The debate over forest certification requires constant vigilance, and we are happy that the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is going strong. SFI is an independent wood-products certification that provides another valuable choice in the green building marketplace, and as many of you know, there is a passionate debate right now over what wood certifications should be included in the LEED green building standard.

SFI this week released a progress report, called “Power of Partnerships,” that includes some encouraging numbers on SFI’s impact in the marketplace. Most important, SFI is still the largest wood certifier in the world, with 193 million acres across North America.

Even with the difficult economy, SFI has also continued to grow over the last year and a half:

• A 2008-2009 United Nations market review of forest products found the SFI program had registered the most significant increase in chain-of-custody certifications in 2009
• SFI chain-of-custody certificates are up from 407 to 883
• SFI chain-of-custody locations are up from 1,020 to 2,099

Check out the rest of the report for much more information about SFI’s new partnerships and programs.

In other news:

• In Oregon, residents are strongly supportive of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s proposed forest management plan for the eastern part of the state, and the Oregon timber industry is sorry to see the head of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management leave his job.
• The Kitsap Sun took a long look at how Mason County, Wash., is becoming an epicenter for biomass plants.