The Results Are In: SAF Members Vote “Yes” on Bylaws Amendment

June 29, 2023
 
SAF voting members have approved amending the SAF bylaws to clarify SAF member eligibility and reflect a new membership structure. The new structure provides long-needed clarity, and more importantly, allows for greater inclusion in the forestry profession and engagement in SAF. The updated bylaws are available on our Organizational Transparency webpage.

Under the restructuring amendment:

Full Members and Premium Members are graduates of an SAF-accredited program/curriculum
OR scientists or practitioners who hold an associate’s or higher degree in forestry, forest technology, or natural resources.

SAF Golden Members are individuals who have been dues-paying members of SAF for 50 or more years.

Retired Members are former Full or Premium members who are 65 years of age or older and no longer working full time within forestry or natural resources.*

Transitional Members are within five years of graduating with a degree in forestry, forest technology, or natural resources.

Student Members are full-time undergraduate or graduate students in forestry, forest technology, or natural resources.

Affiliate Members are supporters of, and/or are interested in, the fields of forestry or natural resources management, but do not hold the educational qualifications required by other SAF membership types.

International Members are individuals who reside outside of the US and work within the fields of forestry or natural resources management.

*Please contact [email protected] if you’d like to become a retired member of SAF.

One of SAF’s core goals is to challenge landowners, decision makers, and society at large to make choices about our forests based on professional knowledge and leading-edge thinking. How we accomplish that goal depends on our ability to communicate and influence as an organization. 

By expanding membership opportunities and growing SAF’s communities nationally and locally, the Society’s reach and influence expands, too. SAF is now in a better position to provide the resources, conduct the advocacy efforts, and uphold the professional standards that are so critical to the advancement of sustainable forestry and the forestry profession.

What’s next?

The new bylaws and membership structure will be fully implemented by January 1, 2024, with dues notices sent on October 1, 2023.

Members who joined prior to 2017 may be enrolled in membership types that will be consolidated or otherwise modified by the restructuring. In these instances, affected members will be sent renewal invoices that indicate their membership type and give options to update their membership type as desired.

More information about the SAF membership restructuring, including relevant considerations for state society leadership, will be available later this summer. 

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