All of us working to make a positive difference in the world ask ourselves that question. “So What?” “Are our efforts on target?” “What lessons can we learn?” “What next?” “How can we do better?”
After four years and nearly $8 million in investments , these questions are increasingly front and center for those of us working on Blandin Foundation’s VFVC Initiative.
In service to the Initiative’s objectives and to the Foundation’s commitment to sharing our learning, we are launching this new VFVC Blog. We hope this tool will help us all advance our shared commitment to promoting the connections between a healthy forest-based economy, healthy forest ecosystems and healthy communities.
One on-going focus of the Initiative is to encourage sustainable forestry, including by increasing the amount of forested land being managed under third-party certification programs.
As part of this work, the Foundation has provided financial and operational support to six northern Minnesota counties – Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Clearwater, Crow Wing and Koochiching – to cooperatively undertake the process of preparing themselves for certification.
Photo above: County representatives participating in a work session, March, 2006.
Recently, we commissioned an evaluation of this work to date. We are pleased to share the results with you here in the form of an Executive Summary or the Full Report.
One of the study’s key findings is that the participating county land commissioners believe that “certification is the present and future of forest management.” Vital Forests/Vital Communities is eager to continue to be a resource for county and other certification efforts in our state, and we welcome your input as we figure out the best opportunities to do so.
As we at Blandin contemplate the “So What?” question and deliberate on what to do next, we invite your comments and feedback.
June 18, 2007 at 11:19 am
This looks like a good communication tool. We, of course, would be most interested in the healthy communities portion of the blog as we are pursuing development of local innovation through Project Firefly in the Ely area.
The Blandin Vital Forests initiative and the wood products industry are important to northeast Minnesota. The wood products sector has been identified by our Highway 1 Working Group as a target industry for the $4 million incentive to relocate a large industry to the Tower/Ely/Cook/Babbitt area.
June 18, 2007 at 12:30 pm
The Wisconsin Healthy Forest program is an outreach to those woodland owners who have never had professional forestry advice, which may be most of the privately owned forest. I believe that if certification is to catch hold, it needs to reach this audience too. I only see that happening if there is some incentive for them to get involved. If the incentive isn’t from the market place, it will need to come from the state. Landowners frequently remind me that their woods are “private” property, and they are quite skeptical of outside intrusions. They do not see much need for third party approval.
June 19, 2007 at 10:07 am
Keep up the great work! Perhaps a general drop-down link to economic development entities could direct interested people and businesses to technical and financial assistance. There are considerable challenges that face the wood products industry today. I’m sure that all of our economic development partners would like to help in any way we can.