SAF Announces New Professional Credentials

The Society of American Foresters (SAF) has announced two new professional credentials that will be offered beginning in 2023 and 2024 — an urban and community forestry certification and a certification for forest technicians.

The urban and community forestry certification is the result of SAF’s partnership with the California Urban Forests Council.

More than a decade ago, the partners developed a vision to help elevate professionals in the urban and community forestry space to the next level — providing options and opportunities to fulfill the needs of the diverse workforce operating in this sector.

SAF conducted research with SAF members, subject area specialists, and key partners and stakeholders. Through this research, SAF recognized the opportunity and need to offer a forest technician certification as well.

The Certification Review Board (CRB) — the governing body of SAF’s certification program — will oversee the development of these credentials from eligibility criteria to maintenance requirements to professional standards.

SAF will begin accepting applications for the urban and community forestry credential by the end of 2023 and for the forest technician credential by year-end 2024.

SAF values, recognizes, and will now elevate urban and community forestry professionals and professional forest technicians.

House of Carbon

The USDA reports that the lumber used in houses may be particularly important when it comes to storing carbon. According to a new Southern Research Station study, the wood used to build and maintain houses will continue to store large amounts of carbon for the next 50 years.

Even after the wood used in buildings reaches the end of its useful life and ends up in a landfill, it does not immediately release its carbon. It continues to store that carbon, retaining its storage capacity for several more decades.

With initial building and repairs combined, one average house can store nearly one hundred metric tons of carbon dioxide. In the U.S., where more than 90 percent of new single-family homes are built with wood, the stored carbon adds up quickly.

McMorris Rogers and Westerman Visit Northeast Washington

The AFRC reported that in late August, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) joined Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) in northeast Washington to tour two local mills and the A-Z Project on the Colville National Forest. Westerman, the only professional forester in the U.S. House, serves as the Ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee. McMorris Rodgers serves as the Ranking Republican on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Both could chair their respective committees if Republicans take control of the House following the mid-term elections in November.

New Western Region Manager for FRA

Lindsay Warness has joined the Forest Resources Association (FRA) as its new Western Region Manager, replacing Vickie Swanton.

Warness grew up with a forester father and has been in the woods all her life. As an adult, she discovered a passion for the timber industry as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with working in the natural resources industry.

Prior to working as the Division Safety, Environmental, and Forest Policy Manager for Woodgrain (aka the Agency Handler), Warness worked as a Forest Policy Analyst for Boise Cascade. During her time there, she helped develop multiple Northeast Oregon collaborative efforts to increase timber supply and maintain the infrastructure in the region. She was also involved at a regional and federal level with the Forest Service influencing policies to ensure proper, scientifically based management in national forests, contributing to economic benefits for the local communities.