Maryland State Forester Elected To Sustainable Forestry Initiative Board Of Directors

Annapolis, Md. (December 15, 2010) — Maryland State Forester Steven W. Koehn was elected last week to the independent Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) Board of Directors. Koehn has been director and state forester with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Service for almost 10 years and has also served as president of the National Association of State Foresters.

"I am honored to have been selected to serve on the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Board of Directors,” said Koehn. “I look forward to advancing the importance of sustainable well-managed forests on both public and private land as well as the advantages of using locally grown and locally produced wood products in green building construction projects."

The 18-member multi-disciplinary SFI board of directors, which is responsible for the independent, non-profit SFI Inc., represents environmental, social and economic sectors equally. Current board members include representatives of environmental, professional and academic groups, independent loggers, family forest landowners, public officials, labor and members of the forest products sector.

“The SFI program values the important contribution made by public land managers like Steve Koehn,” said SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow. “Steve is a highly motivated and innovative leader whose work in Maryland has received national recognition. The SFI board will benefit from his enthusiasm, experience and commitment to responsible forest management, certification and green building.”

Koehn has been with the Maryland Forest Service since 1984. Before becoming state forester, he served as associate director, supervisor of resource management and project forester for DNR. From 1993 to 2002, he also taught forest ecology, forest management, forest stand delineation and forest conservation planning at the School of Professional Studies in Business Education at Johns Hopkins University. He has held leadership positions in the Chesapeake Bay Program Forestry Workgroup, Society of American Foresters, Maryland Association of Forest Conservancy District Boards, Maryland Forests Association, and the American Forest Foundation’s Center for Conservation Solutions Operating Committee.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages nearly one-half million acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov