SAF Approves New National Position Statement: Sustainability of American Forests 

May 10, 2022

SAF’s Board of Directors recently approved a new national position statement titled “Sustainability of American Forests,” which was developed by SAF’s Committee on Forest Policy. Sustainability has a distinctive role in SAF’s Code of Ethics, Vision Statement, and other organizational writings and commitments. This position statement promotes sustainable forest management, positions America’s sustainability journey and current performance in a global context, and leverages credible processes and tools for achieving and assessing sustainable forest management across the scale and diversity of forests in the United States.

Achieving sustainability on our nation’s forest requires a balanced approach rooted in the best available science that is inclusive of ecological, economic, and social objectives. Sustainable forest management needs to factor in short- and long-term objectives that address the needs of current and future generations of landowners and land managers, as well as the needs of society as a whole. Planning, management, and harvesting decisions need to consider environmental, economic, and social values, incorporate best-available science, and apply commonly accepted best management practices (BMPs), all while addressing existing operational constraints. Ultimately, sustainable forest management provides for the sustained production of forest-based products and services, which supports continued conservation and investment in those forests over the long term.

Importantly, consumers and stakeholders are demanding credible sources of information. As the organization representing professional forestry, SAF is well positioned and committed to working with others to address the many interconnected challenges associated with forest management and ensuring the continued health, integrity, and use of forests to benefit society in perpetuity.

The following is an excerpt from the position statement that outlines SAF’s position on sustainability:

The Society of American Foresters (SAF) supports and promotes sustainable forest management, for both consumptive and non-consumptive objectives, with forest landowners, land managers, and the forest products industry as partners in conservation and sustainability. SAF helped establish a strongly engrained culture of conservation within the United States and has nurtured the sustainability journey of American forests. Sustainability has a distinctive position in SAF’s Code of Ethics, Vision Statement, and other organizational writings and commitments. SAF recommends that sustainability goals factor in short- and long-term objectives that address the needs of current and future generations of landowners, land managers, and society. Sustainability is achieved via a balanced approach to forest management, at both the stand- and landscape scales, recognizing that not every forested acre can simultaneously meet every objective.

Planning, management, and harvesting decisions need to consider environmental, economic, and social values, incorporate best available science, and apply commonly accepted best management practices (BMPs) while also addressing existing operational constraints. Sustainable forest management provides for the sustained production of forest-based products and services, which supports continued conservation and investment in those forests over the long term. SAF works to raise awareness of the current threats to American forests created by evolving social, environmental, and economic forces. As the organization representing professional forestry, SAF is well positioned and committed to working with others to address these interconnected challenges and ensuring the continued health, integrity, and use of forests to benefit society in perpetuity.

We would like to thank Rebecca Barnard and Edie Sonne Hall and for their work as lead authors on this article as well as contributions from the entire Committee on Forest Policy, the Forest Science & Technology Board, working group members, and the Board of Directors. If you’re interested in exploring more of SAF’s National Position Statements, click the link HERE.