Timberland Investment Resources Certify Over 600,000 Acres to SFI Standard

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, over 600,000 acres of timberland managed by Timberland Investment Resources, LLC (TIR) have been certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) standard.  TIR's investment footprint spans 14 states, with a significant presence in the southeastern U.S.  Their certification builds on the SFI Forest Partners® Program's previous successes in South Carolina and Florida, as well as the ongoing work with a wide range of medium-sized private and public landowners, and manufacturing facilities.  These certified lands, in addition to the over 500,000 acres recently announced by the St. Joe Company, put the SFI Forest Partners Program well on the road to achieving its 2014 milestone of certifying 5 million acres of forestland to the SFI standard.

In 2012, four market leaders – Time Inc., the National Geographic Society, Macmillan Publishers, Pearson – stepped forward and became SFI Founding Forest Partners, investing in the future of our forests by making five-year commitments to increase the amount of forestland and the number of small mills certified to the SFI standards beginning in the U.S. South.  Through the financial and in-kind support to assist with consulting services, workshops and coordination, the Program – which is also supported by Hearst Enterprises – works to involve more landowners, manufacturers, distributors, customers, conservation groups and government agencies across the supply-chain with the goal of certifying five million acres of forests to the SFI standard by the end of 2014 and ten million acres by the end of 2017. 

"At TIR we have a strong commitment to sustainable forest management. In addition to our scientifically-based forest practices we participate in other initiatives that reflect society's interest in the environmental, cultural, historical, aesthetic and broadly encompassing economic values of private forests," said Tom Johnson, Managing Director of Client Relations with TIR. "We're pleased to be able to contribute over 600,000 acres to the SFI Forest Partners Program goal of reaching 5 million acres by the end of 2014."

"This is an incredible achievement for the SFI Forest Partners Program and we couldn't be more delighted to include TIR among our SFI Certified Program Participants," said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. "TIR's forest management philosophy to maintain biodiversity and site productivity, while protecting forest values including water, soil and wildlife, is closely aligned with SFI's larger forestry and conservation objectives. Together we can ensure that future forests continue to be managed for all of the values that are important to our communities."

About Sustainable Forestry Initiative                            
SFI Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization that is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the internationally recognized Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) program. Across the United States and Canada, about 250 million acres certified to the SFI forest management standard. In addition, the SFI program's unique fiber sourcing requirements promote responsible forest management on all suppliers' lands. SFI chain-of-custody (COC) certification tracks the percentage of fiber from certified forests, certified sourcing and post-consumer recycled content. SFI on-product labels identify both certified sourcing and COC claims to help consumers make responsible purchasing decisions. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally. Learn more at www.sfiprogram.org and www.www.sfiprogram.org/Buy-SFI.

SOURCE Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.