SFI Supports Research to Help Billions of Birds in the Boreal Forest
Why This Project Matters
The boreal forest, stretching from Alaska to Newfoundland is an important global bastion of bird life and billions of birds migrate to and from the boreal forest every year from as far away as South America. They can face threats all along these massive flyways. With our North American scale SFI hopes to proactively and positively influence bird conservation on managed, working-forest landscapes.
The Canada warbler, for example, flies back and forth from the northern Andes to the boreal forest. In Canada, where about 80% of the Canada warbler’s global breeding range is located, it breeds in all provinces and territories. It is listed as a threatened species under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). A grant, from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program, is helping the Canada warbler, and all boreal birds, by supporting the University of Alberta’s Boreal Avian Modelling (BAM) Project.
How the Project Helps Conserve Biodiversity
The BAM project is a partnership of many organizations led by the University of Alberta, Université Laval and Environment and Climate Change Canada, the broader partnership includes academic institutions, government agencies and environmental NGOs. BAM was created to develop models that will help managers, including forest managers, understand which habitats birds need for breeding. This work will meet immediate conservation needs and inform future research and monitoring efforts. The results generated by BAM are relevant to anyone with an interest in the conservation of over 300 species of birds found in the boreal.
For example, BAM data on the olive-sided flycatcher, which is listed as threatened under SARA, is being used in the Alberta Land Use Framework and other land-use planning exercises to understand how changes in forest age and type will influence it and other birds’ breeding habitats. These types of land-use scenario models will aid in the development of regional management plans that feed into provincial conservation and stewardship strategies for private and public lands.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
The BAM project will investigate conservation management needs of SFI Program Participants and other forestland managers. In the case of the brown creeper, for example, preliminary data show the birds have a strong preference for nesting in dead or dying trees. Whereas some birds like the Lincoln’s Sparrow and the pine siskin are common in harvested areas.
BAM data also have the potential to inform land managers of a range of bird habitat needs. This data could help guide management decisions at a landscape and stand level, including forests of exceptional conservation value. BAM data has the potential to enhance implementation of stand- and landscape-level measures that promote a diversity of habitat types, which is a requirement under the SFI 2015-2021 Forest Management Standard.
SFI’s contribution
SFI has developed strong partnerships across North America to enhance forest bird conservation. Our work with BAM is the latest in one of many bird conservation projects. Working with BAM will allow SFI Program Participants to scale up work to a national level, and perhaps inform continental conservation of some species. This will complement the work of a range of SFI partners in establishing and enhancing the conservation value of SFI lands for forest birds.
The project is also directly supported by SFI Program Participants Canfor, Louisiana-Pacific, West Fraser and Weyerhaeuser. These companies will provide in-kind data support to help BAM in characterizing the conservation value of their certified land base. These partners will also contribute data expertise and analysis coordination.
This partnership cuts across government, academia, conservation NGO’s and industry to provide strategic coordination around large-scale conservation efforts focused on bird habitat and breeding patterns. These partners include:
Partners
- Project lead: University of Alberta
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- American Bird Conservancy
- Bird Studies Canada
- Canadian Wildlife Service
- Canfor (SFI Program Participant)
- Ducks Unlimited Canada
- Louisiana-Pacific (SFI Program Participant)
- Nature Canada
- Université Laval
- University of British Columbia
- West Fraser (SFI Program Participant)
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI Program Participant)
About Boreal Avian Modelling Project
The Boreal Avian Modelling Project is a collaborative science program committed to improved understanding of the ecology of birds and their habitats in the boreal region of North America.
Using quantitative modelling techniques and a comprehensive dataset assembled from projects across the continent, we derive information on abundance, distribution and habitats of boreal birds, and use this to evaluate and predict the effects of human activity.
Related Information
- SFI supported a Canada warbler workshop for conservationists and resource managers convened by Nature Canada. Media release.
- American Bird Conservancy wins SFI President’s Award for putting SFI’s scale to work for birds. Media release.
- Greg Siekaniec, former CEO of Ducks Unlimited Canada, has an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun, “Opinion: Protecting the treasure that is Canada’s boreal forest.”
- Ducks Unlimited Canada wins SFI President’s Award for leadership in forest conservation and community objectives. Media release.
BOREAL AVIAN MODELLING PROJECT
Bird Conservation Reaches Continental Scale through New Partnership with the Boreal Avian Modelling Project
Applying Data-Driven Measures to Evaluate and Improve the Conservation Value of Managed Forests for Birds
Why this project matters
The boreal forest, stretching from Alaska to Newfoundland, is an important global bastion of bird life. Billions of birds migrate to and from the boreal forest every year from as far away as South America. Species like the Canada warbler, for example, fly back and forth from wintering in the northern Andes to breeding in Canada’s boreal forest. Approximately 80% of the Canada warbler’s global breeding range is located in the boreal, and it breeds in all provinces and territories. It is listed as a threatened species under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). With about 89 million hectares/220 million acres of forestland certified to SFI in Canada, SFI has the scale to proactively and positively influence bird conservation on well‑managed, forest landscapes.
How the project helps conserve biodiversity
A grant from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting the University of Alberta’s Boreal Avian Modelling (BAM) Project. The BAM project is a partnership of many organizations led by the University of Alberta, Université Laval and Environment and Climate Change Canada. The broader partnership includes academic institutions, government agencies and environmental NGOs.
BAM was created to develop models that will help natural resource managers identify important habitats for breeding birds. This work will meet immediate conservation needs, inform current management, and provide future research and monitoring efforts. The results generated by BAM are relevant to those interested in the conservation of over 300 species of birds found in the boreal.
For example, BAM data on the olive-sided flycatcher, which is listed as threatened in Canada, is being used in the Alberta Land Use Framework and other land-use planning exercises to understand how changes in forest age and type will influence its habitat and that of other breeding birds. These types of land‑use scenario models will aid in the development of regional management plans that feed into provincial conservation and stewardship strategies for private and public lands.
SFI’s contribution
SFI has developed strong partnerships across Canada and the U.S. to enhance forest bird conservation, with the BAM project representing the latest in these ongoing efforts. Working with BAM will allow SFI Program Participants to scale up work to a national level, and ultimately inform continental conservation of some species. This will complement the work of a range of SFI partners in establishing and enhancing the conservation value of lands certified to SFI.
The project is also directly supported by SFI Program Participants Canfor, Domtar, Interfor Corporation, Resolute, Tolko, and West Fraser. These companies will provide in-kind data support to help BAM in characterizing the conservation value of their certified land base. These partners will also contribute data, expertise, and analysis coordination.
How the project helps forest managers
The BAM project will continue to build on earlier investigations by SFI Program Participants and other researchers to inform land managers of a range of bird habitat needs. This data will help inform management decisions at a landscape and stand level, including forests of exceptional conservation value. BAM data has the potential to enhance implementation of stand- and landscape-level measures that promote a diversity of habitat types, which is a requirement under the SFI 2015-2019 Forest Management Standard.
This project will quantify the contribution that forests certified to SFI make to the attainment of broadly accepted conservation goals relative to bird habitat. It also underscores the unique role of large blocks of managed forests in contributing to the habitat needs of wide-ranging species, and contributions to landscape-scale objectives.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, conservationists, researchers, SFI Program Participants and Canadian federal and provincial government officials.
Project lead: University of Alberta Department of Renewable Resources, Boreal Avian Modelling Project
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Canfor (SFI Program Participant)
Domtar (SFI Program Participant)
Interfor Corporation (SFI Program Participant)
Resolute (SFI Program Participant)
Tolko (SFI Program Participant)
West Fraser (SFI Program Participant)
Central Canada SFI Implementation Committee
Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee
American Bird Conservancy
Bird Studies Canada
Université Laval
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Canadian Wildlife Service
Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas
Boreal Ecosystems Analysis for Conservation Networks
Canadian Forest Service
Center for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Nature Canada
Related information
Collaborating for Conservation of Managed Forested Landscapes (presentation).
SFI supported a Canada warbler workshop for conservationists and resource managers convened by Nature Canada. Media release.
American Bird Conservancy wins SFI President’s Award for putting SFI’s scale to work for birds. Media release.
Greg Siekaniec, former CEO of Ducks Unlimited Canada, has an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun, Protecting the treasure that is Canada’s boreal forest.
About Boreal Avian Modelling Project
ProThe Boreal Avian Modelling Project is a collaborative science program committed to improved understanding of the ecology of birds and their habitats in the boreal region of North America. Using quantitative modelling techniques and a comprehensive dataset assembled from projects across North America, we derive information on abundance, distribution and habitats of boreal birds, and use this to evaluate and predict the effects of human activity.
