Working with Nature to Further a Forest-Centric Mission

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (February 2, 2018)

Greenville, S.C. – Leveraging lessons from the natural world can lead to more efficient and impactful work for a non-profit tasked with advancing stewardship of North America’s working forests. That’s the thesis behind the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities’ (Endowment) 2017 Annual Report, Working with Nature.Touching on natural concepts such as biomimicry and environmental adaptation, the report examines accomplishments over the year.

“With this year’s Annual Report, we hope to provide a visually compelling story about our work and the landscapes and communities we touch,” says Carlton Owen, Endowment President & CEO. “We hope ourpartners—both those who share in funding the work and those who are doing the work on the ground— gain the reader’s appreciation for all they are doing for forests and the rural communities nested within them.”

A stand-alone essay titled Fire! Thoughts on Markets and Conservation looks at the threat of mega- wildfires in forested landscapes. “Fire will not cease to be a part of our natural system,” the essay notes. “But if we learn to better prepare our ecosystems for such events and maintain healthy forests, we mayreach a point where catastrophic ones are less common.”

Working with Nature also highlights the stunning nature photography of Greenville, SC based Mac Stone.Stone’s photographs of forested landscapes capture the underlying motivation of the Endowment’s work:healthy, productive working forests for people and the environment.

The digital version of the report offers links to a wealth of additional online content including videos, databases, and a podcast featuring Endowment Board Chairman Colin Moseley

For more information contact:
Carlton N. Owen, President & CEO, 864-233-7646, carlton@usendowment.org

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities.