Position Statements

The Society of American Foresters has a responsibility to anticipate, identify and define opportunities, problems and issues related to forest resources. The Society’s forestry-related policies, approved by referendum, guide positions the Society takes in contributing its professional knowledge to public deliberations on forestry issues.

SAF promotes policies that:

• Encourage conservation of, or investment in, forest resources to satisfy future expectations,
• Resolve conflicts about forest uses and forestland allocations to make future investments more secure,
• Promote the equitable distribution of forest benefits to strengthen public support for forest resource conservation, and
• Increase cooperation between and among foresters and forestry institutions throughout the world who are developing mutually beneficial approaches to these challenges.

The Society’s position-taking procedure assures analytical, objective and democratic analysis of forestry issues. Interdisciplinary task forces study and prepare reports on resource issues. Task force members represent the various disciplinary and philosophical segments of the forestry profession and are selected for their knowledge about the issues. Position statements draw from task force reports and are reviewed by forest policy and science experts and the Society’s governing council before being adopted.

These are the position statements of National SAF, Alaska SAF, Oregon SAF, and Washington State SAF. Position statements written by each respective state society address how forestry is conducted in that state and are meant to complement the position statements produced by National SAF.

• Addressing Proforestation on Public Lands – The Society of American Foresters (SAF) promotes science-based, sustainable management of the nation’s forests. We are speaking up to address the concerns of using active forest management on public lands and to clarify the positive role forestry professionals play in generating healthy, resilient, and sustainable forest systems. To learn more about SAF’s position on proforestation, visit National SAF Advocacy & Outreach page.

• On July 15, 2022, National SAF’s submitted comments to the USDA Forest Service and the DOI Bureau of Land Management regarding the definition of federal mature and old-growth forests; Request for Information (RFI) on Federal Old-growth and Mature Forests, 87 Fed. Reg. 42493 (July 15, 2022) FR Doc. 2022-15185. These comments are viewable in this PDF.
  • As the agencies are nearing a final decision on defining these complex terms, SAF has released a one-page briefer titled “Defining Mature and Old Growth.” This briefer will help to educate staffers, decisionmakers, and government leaders on science-based definitions of mature and old growth as well as climate-smart strategies for conservation.