James River Green Building Council: Three views on sustainable forestry

What is sustainable forestry and how does it affect our region environmentally and economically? This lecture organized by the James River Green Building Council Charlottesville Division will answer that question and many others as part of a series of lectures dealing with the LEED Green Building Rating System.

We have assembled three speakers who together give a very balanced view of the issue.

The first speaker, Dr. John Munsell, is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and a Forest Management Extension Specialist. In his presentation Dr. Munsell introduces sustainable forestry practices and analyzes one of the field’s major certification bodies, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Next is Dr. Brian Bond, an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Wood Science and Forest Products. Dr. Bond describes the market for FSC certified products and presents some intriguing research into consumer demand.

Completing our lecture on sustainable forestry is Mr. Charlie Becker from the Virginia Department of Forestry. Mr. Becker draws from over 20 years of experience to give an overview of forestry practices in Virginia. He also discusses how forest certification programs such as FSC uniquely affect Virginia landowners.