State Foresters Receive SFI Grant to Measure Water Quality Successes
WASHINGTON, July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) will receive a grant from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) to promote continuous improvement in water quality protection and assess how well best management practices (BMPs) are protecting water resources in the United States.
"Thanks to SFI, as well as support from the U.S Forest Service, we will update our assessment of how states and territories are developing and implementing best management practices to safeguard lakes, rivers and watersheds," NASF President C. Randall (Randy) Dye said today. "This information will be used by land managers to assess and improve the protection and enhancement of water resources in their state."
The $40,000 USD grant is being awarded under the SFI® Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program.
"This project is exciting because it helps government agencies assess effectiveness of best management practices. This will ultimately support our shared objective for healthy water resources," SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow said today. "Implementation of science-based, best management practices to support water quality is a core component of the SFI Program and central to the work of SFI's grassroots network of 37 SFI Implementation Committees."
SFI Inc. created the Conservation & Community Partnerships Grant program in 2010 to foster partnerships between organizations interested in improving forest management in the United States and Canada, and promote responsible procurement globally. Through the involvement of partners, these research projects leverage additional resources, achieving a total investment of $4.8 million. The NASF project is one of five SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants to be awarded this year that will specifically support water resources.
This grant is especially timely given a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to review the NEDC v. Brown decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that ruled logging roads are "point sources" requiring a discharge permit under the Clean Water Act. Since the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has held that runoff from forestry activities, including forest roads, should be regulated through state BMPs rather than through federal permits. Congressional action preventing the decision from taking effect expires at the end of September.
The SFI program is the only forest certification standard in North America that requires participants to support and engage in research activities to improve forest health, productivity and sustainable management of forest resources. Since 1995, its program participants have contributed more than $1.3 billion for research activities, including forestry research, science and technology.
About SFI Inc. (www.sfiprogram.org)
SFI Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the internationally recognized Sustainable Forestry Initiative program. Across North America, more than 195 million acres/79 million hectares are certified to the SFI forest management standard, making it the largest single forest standard in the world.
About the National Association of State Foresters (www.stateforesters.org)
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.
SOURCE Sustainable Forestry Initiative
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