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THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN FLORIDA. You and your fellow conference participants include a cross-section of individuals and organizations that rely on and value forests — representing conservation and community groups, universities, landowners and land managers, forest product and paper companies, state and public agencies, and Indigenous groups. You will have many opportunities to engage with this diverse group of people throughout this year’s conference: “Linking Future Forests to Communities.” Our theme means many things to many people, but at its most fundamental level, it’s about recognizing the critical role forests play in our shared quality of life. Forests clean the air we breathe, purify the water we drink, provide habitat for myriad species and help support the economy of countless rural communities. This conference will give you a first-hand look at the SFI community’s commitment to our shared quality of life as we help link forests to communities. This commitment is embodied in our conference agenda. We will hear about engaging partners on landscape-scale conservation, understanding the potential of measuring conservation impact, empowering communities to build the future forest, linking forestry to the next generation, exploring opportunities for certified forest products in green buildings, and understanding the role of managed forests in the carbon marketplace. These are just a sampling of the ideas up for discussion. Here in Florida, The Florida Forest Service and other community partners are working to strengthen the links between communities and forests. The Florida Forest Service certified two of its largest forests to the SFI Forest Management Standard in 2015. Jim Karels, Florida State Forester and conference speaker, called it a “win-win” for the environment and Florida’s forestbased economy. These newly certified lands will also contribute to the SFI Forest Partners® Program goal of increasing the supply of forestland certified to the SFI Standard in the U.S. South by 10 million acres/4 million hectares by the end of 2017. I look forward to connecting with you at the conference. Thank you for being part of the SFI community. Together our diversity is a source of strength that benefits the forests we all love. I would also like to thank our sponsors for their generous support, which makes this event possible. Kathy Abusow President and CEO Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. Forests certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard cover more than 280 MILLION ACRES 113 MILLION HECTARES With millions more forested acres benefiting from the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard Sustainable Forestry try Initiative | 3


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