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
Wildlife Habitat Improvement Practices for Working Forests
Project Overview
Beginning in 2010, The Clemson University Forestry and Natural Resources Department received $30,000 annually over three years, for a total of $90,000, to help South Carolina forest landowners improve wildlife habitat on managed lands through outreach and demonstration sites on Clemson’s Experimental Forest. The management demonstration sites established across the university’s 17,500 acre forest showcased practices such as promoting aquatic and riparian areas, managing for landscape level wildlife habitat features, conserving rare species and communities, and protecting special sites. The demonstration sites were then used in landowner outreach through a project website, creating self-guided tour brochures in conjunction with informative site signs, and conducting workshops and webinars on the project and lessons learned. Additionally, the project served in an academic capacity as students helped plan the demonstration sites and conducted monitoring to determine overall effectiveness and areas for improvement.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project addresses a wide variety of SFI 2010-2014 Standard requirements including Objective 4, which says program participants must “manage the quality and distribution of wildlife habitats and contribute to the conservation of biological diversity by developing and implementing stand- and landscape-level measures that promote a diversity of types of habitat and successional stages, and conservation of forest plants and animals, including aquatic species.” It also addresses Objective 6, which requires that program participants “manage lands that are ecologically, geologically or culturally important in a manner that takes into account their unique qualities” and Objective 10, which requires the use of best management practices to protect water quality. The work is expected to result in an optional guidance module in the SFI 2010-2014 Standard for “value-added” wildlife habitat improvement on industry lands.
Project Partners
In addition to Clemson University, partners include Upstate Forever, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Quality Deer Management Program and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
Videos
About Clemson University
With more than 75 percent of South Carolina’s natural resources on private lands, Clemson University provides research-based information to help landowners, foresters and natural resource professionals manage forest for timber products and wildlife habitat. Forestry and wildlife contribute more than $6.5 billion annually to the state’s economy.
Latest News
SFI Forest Partners Program and American Tree Farm System Grow Certification in South Carolina
Press Release- September 19, 2013
Clemson Research Helps Land Managers Improve Wildlife Habitat
Press Release- April 12, 2011
Project Resources
COALITIONS & COLLABORATIVES, INC.
Forests Certified to SFI Aid in Fire Restoration, Sequestering Carbon and Contributing Clean Water Downstream
Exploring the financial value of ecosystem services on lands certified to SFI
Why This Project Matters
Ecosystem services refer to things that the natural world provides to sustain life, such as water, air and recreational opportunities. An ecosystem services perspective offers a way of looking at the collective value of nature. Placing a financial value on these services provides a tool for policymakers and conservationists to evaluate management impacts and conduct a cost-benefit analysis of potential policies. This project is exploring the financial value of ecosystem services in a California forest, owned by Fruit Growers Supply Company and certified to SFI. It will demonstrate the unique role that forests certified to SFI can play in achieving returns through climate change mitigation, watershed improvement, and habitat conservation. Demonstrating the potential for generating value from ecosystem services will help align forest management objectives with the full-spectrum of services that working forests provide society.
How the Project is Exploring the Financial Value of Ecosystem Services
The conservation group, Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc. (COCO) and its strategic partner RenewWest, a Colorado company specializing in forest-based ecosystem services, are leading the investigation into generating conservation-focused returns through the monetization of carbon, water, and conservation markets. Results will be examined and extrapolated to show potential for other forests certified to SFI. The team will assess the potential of applying the California Compliance Offset Protocol for U.S. Forest Offset Projects for both afforestation/reforestation projects and improved forest management carbon offset projects. The project will also provide a quick and relatively inexpensive analysis of the financial values of both carbon and water for Fruit Growers Supply Company, an SFI Program Participant. The project includes elements of forest restoration, some 30,000 acres of the subject area lost forest cover in a wildfire.
SFI’s Contribution
The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is supporting this project. Results from this grant are expected to increase understanding of which SFI forest management practices have the most significant impact on carbon, water, and other conservation outcomes. This data will create the opportunity to replicate the most beneficial practices, when appropriate, across certified forests. SFI will play a key role in ensuring outcomes are made available to SFI Program Participants and other forest landowners. Additionally, SFI will work closely with the project team to explore how accounting requirements relating to payments for ecosystem services models could be integrated into SFI Standards.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
Demonstrating the financial value of ecosystem services will help to align forest management objectives with the full-spectrum of services that working forests provide society. The motivations to measure conservation values are diverse: brand owners seek to understand the impact of their sourcing; conservation stakeholders can engage more effectively if they understand the values that certification can provide; and improved tracking will better equip SFI to provide sustainability related metrics and contribute meaningfully to conservation outcomes.
Partners
This partnership includes conservationists, researchers, and an SFI Program Participant.
- Project lead: Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc.
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- RenewWest
- DenverWater
- Colorado Springs Utilities
- Fruit Growers Supply Company (SFI Program Participant)
Related Information
- The SFI Conservation Impact Project
- SFI Hosts Science Conference to Help Measure the Conservation Impact of Sustainable Forests: October 28, 2016
- December 2017: Vernal Pools and Rapid Biodiversity Assessments using LiDAR, presented by The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC)and Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) (listen to recording)
- February 2018: Canadian Forest Carbon Assessment, Presented by Saskatchewan Research Council (listen to recording)
- June 2018: Quantifying Impacts of SFI Fiber Sourcing in Georgia, Presented by Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia (listen to recording)
About Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc.
COCO fosters on-the-ground conservation efforts that protect and restore natural resources and local communities by supporting collaborative conservation organizations, that produce collective impacts through stakeholder-driven efforts. COCO is a national leader in watershed restoration and community led conservation outreach and engagement. COCO uses its expertise to mentor, empower, and engage local conservation organizations across the state and nationally. COCO staff are actively engaged in the following networks, Fire Adapted Communities, Colorado Wildfire Matters Review Committee, Wildfire Leadership Council and the Rural voices for Conservation Coalition.
COMMUNITIES FOR HEALTHY FORESTS INC.
Douglas Complex Fires Public Education Project
Project Description
In 2014, Communities for Healthy Forests, Inc. (CHF) was awarded $15,000 from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to engage the local community and landowners in restoring forest lands destroyed by catastrophic wildfire. The project created opportunities for community leaders, students, landowners, the public and media representatives to engage in tree planting activities while learning about post-fire restoration. This grant helped facilitate two tree planting workshops in 2014 and 2015 that were attended by over 150 middle school students and teachers. The group was able to plant over 2300 seedlings across the two field days. CHF also hosted numerous education field tours that allowed participants to visit burned over forest and restoration sites while hearing from state, federal, and private forest landowners affected by wildfire.
Communities for Healthy Forests monitored forest recovery over a three-year period while assessing restoration success. This grant is relevant to the standards of SFI certification through adherence to best management practices, community involvement in sustainable forestry, and assuring long-term forest health and productivity through restoration.
Project Partners
Communities for Healthy Forests, Inc. partnered with Plum Creek Timber Company, the Swanson Group, the Bureau of Land Management, Roseburg Forest Products, Douglas County, the Society of American Foresters, local schools and youth organizations.
Project Resources
About Communities for Healthy Forests
Communities for Healthy Forests was founded to inform the public, natural resource managers and policy makers about catastrophic stand clearing events in public forests cuased by fire and other disasters. Communities for Healthy Forests exists to illustrate and explain the benefits of applying the best scientifically supported prescriptions for restoring health to overgrown forests and to rehabilitate severely damaged forests promptly following such events.
DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
Best Management Practices for Wetland Road Construction
Project Overview
SFI Program Participants have specific responsibilities related to the protection of waterways and wetland resources. These responsibilities take on even greater significant in the vast wetlands that characterize many northern forests. To help minimize impacts from these activities, Dalhousie University received $70,000 over three years, beginning in 2011, to develop best management practices for forest road crossings in Canada.
The project entailed rigorous experiments to test the most promising techniques to determine which are most effective at maintaining hydrologic function when building roads in forested swamps. In summer 2011, students took detailed measurements of wetland conditions, water flows and biodiversity in chosen forested wetlands to establish a baseline. Industry partners then installed various best management practices in late summer/early autumn of 2011. Students then measured site conditions in summer 2012. Their analysis showed which practices had the lowest impact on wetland structure and function. While these findings were shared with industry partners, this grant also served as an excellent educational opportunity for Dalhousie students.
The project intersects with Sustainable Forestry Initiative goals through the protection and maintenance of water resources and wetlands, including bogs, fens, marshes and vernal pools of ecological significance. It also serves to protect forests with exceptional conservation value.
Project Partners
For this project Dalhousie University partnered with Ducks Unlimited Canada, SFI Implementation Committees in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the Nova Scotia Department of Environment, the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, University of New Brunswick, FPInnovations non-profit research institute, and SFI-certified J.D. Irving Ltd and Bowater Mersey Paper Company Ltd.
