A Busy Spring for the PA SFI Implementation Committee

Our spring logger trainings hosted nearly 550 participants at more than 30 courses across Pennsylvania. These trainings focused on chainsaw safety and felling, regulatory requirements, forest health, best management practices, GPS technology, timber cruising, equipment maintenance, wildlife, and sustainable harvesting practices. The SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) continues to recommend that landowners seek out SFI Qualified Logging Professionals with a current training status when conducting timber harvesting operations on their lands.

The SIC was a partner in organizing the 50th annual Logging and Sawmillers Safety Meeting. More than 200 loggers, foresters, and industry professionals gathered in Johnsonburg on April 4 for what is likely the oldest continually running logging safety event in the United States.

We were also proud to once again sponsor the annual Pennsylvania 4-H Wildlife & Forestry Educational Field Day near State College in April. This year's event had a record attendance, with more than 140 participants representing over 30 Pennsylvania counties. The day's activities included competitive knowledge and skills tests, with the top winners in Forest Science earning the opportunity to represent Pennsylvania at the 2018 National 4-H Forestry Invitational held July 29-August 2 at Jackson's Mill 4-H Center in Weston, WV, and the top winners in Wildlife Science earning the opportunity to represent Pennsylvania at the 2018 National Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Contest July 22-25 in Winter Harbor, ME.

In May, the SIC hosted a day-long forestry tour for a small team of folks from URBN Inc., an American multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia and owner of the brands Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain, and the Vetri Family. The team sources durable goods for inside the home and was interested in learning how responsible forestry could be tied to the wood products they source and manufacture for the company. During this engaging field experience, the participants learned all about forestry, SFI certification, and Pennsylvania's forest products industry. The program also included a tour of various management practices on portions of the 1,637-acre William H. Kain County Park in York County. John Strine, Vice President of Operations for York Water, discussed the history of the property and how sustainable forest management maintains a clean water supply for the residents of York.

The SIC also participated in Curwensville Area High School's annual Logs to Lumber event, where nearly 1,000 students from the school district learn about and celebrate occupations related to forestry, logging, and lumber. This was the 10th year for the event, which has grown from a small demonstration to the school's shop classes on how to mill logs using a portable sawmill into a large school-wide event today. In addition to the Pennsylvania SIC, this year's event included more than 80 sponsors.

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For more information about the Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee, visit our website, or call 888-734-9366.