For twenty-five years, the management of the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory at Duke University has been certified to Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) guidelines, a strict set of environmental, social, and economic standards designed to ensure responsible forest management. In 2021, the Duke Forest received a Leadership Award from FSC® in recognition of our continued excellence in sustainable forest management. Throughout this time, we maintained an individual forest management certificate, coordinating and participating in annual third-party audits and other activities to demonstrate our ongoing compliance with FSC principles.
Moving forward, we are excited to announce that we have joined a group certificate (FSC®C008922) led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). This change will streamline our administrative and financial responsibilities related to maintaining certification, and most importantly, it will provide us with a community of practice. The TNC certification group consists of 23 diverse members and includes 13 TNC properties, the University of Tennessee, the University of the South, St. John University (MN), a family foundation, municipal water authorities, and non-profits Appalachian Mountain Club and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. All members share a commitment to conservation forestry, biodiversity protection, and restoration of native forest lands.
We are honored to be part of this group and excited to learn and share alongside so many dedicated forest land managers and stewards. As FSC US President Sarah Billing states, “Forests are foundational for human well-being. They are the lungs of the earth. They provide the air we breathe every day”.1 We look forward to being a part of this community and striving together to continuously protect and enhance our forests.
1(https://us.fsc.org/, accessed 2026-09-23)