News
Sustainable Forestry Group Supports Wetland ResearchOutdoor Canada
April 20, 2011
SFI Conservation Grant Supports Dalhousie University Forest Road Research
Press Release – April 19, 2011
Project Resources
About Dalhousie University
The School for Resource and Environmental Studies (SRES) is the centre for resource and environmental scholarship and research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its graduate programs, interdisciplinary teaching, and ongoing research programs, combined with collaboration with governmental, non-governmental, private sector, and community groups, provide a stimulating environment. The SRES community of students and faculty come from a variety of academic and professional disciplines and the resulting interdisciplinary approach to problem solving crosses the biophysical/social divide.
DUCKS UNLIMITED CANADA
Development of best practices for forestry road design and construction around wetlands
Project Overview
Ducks Unlimited Canada, in partnership with Louisiana Pacific Canada Ltd. and FPInnovations, will receive a total of $180,000 over three years, beginning in 2011, to determine best practices for planning and building forestry roads that protect wetland ecosystems in the western boreal forest.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support a number of the SFI 2010-2014 Standard objectives, including Objective 1, which requires forest management planning “to ensure long-term forest productivity and yield based on the use of the best scientific information available”; Objective 3 “Protection and Maintenance of Water Resources – indicator 3.2.4 identification and protection of non-forested wetlands, including bogs, fens, marshes and vernal poles of ecological significance”; and Objective 4 Conservation of Biological Diversity including Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value. It will advance knowledge, meeting Objective 10: Adherence to Best Management Practices – to broaden the practice of sustainable forestry through the use of best management practices to protect water quality; Objective 15: to support forestry research, science and technology, including financial or in-kind support; Objective 16 “to improve the implementation of sustainable forestry practices through appropriate training and education programs”; and Objective 20, which calls for promotion of continual improvement in the practice of sustainable forestry.
Project Partners
Ducks Unlimited Canada, Louisiana-Pacific Canada, a certified SFI program participant, and the Forest Operations division of FPInnovations, the world’s largest private, not-for-profit forest research institute.
Project Details
Ducks Unlimited Canada biologists, wetland ecologists and GIS specialists will share their expert knowledge about boreal wetlands with forestry professionals, and then work with them to identify boreal wetland ecosystems and test ways to plan around and build forest roads that maintain the unique ecological characteristics and functions of different classes of boreal wetlands.
The project will identify existing or develop new best management practices most compatible with minimizing impacts on the different wetland types found in the western boreal forest. The results will be field tested, and the knowledge transferred back to project partners with the intent to provide information to modify planning and construction techniques as needed. During key stages of implementation, government representatives responsible for forest practices will be consulted regarding the feasibility of integrating recommendations into forest operations guidelines.
News
Sustainable Forestry Group Supports Wetland ResearchOutdoor Canada
April 20, 2011
SFI Conservation Grant Supports Ducks Unlimited Wetland Research
Press Release – April 6, 2011
Project Resources
About Ducks Unlimited Canada
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is a private, non-profit, habitat conservation organization founded in 1938. Ducks Unlimited Canada works with private landowners, governments and industry to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats across all regions of Canada. In 2009, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Louisiana-Pacific Canada (Swan River Forest Resources Division) received an SFI Leadership in Conservation Research award for activities leading to long-term conservation of important wetlands and watersheds in west-central Manitoba.
About Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd.
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of premium building products in North America. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, LP produces building products that are manufactured at facilities throughout the United States, Canada and Chile. Natural resources are critical to LP, and good environmental stewardship is vital to the strength, profitability and sustainability of the company and the communities where it operates.
About FPInnovations
FPInnovations is a world leader that specializes in the creation of scientific solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness, and responds to the priority needs of its industrial and government members.
FLORIDA SFI IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
Teaching Sustainable Forestry to University Students through Project Learning Tree (PLT)
Project Description
The Florida SFI Implementation Committee received $5,000 funding PLT educator workshops for university students utilizing the theme of “sustainable forestry” using selected PLT lessons from current manuals. The project will fund workshops for the 2013-2014 school year.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry, including Performance Measure 17.2 requiring that program participants support and promote public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forestry management.
Project Partners
In addition to the Florida SFI Implementation Committee and Florida Project Learning Tree, partners include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Packaging Corporation of America, St. Petersburg College, Florida Forest Service, Leon County Extension and University of Florida.
About Florida SIC
The SFI program responds to local needs and issues across North America through 35 SFI Implementation Committees at the state, provincial or regional level. This unique grassroots network involves private landowners, independent loggers, forestry professionals, local governments agencies, academics, scientists, and conservationists.
FOREST ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE CO-OPERATIVE INC.
Landscape Scale Effects of Disturbance on Aquatic Systems
Project Overview
Forest Ecosystem Science Co-operative Inc. will receive a total of $32,000 over two years, beginning in 2012, to test how current forest management practices, including those required in the SFI Standard, mimic natural disturbance patterns in the boreal region in Ontario, and to make recommendations on how harvesting practices can better mitigate impacts on forest hydrology.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support four of the principles of the SFI 2010-2014 Standard: Principle 1: Sustainable Forestry; Principle 3: Protection of Water Resources; Principle 4: Protection of Biological Diversity; Principle 10: Research; and Principle 14: Continual Improvement. It also relates to elements of the following standard requirements: Objective 3: Protection and Maintenance of Water Resources; Objective 4: Conservation of Biological Diversity including Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value; Objective 18: Public Land Management Responsibilities; and Objective 15: Forestry Research, Science and Technology.
Project Details
The project will examine how well Ontario’s current forest management practices emulate natural disturbance patterns within watersheds in the boreal region, and their effectiveness in protecting water resources, aquatic habitat and biological diversity in riparian areas. There will be two related studies – a landscape scale study encompassing 34 million hectares (84 million acres) of Ontario’s boreal forest and a watershed scale study focusing on selected small watersheds within several forest management units.
The research offers an opportunity to recommend improvements to provincial regulations and SFI requirements regarding boreal forest best management practices, and to forest management planning and operations to mitigate impacts on forest hydrology. The study will also model how climate change may alter the natural variability in disturbance patterns and associated hydrologic impacts.
News
SFI Awards $32,000 Research Grant to Protect Water Resources in the Boreal Forest
May 30, 2012
Project Resources
About Forest Ecosystem Science Co-operative Inc.
Forest Ecosystem Science Co-operative Inc. is a partnership of organizations investing in forest science initiatives for the purpose of supporting sustainable forest management in Ontario and reducing uncertainties associated with forest management decisions. This unique forum includes representatives from the forest industry, provincial and federal governments, and consulting firms.
Project Partners
In addition to Forest Ecosystem Science Co-operative Inc., partners include Ainsworth Engineered Canada LP, Domtar Inc., Miisun Integrated Resource Management Inc., Resolute Forest Products, Wagner Ontario Forest Management Ltd., Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd., Ontario SFI Implementation Committee, Canadian Forest Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Lakehead University, EACOM Forest Products, and Hearst Forest Management.
FPINNOVATIONS
Conserving Working Forest Wetlands
Project Description
FPInnovations will receive $95,000 over a three year period from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to develop a best management practices field guide to mitigate the impacts of roads on wetlands in forested regions of Canada. The method developed and promoted through this project reflects an approach which was common decades ago, but had long been abandoned for more “modern” construction methods. Refinement of the traditional approach to road building has proven to minimize short-term impact on wetland hydrology, and hasten recovery of the site. The resulting document will further understanding of wetland identification, processes and road planning, construction and maintenance techniques applicable throughout Canada.
This project builds on work previously funded by SFI through Ducks Unlimited Canada and Dalhousie University on innovative road construction practices involving wetlands, and initiates education and training through workshops, webinars and other opportunities. The cumulative knowledge developed through all of these projects will be used to develop a best management practices field guide for most Canadian resource roads, and may have utility in some contexts in the US. This project supports numerous elements of the SFI Forest Management standard, including those related to conservation of biological diversity, wetland conservation, adherence to best management practices for water quality, and continual improvement in the practice of sustainable forestry.
Project Partners
FP Innovations will partner with Ducks Unlimited Canada, Louisiana-Pacific, Resolute Forest Products, J.D. Irving, New Brunswick Department of Environment, and Weyerhaeuser.
Project Resources
About FPInnovations
FPInnovations is a not-for-profit world leader that specializes in the creation of scientific solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness and responds to the priority needs of its industry members and government partners. It is ideally positioned to perform research, innovative, and deliver state-of-the-art solutions for every area of the sector’s value chain, from forest oeprations to consumer and industrial products.
FRI RESEARCH
Identifying high quality habitat and movement pathways of caribou in West-Central Alberta
Project Overview
Caribou require a variety of forest habitat types for foraging, movement and successful reproduction. To better understand these dynamics, fRI Research will receive $50,000 over two years to model the distribution of high-quality habitat and caribou movement, and to identify areas for habitat restoration.
