Darren Sleep

As the climate warms, wildfires are intensifying and can burn down huge areas of big, healthy trees. Darren Sleep of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative – or SFI says, “In the past, we might have thought of stands that were either diseased or under drought conditions or something being more likely to burn. But now we’re finding that everything is willing to burn.” But Sleep says forest landowners can take steps to reduce the risk to the environment and their livelihoods. His group develops standards for sustainable forestry. And it certifies wood and paper products sourced from forests that meet their guidelines – for protecting wildlife, replanting trees, and more. And in their most recent standards, SFI added guidelines about wildfire. They require landowners in fire-prone areas to take steps to reduce their vulnerability – for example, by conducting controlled burns to reduce flammable materials and improve forest health.