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How can America have the wood and paper products it needs today while protecting the environment and ensuring that future generations have the same abundant resources?
The answer from America’s forest products industry is the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)® Program.
The
SFI® Program provides exacting environmental standards and
performance measures that integrate the protection of our environment
with the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees.
Sustainable forestry practices meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This includes practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates the reforestation, managing, growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water quality, wildlife and fish habitat, special areas, and aesthetics.
The SFI Program was created in 1994 by the forest products industry, conservation
organizations, landowners, loggers, academia and other stakeholders. Since
that time, hundreds of companies and others in the forest products industry
have implemented the SFI Program Standard on their own lands and on lands from
which they acquire timber.
An independent Sustainable Forestry Board monitors the effectiveness of
the SFI Program Standard and the Verification Procedures and monitors
and resolves
non-compliance issues. The SFI Program is also monitored by an independent
External Review Panel, comprised of representatives from the environmental,
professional, conservation, academic and public sectors. Failure to comply
with the SFI Program Standard results in expulsion from the program.
SFI
Program in Virginia
In Virginia, the SFI Program is managed by the Virginia SFI Implementation
Committee. The Virginia Forestry
Association serves as general Program Administrator.
In
Virginia, a primary focus of the SFI program has been on training loggers–the
people who actually do the harvesting–on the practices that protect
the quality of our environment, that promote forest regeneration and
that
enhance the safety of loggers and the public. Since 1996, more than 2,800
loggers, foresters and others from across the Commonwealth have completed
the SHARP Logger training
program and have been recognized as Sustainable Harvesting and Resource
Professionals.
While the forest products industry has a strong record of stewardship on its own lands, the SFI Program provides the public with a verifiable system for assuring that all harvesting by SFI Program participants meets rigorous standards for environmental protection and sustainable forestry practices.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)® , Sustainable Forestry Initiative® , and SFI® are service marks of the American Forest & Paper Association.
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© 2003 by the Virginia Forestry Association
Web site last updated: 11/18/03
Tracey S. Sherman
Virginia Tech
Department of Forestry