The proposed research will allow managers to plan for a unified landscape that benefits caribou, and guide restoration efforts to increase functional habitat and linkages for the persistence of caribou populations. This project demonstrates the commitment of forest managers to actively maintain caribou viability within a shared working landscape, while meeting federal targets outlined in the boreal and southern mountain recovery strategies. The methods developed may also be applicable across other forests certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard where caribou occur, and across the range of caribou in Alberta.
The project intersects with SFI certification standards through conservation of biological diversity, and requirements for wildlife habitat conservation.
Project Partners
For this project fRI Research will partner with SFI Program Participants West Fraser Timber and Weyerhaeuser, as well as University of British Columbia, Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada, and Safari Club International: Drayton Valley Chapter.
About fRI Research
fRI Research is a unique community of Partners joined by a common concern for the welfare of the land, its resources, and the people who value and use them. fRI Research connects managers and researchers to effectively collaborate in achieving the fRI Vision and Mission.
fRI Reserach works toward sustainable land and resource management. To do so, it engages a range of forest and forest resource users, a consensus-driven partnership, and a shared decision-making process. It looks at the impact of primarily industrial use on the local ecology, economy, society, and culture. Research is practical—in search of answers to specific land and resource management questions.
FRASER BASIN COUNCIL SOCIETY
Teaming up to Conserve Steelhead through Improved Forest Management
Monitoring Water Temperatures and Flows for Steelhead in Relation to Forest Management Practices
Why this project matters
Steelhead are an endangered species in many parts of North America and they are at risk of becoming endangered in the Fraser Basin in British Columbia. Steelhead trout (aka steelhead salmon) are an iconic symbol of the Thompson River and region in British Columbia. Having long sustained Indigenous people, steelhead are also central to the region’s world-class recreational fishery. Unfortunately, this species is in decline, and today Thompson steelhead are classified a species of extreme conservation concern by the provincial government.
How the project helps steelhead conservation
In order to build understanding of the relationship between steelhead and forest management practices, the project will monitor water temperature in portions of the Thompson watershed, where steelhead spawn and rear. This will ultimately help identify areas of groundwater influence, allowing researchers to compare and contrast the relative need for different forest management retention practices around small, upper elevation streams. These findings will complement work underway in the Deadman and Nicola watershed. Outcomes will help forest managers adjust activities in locations that may provide the greatest aid to steelhead habitat, and to manage flows and temperatures for steelhead.
This work will also address climate change adaptation through the identification of habitat enhancement or restoration opportunities in small, lower-order, upper-elevation streams, which could improve habitat for fish and other aquatic life experiencing changes to water temperatures. These ecosystems now receive less precipitation as snow and more as rain, increasing the need for sustained water flows during longer lasting summer droughts.
SFI’s contribution
This project represents a continuation of SFI engagement in steelhead conservation, building on a past grant from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program in support of the Thompson Steelhead Working Group. This multi-governmental collaborative initiative formed in 2014 to bring together representatives of the Nlaka’pamux and Secwepemc First Nations, the Province of BC and the Government of Canada to develop a recovery and management plan for Thompson steelhead. The working group also hopes to gain wider community commitments for steelhead recovery, and to return wild steelhead populations to levels that produce sustainable ecological, social, and economic benefits for all.
How the project helps forest managers
The project will quantify the impact of SFI Program Participant activities relative to improving stream habitat and water quality by comparing water temperatures between areas of greater and less retention, and between areas with and without underground flows. The project will evaluate the hypothesis that more regular flows and cooler water temperatures may be expected in forests with a diversity of age classes, structure and, most importantly, retention around wetlands. Because steelhead are an indicator of the biodiversity values within a watershed, analysis of these metrics will help build understanding regarding the contribution of sustainable forest management to conserving species at risk.
Partners
This partnership includes academics, conservationists, researchers, Indigenous peoples and SFI Program Participants.
Project lead: Fraser Basin Council Society
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
West Fraser (SFI Program Participant)
British Columbia Timber Sales (SFI Program Participant)
Secwepemc Fisheries Commission
Simon Fraser University
BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
Related information
SFI Is Bringing Indigenous Peoples, Sport Fishing Enthusiasts and Forest Managers Together to Help Thompson Steelhead: The Thompson Steelhead Community Collaboration Initiative.
There’s something fishy going on in the Fraser Basin (TreeHugger article).
The Thompson Steelhead Working Group (TSWG).
About the Fraser Basin Council Society
The Fraser Basin Council is a charitable non-profit society that brings people together to advance sustainability in the Fraser Basin and across British Columbia. Established in 1997, the council is a collaboration of four orders of government (federal, provincial, local and First Nations), along with representatives from the private sector and civil society.
The council helps people learn about sustainability, resolve conflicts, and roll out partnership initiatives with a focus on climate change and air quality, watersheds and water resources, and local sustainability and resilience. It supports leaders in government, business and community organizations in finding collaborative solutions to tough issues and promising opportunities.
FUNDY MODEL FOREST
Hayward Brook Watershed Study – Acadian Forests 20 Years Later
Project Overview
Fundy Model Forest will receive $42,015 over two years from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to extend long-standing research exploring the effects of timber harvesting on forest biodiversity. This study provides a unique opportunity to study impacts 20 years post-harvest at a site where initial biodiversity studies were started in 1992. Using established research techniques, this project will revisit original study sites and plots to re-measure indicators related to water quality, fish, plants and birds to determine the extent to which initial disturbances have recovered or changed over time. Findings will provide data and recommendations for future forest practices, informing forest management applications on a broad range of sites. The project supports several elements of the SFI certification standard, including goals related to continual improvement, forest research, conservation of biological diversity, water quality, and wildlife habitat.
Project Partners
Fundy Model Forest will partner with a variety of academic partners and SFI Program Participants including the University of New Brunswick Saint John, the University of Moncton, and JD Irving Ltd.
Project Resources
About Fundy Model Forest
The Fundy Model Forest is engaged in advancing sustainable forests and sustainable communities. Working with partnerships, projects are underway to promote non-traditional forest products, to assist community planning, and to evaluate the potential of wood biomass, and to support outdoor education and habitate stewardship programs.
GREENBLUE
Addressing Brand Owner Sustainability Goals Through the Responsible Sourcing of Forest Products
The Marketplace Sustainability Goals Program
Why This Project Matters
This project will increase awareness in the North American marketplace about responsible forest management and how the responsible sourcing of forest products serves to meet sustainability goals shared by brand owners and civil society. At its core, the project is all about conveying the idea that using products from well-managed forests is good for forests for two main reasons. Firstly, choosing forest products is a way to embrace the positive environmental, social and economic benefits that we all enjoy from well-managed forests. Secondly, valuing forests for the environmentally friendly products they can produce helps to keep them as forests, because forest owners see this value and are less likely to develop their land for other uses like urban development.
How the Project Helps Brand Owners and the Public Meet Sustainability Goals
The first phase of this three-part project will be to familiarize brands with the real story behind well‑managed forests and how sustainability and conservation outcomes are measured. The second phase will link the sourcing of material from responsibly managed forests to specific conservation values such as climate change mitigation, water quality and biodiversity. The final phase will help companies which use forest products to make the connection between these products and their corporate sustainability goals. An important goal of the project will be to educate companies regarding the direct association of their packaging and products with forests, and the environmental values that we all care about.
GreenBlue will develop a communications campaign supported by webinars, printed brochures, and presentations designed to educate brands about:
- how forestry works in North America
- the benefits of responsible forestry
- how brands can translate these benefits to tell their own sustainability stories
Brand owners can then incorporate these sustainability attributes into messaging and consumer outreach, to help their customers gain understanding of the values built into sustainable packaging and other forest products.
SFI’s contribution
An SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant is supporting this effort, enabling GreenBlue to partner with Sappi North America. Sappi is an SFI Program Participant that is a global provider of wood fiber products from responsible sources. Sappi is keenly aware of brand owner objectives related to sustainability. GreenBlue will endeavor to directly engage one or more leading brand owners in communications around this project.
How the project helps forest managers
As this project reaches a growing number of brand owners and helps them understand the benefits of sourcing from well‑managed forests, it will potentially expand awareness of and support for responsible forest products. As brand owners make informed choices around responsible sourcing and the use of certification standards and labeling, forest managers will increasingly be understood as being part of the solution to challenges related to water quality, biodiversity and carbon storage.
Partners
This partnership will increase awareness in the North American marketplace about responsible forest management and how the responsible sourcing of forest products can meet sustainability goals.
- Project lead: GreenBlue Institute
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Sappi North America (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
- Watch a presentation to the SFI community from Nina Goodrich, the Executive Director of GreenBlue, about Shaping the Business of Sustainability.
- Visit the GreenBlue website and learn about the work of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.
- Visit the Sappi website and learn how Sappi is working with woodland owners to manage their forests.
