SAF Pursues Dialogue With Sierra Club
The Sierra Club's 1996 Conservation Policy opposing all commercial logging on national forests and other federal public lands has attracted a lot of attention within SAF, originating from within the ranks of NorCal - but rising to national recognition as well. In an effort to stimulate dialogue between the two organizations, in June SAF Executive Vice President Bill Banzhaf sent a letter to Sierra Club CEO Carl Pope. The text of the letter follows.
June 28, 2002
Mr. Carl Pope
Chief Executive Officer
Sierra Club
85 Second St., Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3441
Dear Mr. Pope,
As you know, the Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization consisting of 17,500 members committed to the sustainable management and conservation of the nation's forests. Like the Sierra Club, we have a passion for forests and wildland ecosystems. SAF believes a consensus based forest policy is necessary, even as various stakeholders continue to vigorously debate important resource management issues. It is in this spirit that America's professional foresters are reaching out to you.
We are concerned about the Sierra Club's current policy that no commercial timber harvest activity should occur on U.S. National Forests and other federal public lands.1 We believe this stance jeopardizes forests and forecloses on opportunities to manage these lands for a full array of ecological and societal benefits. We ask the Sierra Club to reconsider its position on this important issue.
Enclosed is a copy of SAF's recent position statement, "Timber Harvesting on Federal Lands: An Essential Tool for Sustainable Forest Management." In this document we set forth the reasons why professional foresters believe there is a legitimate and socially desirable role for timber harvest to play within the broad context of the sustainable management of public lands.
SAF representatives are prepared to meet with national Sierra Club representatives to discuss these concerns, and to continue to foster this dialogue many of the chapters of the Society of American Foresters are willing to have similar dialogues with local chapters of the Sierra Club. In addition, we would suggest that each organization consider submitting a guest editorial on this topic to the other's leading publication, Sierra and Journal of Forestry, respectively. This suggestion is made with the hope that such an arrangement will stimulate positive dialogue at the grassroots levels, both within and between our respective organizations.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward to your response, and to a healthy exchange of viewpoints in the coming months.
Sincerely,
/s/
William H. Banzhaf, CF, CAE
Executive Vice President
Society of American Foresters
1"The Sierra Club supports protecting all federal publicly owned lands in the United States and advocates an end to all commercial logging on these lands." Sierra Club Conservation Policy adopted April 20, 1996.
2Society of American Foresters Position Statement, adopted 12/01.
