Jun. 08, 2015
HARRISBURG — Sponsored Rep Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest), a resolution designating June 5, 2015, as Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative Day unanimously passed the state House on Monday.
“It’s no secret that Pennsylvania’s wooded areas provide numerous economic and recreational benefits for all of our residents every day of the year,” said Rapp. “With the majority of the Allegheny National Forest located in my legislative district, I could not be more honored to successfully advance House
Resolution 375, which officially recognizes the more than two decades of accomplishments of the landmark Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative.”
Established in 1995 and currently administered by the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association, members of the Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) not only practice sustainable forestry on their own properties, but also offer training programs to educate both loggers and non-industrial landowners. More than 7,000 individuals have participated in the SFI logger training program during the past 20 years.
The benefits of the Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative training program were further recognized and bolstered when the PA Bureau of Forestry adopted a policy in 2007 that required all commercial timber harvesting activities on the state’s 2.2 million acres of forest lands be led by an SFI-trained logger. More recently, the Pennsylvania Game Commission also recognized the benefits of the SFI training program by encouraging its loggers to participate.
“The benchmark sustainable forestry achievements recognized through passage of House Resolution 375 go far beyond training, the implementation of best management practices and the borders of our Commonwealth,” said Rapp. “Just last month, citizens of all ages and backgrounds from across the United States and Canada came together to break the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in one hour by small teams. Organized in conjunction with the national Sustainable Forestry Initiative, more than 200,000 trees were planted simultaneously in 28 different communities. Representatives from the PA Bureau of Forestry and more than 100 other affiliated SFI groups made this effort a success in Pennsylvania by planting a total of 3,957 trees in Moshannon State Forest and 3,366 trees in Tuscarora State Forest.”
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Representative Kathy Rapp
65th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ty McCauslin
717.772.9979
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