About GreenBlue
GreenBlue is an environmental nonprofit dedicated to the sustainable use of materials in society. We bring together a diversity of stakeholders to encourage innovation and best practices to promote the creation of a more sustainable materials economy.
HEILTSUK FIRST NATION
Heiltsuk Culturally Modified Tree Database and Management System
Project Description
Heiltsuk First Nation will receive $66,000 over two years to develop a database process for recording, tracking, managing cultural resources. Specifically this project will utilize spatial analysis in GIS to improve understanding of location and importance of culturally-modified trees distributed throughout Heilstuk Traditional Territory.
Historically, First Nations people would mark or alter trees in the forest by activities such as peeling bark to make cedar hats, or by carving to build canoes or totem poles. These features are all known as Culturally Modified Trees (CMT). The SFI standard and provincial legislation protect these resources. A common understanding and recognition of these resources will help the First Nations people work with industry, government and others to conserve these features. This proposal will enable the Heiltsuk to manage these resources in a modern setting, utilizing modern database tools and building upon existing data while improving access and use of the information within the community and for forest management activities. The project supports several elements of the SFI Forest Certification standard, especially those related to Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value, support of training for forest professionals, and managing lands that are ecologically, geographically, or culturally important in a manner that takes into account their unique qualities.
Project Partners
The Heiltsuk First Nation will partner with International Forest Products Ltd., as well as Ministry of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations- North Island- Central Coast District.
Project Resources
About Heiltsuk First Nation
The Heiltsuk First Nation live in the island village of Bella Bella in British Columbia, Canada. Its strategic location on the Inside Passage makes it the major transportation hub fo rthe Central Coast of BC. Archaeological sites have determined that the Heiltsuk-speaking people have inhabited this area for at least 9,000 years. The Heiltsuk were largely dependent on resources found in the ocean and had well-developed methods of hunting, fishing, gathering and trading. Tree use was a major component of virtually every aspect of traditional aboriginal life in Coast British Columbia, where more than a dozen species of tree were used in daily life.
KEEPING MAINE’S FORESTS
Preparing for the Carbon Market in Forests Certified to the SFI Standard
Project Overview
Growing concerns about climate change have highlighted the role of forests in the carbon cycle, and created opportunity for engagement in carbon credit markets. Recent studies have found that forests globally offset up to 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions and that improved forest management may increase the carbon sequestration potential of forests. To further understanding of this potential, Keeping Maine’s Forests (KMF) will receive $20,000 over a two year period to investigate how carbon credit programs might better account for the carbon sequestration inherent in sustainably managed forests.
KMF will study current carbon credit programs to determine the degree to which forests managed to the SFI Program Standards meet their criteria, and develop recommendations to carbon credit programs to improve alignment. KMF will also illustrate the unique role of large contiguous forested areas in contributing to carbon sequestration while examining the value SFI certification adds in comparison to other forests. KMF and partners will publish a report on their findings and conduct outreach to encourage carbon market policy makers to augment the incentives of SFI certification, and reward current SFI participants for practices that contribute to carbon sequestration.
This project will help meet SFI Program Participants’ objective to understand the role of well-managed forests in mitigating and improving resiliency to climate change. It will also support SFI Program Participants in their efforts to monitor the relationship between regional climate models and resiliency of their own well-managed forests.
Project Partners
Keeping Maine’s Forests and its administrative agent, the Maine TREE Foundation, will partner with the Maine SFI Implementation Committee, Appalachian Mountain Club, and SFI Program Participant Plum Creek Timber.
About Keeping Maine’s Forests
KMF is a proactive partnership of nearly 30 members from diverse backgrounds who believe that a healthy forest economy and a healthy ecosystem go hand in hand. Since 2010, KMF has worked to maintain a stable or increasing flow of wood fiber; promote healthy, sustainably managed forests; safeguard important natural resources, particularly water; conserve and enhance key fish and wildlife habitats; provide abundant recreational opportunities; and sustain local economies.
The Maine TREE Foundation was founded in 1989 to provide Maine people with good, accurate information about the forest resource. The Maine TREE Foundation educates and advocates for the sustainable use of the forest and the ecological, economic, and social health of Maine ’s forest community.
MANOMET
SFI Is Helping to Develop Forest Management Tools to Mitigate Climate Change
The Forest Climate Resiliency Project
Why This Project Matters
Managed forests have a major role to play in creating a planet that is resilient to a changing climate. Forests absorb about one-third of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, accounting for as much as 45% of the carbon stored on land, and providing the principal means for mitigating the effect of greenhouse gases. This project will develop and test a scalable approach for assessing forest resilience to climate change, demonstrating the adaptation and mitigation value of well managed forests.
How the Project Helps Address Climate Change
The project will provide SFI Program Participants and others with a simple approach to establishing baseline conditions, assessing overall resilience of forests to a changing climate, and monitoring the effects of a changing climate over time. These steps will enable forest managers to include climate change mitigation in forest planning and management. As our climate changes, actively managed forests provide an extraordinary mechanism for humans to assist ecosystem adaptation to climate change by planting trees that will thrive in these shifting conditions. In addition to maintaining ecosystem health, vigorously growing forests act more effectively as a carbon sink to help mitigate rising CO2 levels.
SFI’s contribution
An SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant is supporting climate change research in partnership with scientists from Manomet, a leading conservation organization. Manomet, in turn, is partnering with the Maine SFI Implementation Committee, as well as SFI Program Participants Resource Management Service, LLC, Hancock Timber Resource Group, and Lyme Timber Company. These landowners will provide in-kind support to establish study sites on their lands in the U.S. Northeast. They will also assist in gathering climate and forest trend data.
These results will be compared to regional data sources such as USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Landsat, and where available, LIDAR data. The status and trends observed on the SFI sites will be established through existing forest monitoring data and new information collected by Manomet in conjunction with forest managers.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
Climate change has the potential to diminish forest ecosystem services and productivity. This project will establish a clear link between sustainable management under SFI, and the resiliency of forests to climate change. Collaboration between SFI Program Participants, through leadership by Manomet, provides a path forward in the pursuit of adaptation and resiliency. This project will also provide communication opportunities to help forest managers build understanding of adaptation techniques that improve forest health and resiliency.
Manomet will produce a scalable framework that assesses forest resilience using forest health and productivity metrics. This framework will also facilitate measurement against baseline conditions to assess contributions of SFI certified forestlands. Benefits of this approach include the ability to:
- quantify the characteristics of lands certified to SFI that confer climate resilience
- highlight where these certified lands illustrate high levels of performance in ensuring ecosystem resiliency
- provide management insight through enhanced understanding of the changing context of regional climate and forest trends
- facilitate climate awareness and proactive responses on the part of the SFI community
Partners
This partnership includes conservation NGO’s and industry to assure forest health in the face of climate change. These partners include:
- Project lead: Manomet
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Hancock Timber Resource Group (SFI Program Participant)
- Lyme Timber Company (SFI Program Participant)
- Maine SFI Implementation Committee
- Resource Management Service, LLC (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
- At COP21 in Paris, international governments recognized and acknowledged the key role that resilient forests play in mitigating climate change.
About Project Manomet
Manomet is a leader in the path to sustainability—and we’re working with people in four major life-supporting systems: natural, forest, food, and economic. How we manage the critical systems that support life on earth will need to be transformed in the next two decades.
We focus our work on the parts of the system where we can have measurable impact and opportunity for scale. Manomet makes it possible for the people who manage these systems to change them.
THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE
The Land Trust for Tennessee, The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, The Wildlands Network: Sustainable Forest Management and Protection of Special Sites for Southeastern Forests Through Conservation Easements
Project Overview
Beginning in 2011, The Land Trust for Tennessee, The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, and The Wildlands Network received a total of $65,000 over two years to engage southeastern forest owners and SFI program participants in exploring forest conservation easements on special sites and to provide technical assistance to landowners who are considering donating or selling easements.
Land Trust for Tennessee
Through this grant The Land Trust for Tennessee partnered with SFI and Louisiana-Pacific Corporation to successfully implement forest management planning workshops for landowners of working forest conservation easement properties. Additionally, over the past two years, The Land Trust for Tennessee and its partners, including the Tennessee Division of Forestry and the University of Tennessee Forestry Extension, have completed twelve working forest conservation easements. The easements protect over 26,400 acres of land from development while allowing for timber harvesting in accordance with approved forest management plans that emphases sustainable forestry practices.
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust
SFI’s grant to The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust promoted the conservation of ecologically important forest and aquatic habitats through The Cape Fear Arch Conservation Collaboration. The Trust partnered with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the North Carolina chapter of the Nature Conservancy to conduct community education, outreach workshops, training, and technical assistance focused on utilizing conservation easements to protect vulnerable forests.
