SFLR PROGRAM FEATURED IN LEADERSHIP NATURE PODCAST SERIES-Series features landowners, educators, and administrators, telling the story of partnership and program-

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

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (February 27, 2019)

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) today announced the launch of the first in a series of podcasts – a team effort with Leadership Nature Podcast – to highlight the people and successes of the Sustainable Forestry and African-American Land Retention program (SFLR). A partnership between the Endowment and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and USDA Forest Service (USFS), the SFLR program was established in 2013 as an effort to aid African-American landowners in turning their forested properties into economic assets. The program capitalizes on innovative partnerships between local, state, and federal organizations to assist landowners in this process.

Hosted by leadership expert and forester, Tom Davidson, the Leadership Nature podcast features voices from “every neck of the woods” in forestry and natural resources. The SFLR Series – Season Seven – of the podcast features the landowners, educators, and administrators of the SFLR program and will include perspectives of those who have built, participated in, and benefitted from this award-winning program. Every Wednesday, another member of the SFLR community will be featured and will share their lessons of leadership, teamwork, and stewardship. The Endowment’s President and CEO Carlton Owen was interviewed on the Leadership Nature podcast in September 2016.

“The success of SFLR stems directly from the people who have been an integral part of the program. We are incredibly proud to have supported SFLR in partnership with the great folks at NRCS and USFS since its inception,” said Endowment Senior Vice President Alicia Cramer. “This podcast series provides first-hand perspectives on how SFLR empowers African-American families and communities to retain rural family land ownership, enhance forest health, and build intergenerational wealth.”

SFLR offers a variety of support to landowners, including access to legal assistance and opportunities for sustainable forestry. To date, the program has supported eight project sites in seven states and more than 1,000 landowners. The participants own a combined 77,095 acres, and the project is focused on helping them retain that ownership. In July 2018, the program received the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships. The award recognizes exemplary partnerships between foundations and government that have been critical in transforming communities and improving lives.

# # #

For more information contact:

Carlton N. Owen
President & CEO
+1-864-233-7646
carlton@runslikeclock.work

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 – www.usendowment.org