REQUIREMENTS TO BE SFI TRAINED
IN SC
·
Individuals must complete the SC Forestry Association’s three-day Timber Operations
Professional (TOP) Program to earn recognition as SFI Trained. Comparable
programs from other states may be substituted if approved.
·
Twelve hours of continuing education must be earned every three years to maintain
SFI Trained status. Continuing education does not carry over from one
three-year period to the next.
·
The first 12 hours of continuing education earned must include the
TOP Refresher Workshop and at least four hours of Best Management Practices
training or activity. After the
first three-year period, any training or activity approved for SFI continuing
education credit may be applied.
·
Graduates of the TOP Program in or prior to 1996 must complete continuing
education by December 31, 2002 to maintain SFI
Trained status. TOP graduates
from 1997 through 1999 must complete continuing education by December 31, 2003 .
WHAT QUALIFIES
·
All SCFA sponsored Timber Operations Professional (TOP) Programs and
Workshops.
·
Forestry and timber harvesting short courses, workshops, seminars, conferences,
and field trips.
·
Adult education classes that enhance forestry and timber harvesting professionalism,
such as welding Emergency Medical Technician, and computer classes.
Training required for the job, such as CPR or blood borne pathogens, does
not qualify for SFI credit.
·
Any course or program approved for Continuing Forestry Education by the Society
of American Foresters.
·
Participation in school programs, educational activities, community service,
local government, and various Boards and Committees to advance the forestry
and logging professions.
·
To receive credit for non-TOP programs, use the “Application for SFI Continuing
Education Credit” available from SCFA or www.scforestry.org
SFI Training
Standards for South Carolina
Goal
To establish a statewide
standard for loggers, foresters, and others in the forestry community to meet
American Forest & Paper Association Sustainable
Forestry InitiativeSM Training Guidelines.
Authority
The American Forest and
Paper Association’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative Executive Committee has
given to all State Implementation Committees the responsibility to develop
“objective criteria to determine qualifications for an SFI ‘trained’ logger/forester.”
The SC SFI Training Standards
are intended to help fulfill SFI Standard 4.2.1.1.2 “…to foster improvement
in the professionalism of wood producers,” and Core SFI Indicators under the
above standard relating to “…development and administration of wood producer
training courses…”
How
By combining components
of the SCFA Timber Operations Professional (TOP) Program and other activities
which qualify for continuing education credit, a set of training standards
will be developed in accordance with the AF&PA white paper “Guidelines
for State Logger Training and Education Programs to Ensure Consistency with
the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.”
Requirements
Individuals will be recognized
as SFI Trained upon completion of the full three-day TOP Program.
SFI Trained status is maintained
by evidence of completing twelve hours of continuing education every three
years.
The first twelve hours
of continuing education earned after achieving SFI Trained status must include
the TOP Refresher Workshop and at least four hours of Best Management Practices-oriented
training. After the first three-year
continuing education period, any approved forestry or logging related training
may be applied. Credit may also
be awarded for educational activities, community service, and other activities
as approved by the TOP Task Force .
Continuing education credit will not carry over from one three-year
period to the next.
In the event that an individual
recognized as SFI Trained by the SC Forestry Association SFI Committee does
not fulfill the SC guidelines for continuing education before the end of their
valid trained date, that individual will no longer be considered SFI Trained.
To reinstate lost SFI
Trained status, the individual must complete the continuing education standard.
At such time, SFI Trained status will be reactivated, with the valid
date advanced three years from the original date of expiration.
The valid trained date will not be extended for the time during which
SFI Trained status is lapsed.
If SFI Trained status
is lapsed for more than two years, the individual must re-earn their status
by completing a course approved as meeting AF&PA SFI guidelines for logger
training and education (e.g. the three-day TOP Program).
Training and activities completed prior to the loss of SFI Trained
status will expire after a lapse of two years.
Implementation
SFI Continuing Education
requirements will be phased in so that no person will have less than three
years to complete the requirements. Individuals
trained in and prior to 1996 will have until the end of 2002 to complete continuing
education requirements. Individuals
trained after 1996 will have until 2003, or three years after completion of
the TOP Program, whichever is later.
Individuals must complete
continuing education requirements by the end of the third year after the year
of completing the TOP Program. For
example, a person who completes the TOP Program in March 2001 will have until
December 31, 2004 to
complete 12 hours of continuing education and retain SFI
Trained status.
Administration
A database of SFI
Trained individuals and continuing education will be maintained by SCFA.
SFI Trained individuals will be responsible for notifying SCFA upon
completion of continuing education credits.
Notification may be handled with a class sign-up sheet if the program
or course is pre-approved for credit.
The TOP
Task Force will approve an “Application for SFI Continuing
Education Credit” form to apply for SFI credit from non-TOP programs.
The TOP Task Force will
evaluate continuing education credits, and credit will be awarded for any
activities that qualify for Continuing Forestry Education contact hours.
In addition, service activities such as school programs and local government
involvement may qualify for SFI continuing education credit.
Directory
A current listing of SFI
Trained individuals will be available at any time to SFI member companies
and members of the SC State Implementation Committee.
The listing will be available to all others for a fee to cover printing
and postage. The list may be distributed
in digital form or by email, as appropriate.
The Directory will list
name, company, city, and state of the individual trained and the year through
which SFI Trained status is active.
Addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information will not be
available or released. If the
individual does not complete continuing education requirements and SFI Trained status lapses, they will be removed from the Directory.
A listing of SFI Trained individuals will also be maintained on the SC
Forestry Association website.
Notification
The SFI committee will
send a reminder to any SFI Trained
individual approximately six months prior to a lapse in SFI
Trained status. Other reminders
and status updates will be sent periodically.
Promotion
of SFI Trained Individuals
Recognition of SFI
Trained status acknowledges an individual's commitment to advance the
logging profession in SC through training and education.
However, SFI Trained status
should not be construed as a certification, licensing, or accreditation program.
NOTE:
“Sustainable Forestry Initiative” and “SFI” are registered marks of
American Forest & Paper Association, Inc.
