NEWS RELEASES

RICHMOND, VA — The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced the 2019 winner of the SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award at the SFI Annual Conference today. The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee was selected for its leadership on logger training, water quality, and outreach to landowners, educators, and legislators.

“The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee is being recognized for the difference they are making on the ground to support sustainable forestry. They have collaborated with government partners to engage new and underserved landowners in an SFI-aligned technical assistance program, addressed workforce development needs in consultation with community colleges, industry, and universities, and helped Scouts earn their sustainability merit badge,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc.

More than 80 scouts earned their sustainability merit badge with the support of the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee, at the annual Northeast Georgia Council Boy Scouts of America Cherokee District’s Advance-A-Rama by presenting on sustainable forestry, certification, and giving green building walking tours.

The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee’s work in logger training is a testament to its leadership on critical issues like water quality. The workshops are effective—more than 90% of 270 participants from the last three years said they would apply knowledge gained from the workshop in their work operations. The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee’s leadership role was enhanced over the past three years with the implementation of new online training options for loggers, which the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee coordinated with Southern Regional Extension Forestry to adapt for logger education programs.

“Logger training is at the heart of our success in Georgia. This training reaches the independent contractors that are the key to the quality of forest harvesting operations and ensures they are well equipped to protect the environment,” said Steve Fowler, Chair of the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee. “We are proud to be recognized for our collaborative work to link sustainable forestry, community engagement, policy initiatives, and strategic outreach to legislators. These efforts, coupled with a suitable business climate, contribute to making Georgia the number one forestry state in the nation.”

The SFI Forest Management and SFI Fiber Sourcing Standards, and the logger training initiatives and collaborative efforts of the SFI Implementation Committees have also been nationally recognized for their contributions to water quality. A June 2016 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision on stormwater discharges from forest roads pointed to the positive contributions of SFI standards in improving state forestry best management practices (BMPs) for protecting water quality. By the end of 2018, more than 200,000 loggers and foresters had completed SFI-approved training programs.

Logger training in Georgia is delivered through the Georgia Master Timber Harvester program. It’s a voluntary logger education program offered by the Harley Langdale, Jr. Center for Forest Business at the University of Georgia and the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee in cooperation with the Georgia Forestry Association, Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Public Safety, and the Southeastern Wood Producers Association.

Dr. Puneet Dwivedi, Associate Professor, Sustainability Sciences, at the University of Georgia has quantified the impact of SFI’s Fiber Sourcing Standards in Georgia, which require logger training. Dwivedi demonstrated that BMPs for water quality are higher on harvested sites that are within the wood baskets of mills certified to the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard. This research has been shared with landowners, educators, legislators, and others to highlight the role of forest certification in forest sustainability.

The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee leadership shows how critical SFI Implementation Committees are to SFI’s success in advancing sustainability through forest-focused solutions. The network of SFI Implementation Committees demonstrates our shared commitment to logger training every day by driving important environmental outcomes across working forests.

About the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee

The Georgia SFI Implementation Committee has been working to make a positive difference in Georgia forests since 1995. In Georgia, SFI works behind the scenes supporting responsible forestry, wood procurement and harvesting. Through the Georgia Master Timber Harvester program, the Georgia SFI Implementation Committee and SFI‑certified organizations have helped train thousands of loggers and foresters; provided forestry information and support to family forest owners; applied SFI principles on millions of acres of SFI‑certified organization lands in Georgia; used responsible wood procurement practices that conform to the SFI Fiber Sourcing and SFI Forest Management Standards; and, provided assurance to customers and consumers that the forest and paper products they purchase are from sustainably managed forests. Learn more.

About the SFI Implementation Committee Award

This award recognizes the exceptional work of the grassroots network of 34 SFI Implementation Committees across the U.S. and Canada. SFI Implementation Committees promote SFI standards to broaden the practice of responsible forestry and achieve on-the-ground progress. Groups ranging from Habitat for Humanity and Boy Scouts to universities and the American Bird Conservancy work with SFI Implementation Committees.