USDA Green Building Initiative Announced at International Year of Forests Celebration
When I heard Chuck Leavell performing “Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out” during his soundcheck yesterday, I knew we were in for a rockin’ night.
Keyboardist Leavell, with Minnesota Representative Collin Peterson’s Second Amendments band, entertained a crowd of hundreds at the International Year of Forests celebration in D.C.
The March 30 event was hosted at the Washington Plaza Hotel by the American Forest Foundation (AFF), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the National Association of State Foresters.
Early on in the evening, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack rubbed shoulders with local Barnard Elementary School students and Principal Dr. Grace Reid. The D.C. students exhibited their Project Learning Tree forest exchange box, and presented Secretary Vilsack with a copy of Shel Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree.
Barnard Elementary is a part of the GreenSchools! program, a partnership between USFS and AFF. The celebration showcased forest boxes from all 50 states the District of Columbia.
USDA Announces Green Building Strategy
The big news of the night was Secretary Vilsack's announcement about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new strategy to promote the use of wood as a green building material.
"Wood has a vital role to play in meeting the growing demand for green building materials. Forest Service studies show that wood compares favorably to competing materials," Secretary Vilsack said.
A recent USFS life cycle analysis found that harvesting, transporting, manufacturing and using wood in building yields fewer air emissions than resource extraction, manufacturing and using other commonly-used building materials.
Members of the AFF community and its allies on Capitol Hill have been advocating for such a policy; AFF President and CEO Tom Martin will lead a follow-up meeting with the USDA about implementation of this policy.
Members of Congress Applaud the Announcement
Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, applauded the announcement by Secretary Vilsack.
“The wood products industry employs over 360,000 people…Recognizing sustainably produced lumber as a green building material will help keep these good green jobs here at home and help keep our forests green and growing.
“I’m very pleased to see the Forest Service recognize the wide variety of Green Building systems available to help ensure that Federal buildings meet rigorous environmental standards,” Chairwoman Stabenow said.
"This is good for wood. Good for jobs. Good for communities," Tom Martin said in a statement.
Seen at the Event
In addition to Chuck Leavell and dozens of American Tree Farm System certified Tree Farmers, special guests included:
-Rep. Bob Goodlatte (Va.), Vice-Chair House Agriculture Committee
-Reps. Collin Peterson (Minn.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), Stephen Fincher (Tenn.) and former Rep. Kenny Hulshof (Mo.), Second Amendments performers;
-Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.) co-chair of the Healthy Forests Caucus in the 111th Congress;
-Jim Hubbard, Deputy Chief, U.S. Forest Service;
-Joel Holtrup, Deputy Chief, U.S. Forest Service;
-Mary Wager, Associate Chief, U.S. Forest Service;
-Harris Sherman, USDA Undersecretary for Natural Resources and the Environment;
-Jay Jensen, USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Forests;
-Robert Bonnie, USDA Special Advisor to the Secretary;
-Event co-host Leah MacSwords, Kentucky State Forester, National Association of State Foresters;
-Jay Farrell, executive director, National Association of State Foresters.
Check back soon for more photos of the celebration!
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