SFI Recognizes Excellence

The Boy Scouts of America, The Lyme Timber Company, the Wildlife Management Institute and the Mississippi SFI Implementation Committee were honored at the 2011 conference for adding value to the SFI program in a variety of ways.

The Boy Scouts of America received the SFI President's award for promoting the value of sustainable forestry, including a Forestry merit badge and supporting forest certification – their Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico is certified to the SFI Standard; Boys' Life magazine is printed on SFI chain-of-custody certified paper; and they are using SFI-certified wood for facilities in West Virginia where the 2013 Scout Jamboree will be held.

In the official blog of Scouting magazine, Eagle Scout Bryan Wendell wrote: "Yep, we need our nation's forests. And the forests need us, too. So hat's off to us, the Boy Scouts of America, for helping protect this valuable national resource. We do that so well, in fact, that last month the Sustainable Forestry Initiative honored the BSA with its President's Award."

The Lyme Timber Company and Wildlife Management Institute received an SFI Conservation Leadership Award for Biodiversity Research for a project that is improving forest habitat for the American woodcock in northern New York State. As always, there are a lot of other partners involved – including New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; and Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Mississippi received the 13th Annual SFI Implementation Committee Achievement Award for meeting a broad range of criteria – including leadership, logger education, landowner outreach and education, SFI program integrity, and SFI program growth.