Wildlands Network
The Wildlands Network employed grant funds to produce a report on the benefits of working forest conservation easements for corporate landowners. It was especially targeted at the newer owners of large tracts of forestlands such as Timberland Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real estate Investment Trusts (REITs), with an emphasis on southern U.S. forests. Key findings of the report include that working forest easements provide a critical early source of return on new property acquisitions, can substantially reduce property tax bills, and provide generous income tax credits while allowing opportunities to participate in current and emerging markets for ecosystem services such as carbon credits. The report also found that conservation easements and sustainable forest management generate public goodwill towards the company via positive media attention and can boost employee morale.
View the Wildland Network’s Report: The Business Rationale Behind Forest Conservation Easements.
Supporting the SFI Standard
These activities support SFI principles related to sustainable forestry (Principle 1); Protection of Water Resources (Principle 3); Protection of Biological Diversity (Principle 4); Aesthetics and Recreation (Principle 5). It also supports SFI Standard Objective 4: Conservation of Biological Diversity including Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value; Objective 6: Protection of Special Sites; Objective 8: Landowner Outreach; Objective 11: Promote Conservation of Biological Diversity, Biodiversity Hotspots and High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas; Objective 16: Training and Education; and Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry.
Project Partners
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation; Resource Management Service LLC; North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission; The Nature Conservancy – North Carolina Chapter.
News
Land Trust Shares Grant to Preserve Forest Sites
The Tennessean June 3, 2011
SFI Conservation Grant Promotes Conservation Easements in Southeast U.S.
Press Release – May 31, 2011
About The Land Trust of Tennessee
The Land Trust of Tennessee is a private non-profit organization that works to protect the unique character of Tennessee’s natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations. Since 1999, they have worked with private landowners to protect nearly 60,000 of land throughout Tennessee. Conservation easements are their primary tool for the permanent protection of working lands, natural resources, wildlife habitat, recreational lands and open space.
About North Carolina Coastal Land Trust
The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust was formed in 1992 to enrich the coastal plain communities of the state through conservation of natural areas and working landscapes, education and the promotion of good land stewardship. Since its inception, the Coastal Land Trust has protected over 47,000 acres/19,000 hectares of barrier island beaches, riparian corridors, and other special natural areas.
About Wildlands Network
Wildlands Network is restoring, protecting and connecting the best wild places throughout North America because people need nature, and nature needs space to survive. It is connecting the biggest parks and healthiest conservation lands to create Wildways© landscapes that are large enough to sustain wildlife for the long-term.
LAVAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FORESTRY, GEOGRAPHY AND GEOMATICS
First Nations and Quebec Forest Sector Collaborate for the Future of Aboriginal Forestry
Project Overview
Cliquez ici pour la version française.
Many aboriginal peoples manage vast areas of forests for cultural enrichment, economic benefit, and a variety of values and benefits, often despite resource and workforce constraints. To facilitate an increasingly robust aboriginal forestry community, Laval University Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics (FFGG) will receive $75,000 over three years to investigate the profile of forestry employment, and build understanding of barriers to employment in the Lac St. Jean and North Shore regions of Quebec. The project will examine how sustainable forest management, particularly in accordance with the SFI Forest Management Standards, can enhance aboriginal participation in the forest sector.
Forestry employment is a key opportunity for aboriginal youth but the obstacles to their engagement in the industry are poorly understood. This knowledge is essential to identifying and implementing strategies to motivate young aboriginals in capitalizing on forest industry opportunities as well as helping them remain active in the workforce over time. The project lead, Dr. Beaudoin, Leadership Chair in Aboriginal Forestry Education, will promote this work throughout the region through various workshops, presentations, and reports.
Project Partners
For this project Laval University Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics will partner with SFI Program Participants, Resolute Forest Products, all members of the Quebec Forest Industry Council, including other SFI Program participants, and Mashteuiatsh Nation, Pessamit Nation.
About Université Laval – Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics
The University of Laval’s Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics is the largest in Canada, with research centres and networks covering many fields, from knowledge of the land and the social aspects of land use to the use of its resources (wood, non-wood, wildlife, etc.). The Faculty also boasts its own 6,600 hectare teaching and research forest: Montmorency Forest. A vast open-air lab for professors and students, it also serves as a meteorological station.
THE LONGLEAF ALLIANCE
Development of a Tool for Restoration of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
Project Description
The Longleaf Alliance will receive $12,300 from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program in 2014 to produce a document clarifying the role of sustainable forestry and commercial markets in contributing to the restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem. Produced in concert with a diverse group of foresters, biologists and researchers, the document will help promote longleaf conservation, sustain markets, and provide communications tools to SFI Program Participants and the conservation community who are already firmly in support of restoration efforts.
Though vastly diminished from its original range, longleaf restoration is an emerging success story, and a rallying point for a tremendous array of partners from across the conservation and forestry communities. The 2013 Rangewide Accomplishment Report for Longleaf Pine cited 1.38 million acres of restoration in 2013. This project brings together diverse partners from the Non-profit community and SFI Program Participant ranks to develop information to be used to help respond to concerns from European buyers over the use of Longleaf material in certified products, and to clarify the role of healthy markets in motivating restoration. This project directly addresses the intersection between SFI-managed forests and restoration of a highly-visible and vastly diminished ecosystem, and speaks to the SFI program standard in the areas of community involvement and conservation of biological diversity.
Project Partners
The Longleaf Alliance is itself an organization representing a broad range of support and partnership, and will also partner with Resource Management Service, LLC, Forest Investment Associates, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI), and International Paper.
Project Resources
About The Longleaf Alliance
The Longleaf Alliance (LLA) was established in 1995 when it became apparent that the interest in the longleaf ecosystem and the tree itself was growing rapidly, but there wasn’t an outlet available for ecologists, foresters, wildlife biologists, land owners and land managers seeking information or a means to distribute information they did know. A growing body of anecdotal information, personal experience, and scientific data was being passed on fitfully, and many groups were not being reached. The LLA was therefore created with the express purpose of coordinating a partnership between private landowners, forest industries, state and federal agencies, conservation groups, researchers, and other enthusiasts interested in managing and restoring longleaf pine forests for their ecological and economic benefits.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE FORESTERS
State by State Water Quality Best Management Practices Analysis
Project Overview
The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) will receive a total of $40,000 over two years, beginning in 2012, to survey and report on the development and implementation of best management practices related to water quality in all U.S. states and territories. The work will inform SFI standards, and result in a database land managers can use to assess the level of best management practices implementation in their state.
Supporting the SFI Standard
Principle 3 of the SFI 2010-2014 Standard is: “To protect water bodies and riparian zones, and to conform with best management practices to protect water quality.” The project will support this principle as well as Objective 3: Protection and Maintenance of Water Resources and Objective 10: Adherence to Best Management Practices. It will provide program participants with current information about state-developed best management practices, how they are administered, and potential gaps in compliance, as well as supporting future SFI Standard revisions.
Project Partners
In addition to the NASF, the U.S. Forest Service is also involved in the project.
Project Details
The project will update an assessment of best management practices development and implementation in each state and territory, last conducted by the NASF in 2004. It will highlight strengths and weaknesses, as well as funding and policy implications. The results can be used to promote continuous improvement in the protection and enhancement of water resources in the United States. A comprehensive literature review will also be prepared that documents the state of knowledge about the effectiveness of best management practices.
The data will be analyzed and the results published in peer-reviewed outlets. A searchable database will give SFI program participants ready access to each state’s published best management practices documents, compliance rates, agency authorities, regulatory requirements and effectiveness studies. This will allow them to identify and address potential gaps in best management practices compliance, and will inform future SFI Standard revisions.
News
State Foresters Receive SFI Grant to Measure Water Quality Successes
News Release – July 11, 2012.
Project Resources
About the National Association of State Foresters
The National Association of State Foresters is a non-profit organization made up of the directors of forestry agencies in the states, territories and the District of Columbia of the United States. The association seeks to discuss, develop, sponsor and promote programs and activities which will advance the practice of sustainable forestry, the conservation and protection of forest lands and associated resources and the establishment and protection of forests in the urban environment.
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR AIR AND STREAM IMPROVEMENT
Piloting a Habitat-Based Approach to At-risk Biodiversity Conservation on SFI-Certified Lands
Project Overview
In 2010 the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) received $20,000 to develop and test a habitat-based approach to protecting imperiled species and communities in the Southeast, Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions. In each area a regional list of imperiled species was developed and a relational database was created to support a habitat-based approach to managing and protecting these species. This project is significant as documentation of relationships between at-risk species with broad habitat types will allow SFI participants to focus their conservation efforts in managing for threatened biodiversity.Optimizing forest management for biodiversity across large scale landscapes presents the challenge of understanding baseline conditions across large and often remote areas. To pave a better way forward, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) will receive $67,320 over three years to assess biodiversity values on SFI certified lands using LiDAR. LiDAR is a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light.
View NCASI’s Final Report here.
