PFT Honors U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Lyme Timber Company’s Peter Stein at Forest Fete 2010: Roots & Revelry
Senator Merkley and Stein Lauded as Champions of America’s Forest Landscapes
SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 16, 2010) – The Pacific Forest Trust will be recognizing U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Peter Stein, general manager of The Lyme Timber Company, for their outstanding contributions to the conservation and stewardship of America’s forest landscapes at Forest Fete 2010: Roots & Revelry.
Sen. Merkley will receive this year’s “Outside the Box” award, in appreciation of his leadership in protecting America’s natural and working landscapes and our sustainable climate and energy future.
Senator Merkley has been an outspoken advocate for forests in Oregon and beyond since his election to the U.S. Senate in 2008. A key supporter of PFT’s efforts to complete Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM), Merkley’s very first vote as a U.S. Senator was in favor of a public lands bill that creates new wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, and national recreation areas across Oregon, including creation of the 23,000 Soda Mountain Wilderness Area within the CSNM.
Senator Merkley also has supported comprehensive energy and climate legislation, and co-sponsored legislation to provide full and permanent appropriations for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the main source of funding for federal land conservation acquisitions.
“In a very short time Sen. Merkley has demonstrated his commitment to ensuring U.S. working and natural landscapes will continue to provide clean water, climate benefits, renewable fuels, recreation and much-needed jobs in rural communities where the roots of the timber industry run deep,” says PFT President Laurie Wayburn. “His willingness to try and go “outside the box” to support a comprehensive, national approach to solving our nation’s addiction to oil is worthy of recognition this year, when he has also helped secure the appropriations needed to help transfer more than 1,200 acres into public ownership for the CSNM.”
Peter R. Stein, general partner with The Lyme Timber Company, will be honored with PFT’s Forest Champion award for his work as a tireless advocate for the conservation of America’s forest landscape. A longtime friend, adviser and partner to PFT, Mr. Stein was an early proponent of uniting private, public and philanthropic capital to expand the conservation of working forests. A former senior vice president with the Trust for Public Land, Mr. Stein joined Lyme Timber Company in 1991.
“Peter has led the way in creating a new business model for forest investment that successfully incorporates returns from sustainable forestry and conservation, which has been successfully emulated across the country,” says PFT Co-CEO Connie Best. “He’s been a true champion for conservation of our working forest landscapes and has made a tremendous impact.”
PFT will honor Stein and other trailblazing members of the forest community at Forest Fete 2010: Roots & Revelry. Forests have long provided the ecological and economic roots for local communities across America. The Pacific Forest Trust, its supporters, partners and other members of the forest community will celebrate the ever-growing role of forests in a new green economy at our annual dinner and awards ceremony.
The event will feature a keynote speech by celebrated green commerce guru Daniel C. Esty, a Yale environmental law and policy professor, author and popular pundit. Esty, the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University, is a leading authority on harmonizing ecological and economic concerns. A frequently sought commentator on sustainable business practices, his diverse speaking engagements range from academic conferences to international economic summits to appearances on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” National Public Radio, The O’Reilly Factor and the Glenn Beck Program.
Esty is the co-author of “Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage.” His research has focused on “next generation” regulation and the relationships between the environment, trade, competitiveness and investigating how pollution control and natural resource management have become critical elements of marketplace success.
Forest Fete 2010 will be held Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, at the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco’s Presidio. The reception begins at 6 p.m.; dinner begins at 7 p.m. Those seeking to attend can contact Alex Page at 415-561-0700 ext. 37. For additional information visit the Forest Fete webpage.