respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and traditional knowledge, and are aligned with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The SFI standards are revised and updated regularly to incorporate the latest scientific information and to ensure continual improvement. Draft SFI standards were publicly available throughout the revision process on the SFI website. Input was received during 10 public webinars. SFI gathered input from more than 2,300 stakeholders from the conservation community, Indigenous communities, the forest products sector, brand owners, private forest landowners and public forest managers, government agencies, trade associations, landowner associations, academia, and the public. Independent oversight was provided at each stage of the revision process by the SFI External Review Panel, a group of independent experts representing conservation, professional, academic and public organizations, operating at arm's length from SFI. The SFI External Review Panel reviewed every public comment submitted to ensure that all comments were considered, and to guarantee the Standard revision process was transparent, objective and credible. The responses to comments are posted on the SFI website. SFI standards only apply to forestlands in the United States and Canada, and SFI-certified organizations must comply with all applicable laws. For sources outside of North America without effective laws, participants must avoid illegal or other controversial sources. SFI supports activities by international experts to find ways to address the problem of illegal logging and is a member of the international, multi-stakeholder Forest Legality Alliance. SFI sponsored a world record attempt for tree planting. During this attempt in May 2015, 29 teams came together to plant 202,935 trees in one hour across North America. The teams included youth, community groups and industry partners. SFI Board of Directors The Board of Directors that governs SFI has three chambers that recognize economic, environmental and social sectors equally. Directors include representatives of environmental, conservation, professional and academic groups, independent professional loggers, family forest owners, public officials, labor and the forest products industry. Research publications “In hopes of avoiding legal gridlock, federal and state agencies responsible for designing, financing, and conducting wildfire risk reduction thinning projects need to be thoroughly transparent and appropriately participatory with respect to parties of interest. These forestry agencies should consider the active involvement and third-party oversight of the two leading forest management certification programs active in the US: the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).” This article in the