Supporting the SFI Standard
This project supports a number of indicators in the SFI 2010-2014 Standard, related to critically imperiled and imperiled species, Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value and support of training for forest professionals and outreach for forest landowners. They include Objective 8: “To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by forest landowners through fiber sourcing programs,” and Indicator 4.1.3: “Program to locate and protect known sites associated with viable occurrences of critically imperiled and imperiled species and communities also known as Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value.”
Project Partners
Partners included NatureServe and SFI program participant Weyerhaeuser.
Project Resources
Habitat Relationships Database Pilot
Supporting a Habitat-Based Approach to Conservation of At-Risk Biodiversity on SFI Certified Lands
About NCASI
The National Council for Air and Stream Improvement is a non-profit organization that serves the forest products industry by providing technical information and scientific research needed to achieve the industry’s environmental goals and principles.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Engaging Youth in Forest Restoration
Project Overview
Along the borderlands of Georgia and Florida, one of the largest contiguous forested areas in the southeastern United States, dry conditions and increased woody debris have resulted in frequent catastrophic wildfires. This critical threat to the local community has led to strong collaboration between public and private land managers. To facilitate wildfire protection, restore native ecosystems, and address related social needs of the region, SFI will provide the Nature Conservancy (TNC) a grant of $56,000 over a two year period.
TNC’s work will address three critical issues. Through a partnership with Job Corps, TNC will provide training to underserved youth, increasing the availability of forestry technicians within the region. These boots on the ground will facilitate application of prescribed fire, increasing landscape resilience, improve habitat and ultimately protect forests. Additionally, TNC will work with the Greater Okefenokee Association of Landowners to engage private and family forest owners in proactive management of target priority fire hazard areas. This project aligns strongly with SFI’s mission to connect communities to forests while educating the next generation of leaders. It also supports SFI’s goals to enhance and restore forests of high conservation value.
Project Partners
The Nature Conservancy will partner with Job Corps, the U.S. Forest Service, The Langdale Company, and SFI Program Participant Rayonier. Additional funding support will be provided by the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a big organization with a big vision. We work in the most critical places so that we can have a lasting impact. Nowhere is that more true than right here in Georgia. For decades, committed supporters like you have helped us protect more than 328,000 acres, safeguard the rivers that traverse our state and care for our envied coast.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER
Private Landowner Outreach in the Cape Fear Arch – Sustaining Working Forests
Project Description
In 2014, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Chapter was awarded $27,000 to conduct private landowner outreach within the Cape Fear Arch. The Cape Fear Arch is part of a larger landscape identified mutually by a number of agencies and NGOs as a significant landscape for longleaf conservation and restoration. By focusing on priority conservation areas, this project created a clear scientific link between ecologically significant features and landowner outreach, while building upon a 2013 SFI grant to American Forest Foundation which developed new methods for engaging landowners.
This project provided expert support for landowners in forest management and longleaf restoration through forest certification under the American Tree Farm System or SFI, drafting forest management plans, and developing working forest conservation easements. The project addressed a number of elements within the SFI Standard, including broadening the practice of sustainable forestry, managing lands that are ecologically, geographically, or culturally important in a manner that takes into account their unique qualities, and conservation of biological diversity.
Project Partners
For this grant the Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Chapter partnered National Wild Turkey Federation and Resource Management Service, LLC.
Project Resources
About The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina
The Nature Conservancy protects nature, for people today and future generations — they conserve the lands and the waters on which all life depends. They pursue non-confrontational, pragmatic, market-based solutions to conservation challenges. This makes it essential for them to work collaboratively with partners: with communities, companies, government agencies, multilateral institutions, individuals and other non-profit organizations around the globe.
THE NATURE TRUST OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Conservation of Biological Diversity in British Columbia’s Interior Forests through Invasive Plant Management
Project Overview
The Nature Trust of British Columbia will receive a total of $50,000 over three years, beginning in 2011, to find the most effective way to reduce the spread of invasive plants in vulnerable ecosystems in British Columbia’s southern interior.
Supporting the SFI Standard
The project will support the following objectives of the SFI 2010-2014 Standard: Objective 4, Conservation of Biological Diversity including Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value; Objective 2, Forest Productivity; Objective 8: Landowner Outreach; Objective 16: Training and Education; Objective 17: Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry.
Project Partners
The Nature Trust of British Columbia; Weyerhaeuser Co. Ltd.; South Okanagan-Similkameen Invasive Plant Society; British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Project Details
Alien invasive species such as tansy ragwort, sulphur cinquefoil, spotted knapweed and the hawkweed complex are a significant threat to biodiversity in British Columbia, especially in the province’s interior grasslands and dry forests. They can affect the survival and growth of planted conifers; accelerate soil erosion and stream sedimentation; consume critical water resources and negatively impact water quality; increase the wildfire hazard; interfere with regeneration of forests; and destroy or otherwise alter critical natural habitats required by species at risk or other high valued wildlife.
More than 200,000 hectares/500,000 acres of publicly owned grassland and open forest in British Columbia have been infested with 56 different invasive plants and noxious weed species. The project will identify and map priority locations, then test grass seed mixes and management techniques to learn how best to reduce invasive plants to a level where they are no longer an environmental threat.”
It will take place on about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of SFI-certified forested lands managed by Weyerhaeuser in south-central British Columbia. The operating area includes important wintering grounds for ungulates such as elk and mountain goats; fish-sensitive and community watersheds; and habitat for seven federally-listed species at risk – all of which are potentially at risk of impact from invasive species.
Latest News
SFI Conservation Grant Helps The Nature Trust of BC Protect Unique Ecosystems
May 24, 2011
Project Resources
About Nature Trust of BC
The Nature Trust of British Columbia is a leading non-profit land conservation organization dedicated to protecting BC’s natural diversity of plants and animals through the acquisition and conservation of critical habitats and other areas of ecological significance. Along with our partners, The Nature Trust has invested more than $71 million to secure over 61,000 hectares (150,000 acres) throughout British Columbia. The Nature Trust is a founding partner in the South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program, and has implemented a broad range of projects including land acquisitions, riparian fencing, and invasive plant management.
NATURESERVE
Quantifying Ecological Values Delivered by Forests Certified to SFI and SFI Fiber Sourcing
The Conservation Values of Forests Project
Why This Project Matters
More and more people want to know that the things they buy are sourced and manufactured in a responsible manner. To satisfy this growing demand, companies that can demonstrate and communicate that their products are responsibly sourced are in a stronger position.
In the forest products industry, well-managed forest ecosystems can claim impact on a wide range of important ecological values, including habitat for high priority species, such as endemic and at-risk plants and animals; unique or at-risk ecosystems; and intact forest landscapes, matrix-scale ecosystems and their associated ecosystem services, such as timber products, pollination, carbon sequestration, and freshwater provisions. But metrics to quantify and transparently demonstrate this are currently lacking. In response, NatureServe is developing metrics for quantifying the condition of species, ecosystems, landscapes, and ecological processes on forest lands certified to SFI in the U.S. Southeast.
How the project helps brand owners and consumers
The metrics being developed by NatureServe will help SFI to translate the conservation value of forests certified to SFI to brand owners seeking to communicate the positive qualities of their supply chain choices. This work will also provide credible, defensible assurances that customers are receiving the sustainability attributes they desire when buying forest products. It will also help build understanding about the relationship between these products and the forest values we all care about.
Through an inclusive process with diverse partners, NatureServe will develop and apply a set of metrics for rapidly assessing the relative condition and function of ecosystems, enabling consistent and objective evaluation of biodiversity attributes. The biodiversity metrics will incorporate critical ecosystem values such as:
- locations of imperiled species and ecosystems
- rarity-weighted species richness
- fire regime condition classifications
- landscape condition and habitat connectivity
By enabling measurement of biodiversity on forests managed to the SFI Standard, brand owners, consumers, and everyone interested in supply chain sustainability can gain a sense of the important role of forest management. With standards that ensure conservation attributes ranging from watershed conservation to rare species protection, forests certified to SFI effectively conserve habitat for North America’s most iconic species, from caribou and grizzly bears to gopher tortoises and monarch butterflies.
SFI’s contribution
An SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant is supporting NatureServe’s leadership of a diverse and highly qualified team in a pilot study to develop and apply quantifiable metrics of the biodiversity value of lands certified to SFI. NatureServe will partner with the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI), the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, the Maine Natural Areas Program, as well as SFI Program Participants Hancock Timber Resource Group, Resource Management Service, LLC, Rayonier, and Weyerhaeuser. Together, they will help to test biodiversity, ecosystem- and landscape-conservation metrics on open pine forest stands on forestlands certified to SFI.
