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Sierra Pacific Industries is destroying California's forests

The #1 landowner in California, Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), is also the state's #1 forest destroyer. SPI persists in logging in an environmentally unsustainable manner and converting our natural California forests into tree plantations.

"Sustainable" Forestry Initiative: greenwashing SPI's forest destruction

 The SFI logo is used to greenwash products that come from destructive logging practices like those of SPI.

Greenwashing is one of the most insidious ways that SPI has been able to continue their destructive logging practices. SPI uses a bogus forest certification system called the "Sustainable" Forestry Initiative (SFI), which enables them–and other prominent logging companies–to sell "destruction as usual timber, while claiming it's good for the planet.

SFI's sham forestry certification scheme has allowed companies like Sierra Pacific Industries to appear green for too long. That's why we're working to dismantle the credibility of their phony green label. In 2009, we started shaking things up by calling out SFI's greenwash at Greenbuild, the world's largest green building conference. We also received major media attention in the New York Times for filing legal complaints to the US Federal Trade Commission and Environmental Protection Agency challenging the credibility of the SFI.

Take action: Sign the petition to reform forest certification standards >>

The Sierra needs to be protected, not destroyed and replanted
The "Sustainable" Forestry Initiative greenwashes clearcut-style logging from Sierra Pacific Industries.
The Sierra is not as well protected as tourists, outdoor enthusiasts, and nature lovers would hope. The SFI-certified logging over Sierra Pacific Industries will convert at least one million acres of wild forest into biologically sterile tree plantations—spelling disaster for the local ecology.

SPI isolates habitats in the Sierra with clearcut-style logging, roads, and tree plantations—and corners vulnerable animal populations in the process. This is particularly devastating because many forest species are already under stress from global warming and other human impacts. For instance, the very survival of the rare Pacific Fisher hinges on being able to move easily through California's forests. SPI's tree plantations provide inadequate habitat for their needs.

SFI-certified logging practices threaten the very nature of forests in a number of ways:

  • Water quality and quantity are compromised;
  • Habitat quality and connectivity are destroyed;
  • Rural communities are susceptible to high intensity fires due to the flammability of young tree plantations;
  • The capacity of the forests to mitigate global warming is reduced, and their resiliency to withstand the impacts of climate change decreases.

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