At the stand scale, all four SFI project partners have agreed to share existing data on biodiversity and forest condition for the focal stands that will be collaboratively selected for the pilot metrics applications, ensuring our ability to develop metrics that are relevant, practical, and ultimately scalable to other forest ecosystem types. The involvement of NCASI and three Natural Heritage Program forest ecologists will further ensure the scientific credibility of the final metrics and their broad applicability beyond the pilot effort in Coastal Plain pine forests.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
This work will also help individual SFI Program Participants to better understand and manage forest lands in a way that ensures the conservation of biodiversity. The project will use an inclusive and iterative process to refine metrics for use in other forest ecosystems managed under SFI Standards. Ultimately, this work will contribute to SFI’s Conservation Impact Project, which will make the link between well-managed forests and the public benefits that each of us enjoy every day. Quantifying this link will give forest managers the hard data they need to make more fully informed management decisions, and it will provide brand owners and consumers with facts supporting forest sustainability.
Partners
This partnership of public agencies, conservationists and forest products companies will deliver scientifically credible metrics, which will be broadly applicable across North America’s forests.
- Project lead: NatureServe
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Florida Natural Areas Inventory
- Georgia Department of Natural Resources
- Hancock Timber Resource Group (SFI Program Participant)
- Maine Natural Areas Program
- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI)
- Rayonier (SFI Program Participant)
- Resource Management Service, LLC (SFI Program Participant)
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI Program Participant)
Related information
- An overview of the SFI Conservation Impact Project and how it focuses on carbon, water and biodiversity.
- A media release about the launch of the SFI Conservation Impact Project.
- NatureServe was a partner on a previous SFI-funded project — National Council for Air and Stream Improvement: Piloting a Habitat-Based Approach to At-risk Biodiversity Conservation on Lands Certified to SFI.
- NatureServe Canada and SFI partnered on informational webinars to enhance the level of knowledge about NatureServe and its role in the SFI Standard.
About NatureServe
The NatureServe Network empowers people to sustain biodiversity by making sure everyone has access to the knowledge they need to be better stewards of our shared lands and waters. We serve as an authoritative source of comprehensive, decision-quality biodiversity data.
We provide the scientific knowledge that supports informed decisions. Together, with our Network of over 80 programs, we collect decision-quality data about imperiled species and entire ecosystems, transform that data into knowledge products and visualizations, and provide meaning through expert analyses and support to guide decision-making, implement action, and enhance conservation outcomes.
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR AIR AND STREAM IMPROVEMENT
NCASI Canada: Managing Caribou Habitats Using New Science on Summer Nutrition in Forest Stands
Project Description
NCASI Canada will receive $95,000 over three years from the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to utilize new methods to assess the impacts of forest operations on caribou. Over 50% of caribou calves do not survive past the first 50 days of their lives, but the cause of this loss remains unknown. The NCASI team is working with top caribou researchers in Canada to investigate maternal nutrition as a possible mechanism in calf decline, and building on past work funded by SFI. This project will focus on maintaining diverse, sustainable habitat for caribou by evaluating importance of the summer nutritional forage base, and identifying attributes of habitats which influence nutrition of caribou. The project will also identify the influence of forest operations on nutritional value of plant communities, and develop methods to inventory nutritional resources. NCASI will distribute their findings throughout the forest industry to help managers conserve Caribou habitat on working lands. The project has relevance to a number of elements of the SFI Forest Management standard, including those related to wildlife habitat and maintaining biological diversity.
Project Partners
NCASI Canada will partner with University of Northern British Columbia and Canfor. This project will also receive additional support from The American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA), Forests Products Association of Canada (FPAC), Domtar Paper, LP Building Products, Resolute Forest Products, Tolko Industries, and Weyerhaeuser.
Project Resources
About University of Northern British Columbia
The National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) is an independent, non-profit research institute that focuses on environmental and sustainability topics relevant to forest management and the manufacture of forest products. NCASI’s mission is to undertake scientific studies that will enhance the technical understanding of environmental and sustainability issues associated with forest management practices and the use of wood-derived materials to manufacture forest products. An important part of NCASI’s mission is to characterize, and help improve, the effectiveness of pollution control measures employed by forest products manufacturing facilities.
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
Translating Bird Science into Forest Management Practice
Project Overview
In 2013, National Audubon Society was awarded $60,000 to increase accessibility of the latest bird science materials and conservation best management practices for forest managers in the Eastern United States. The project was a collaborative effort being conducted by six Audubon State programs with input and contributions from a wide range of experts and stakeholders, including SFI Program Participants. Following numerous workshops and field tours, Audubon published and distributed region-specific forest management recommendations, tailored to foresters and land managers, for the major forest types in the Atlantic Flyway. Audubon also conducted outreach workshops utilizing recommendations from key forest industry partners to train and promote best management practices in bird conservation.
This project supports several of SFI’s key objectives, including protection of critically imperiled species and forests with exceptional conservation value, as well training for forest professionals and forest landowners.
Project Partners
This project was a collaboration between six Audubon State Programs: Vermont, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Other Partners include Empire State Forest Products Association.
News
SFI and Audubon Team Up Bird Scientists with Forest Managers to Implement Conservation Programs
Press Release – June 18, 2013
Project Resources
About Audubon
Now in its second century, Audubon connects people with birds, nature and the environment that supports us all. Our national network of community-based nature centers, chapters, scientific, education, and advocacy programs engages millions of people from all walks of life in conservation action to protect and restore the natural world.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY CANADA
Bat Hibernacula Inventory and Protection in the Thompson, Okanagan, Boundary
Project Overview
Bats often go unseen, but they play a critical role in forest ecosystems by consuming enormous numbers of insects. When bats are disturbed by human activity during hibernation, they sometimes abandon their sites, causing them to use important energy reserves, and decreasing their chances of surviving the winter. Human access to bat hibernation sites may also spread pathogens such as white nose syndrome, a fungus that has caused massive mortality of bats across North America. That’s why in 2011, Nature Conservancy of Canada received a total of $50,000 over two years to protect bat populations in southern British Columbia. This project built on existing knowledge in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions and created an inventory of significant bat hibernation sites while assessing the actions needed to protect these sites from disturbance. Grant funds were also used to install two gates, allowing access by bats, but excluding human entry at a high priority hibernation cave. An interpretive sign explaining the importance of bat conservation was posted at one gated opening that was previously being used by recreationists.
The project supports Sustainable Forestry Initiative goals of protecting biological diversity and wildlife habitat as well as identifying special sites and managing them in a manner appropriate to their unique features.
Project Partners
For this grant, Nature Conservancy of Canada partnered with BC Bat, the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and SFI-certified International Forest Products Ltd.
News
Nature Conservancy of Canada and SFI Partner to Protect Bat Populations
Press Release – May 9, 2011
Project Resources
About Nature Conservancy Canada
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is Canada’s leading land conservation organization, working to protect valuable natural areas and the plants and animals they sustain. Since 1962, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and its partners have helped to protect more than 2 million acres/800,000 hectares coast to coast. Through strong partnerships, the Nature Conservancy of Canada works to safeguard natural areas so that our children and grandchildren will have the chance to enjoy them.
NATURE CONSERVANCY OF CANADA
SFI Is Helping Land Managers Conserve Vernal Pools, Important Habitats for Declining Populations of Amphibians
Investigating Biodiversity Impacts of Forest Management on Vernal Pools in the Kenauk Reserve, Nature Conservancy of Canada
Why this project matters
Amphibian populations have been declining worldwide for nearly two decades, and little is definitely known about why. But we do know that vernal pools — temporary water bodies that form in forests during periods of high precipitation or spring snow melt — provide important habitat for a variety of plant and wildlife species of concern, including frogs, salamanders and other amphibians. A key feature of vernal pools is the absence of fish, which means amphibians’ eggs don’t get eaten by them. Research on vernal pool habitats, on the Kenauk Nature property, will help forest managers identify and conserve these important sites.
How the project helps conserve biodiversity
DNA from water samples collected at 28 vernal pools will be extracted for sequencing. This will help identify specific species and the numbers of amphibians and other animals that rely on the vernal pools. For example, the spring salamander, a species of special concern under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, calls Kenauk home. Identifying where these salamanders are found will help land managers implement species-at-risk training for harvesting professionals as required by the SFI Forest Management Standard.
SFI’s contribution
An SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant is supporting research in these important ecosystems, in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Kenauk Canada. The Kenauk Nature property, which covers 65,000 acres/26,000 hectares, is an hour west of Montreal. This vast territory contains working forests certified to SFI, and Kenauk Canada is an SFI Program Participant. Kenauk is also a great example of how forests can provide multiple values focused simultaneously on conservation, recreation and economic productivity.
Support from SFI is facilitating cooperation between academic institutions, forest managers and conservation groups to determine what species live in the Kenauk vernal pools, and building understanding of the forest conditions that will help them survive. The project also creates an exceptional learning opportunity as these organizations share their findings publicly through workshops, reports and outreach to Kenauk’s many visitors.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers