Lyme Timber Receives the 2025 SFI Leadership in Conservation Award for Advancing Nature-Based Solutions in SFI-Certified Forests

L-R: Lauren Cooper, Chief Conservation Officer, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Sean Ross, Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company, and Kathy Abusow, President and CEO, Sustainable Forestry Initiative GNW

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MINNEAPOLIS, May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to announce The Lyme Timber Company as the recipient of the 2025 SFI Leadership in Conservation Award. Lyme Timber, certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard, is being recognized for a longstanding commitment to advancing conservation outcomes across its land base. SFI specifically recognizes Managing Directors Peter Stein and Sean Ross for their instrumental leadership in partnering on meaningful conservation efforts related to biodiversity conservation, research-based forest management practices, and climate smart forestry.

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L-R: Lauren Cooper, Chief Conservation Officer, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Sean Ross, Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company, and Kathy Abusow, President and CEO, Sustainable Forestry Initiative

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Lyme Timber is committed to managing forests in ways that protect and promote biological diversity and is a collaborator on an SFI grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that aims to enhance songbird habitat in West Virginia through sustainable forest management. Through this partnership, they worked with West Virginia University researchers on focal songbird species monitoring, directly contributing to a deeper understanding of the conservation benefits of SFI-certified lands.

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Lyme Timber continues to work with the SFI geospatial team to explore how GIS data and mapping tools can be used to identify and quantify conservation value across Lyme Timber’s land base. This demonstrates their commitment to applying knowledge gained through research, science, technology, field experience and the results of monitoring to manage wildlife habitat and contribute to the conservation of biological diversity.

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“Lyme Timber exemplifies the kind of partnership that makes our conservation work impactful,” said Lauren T. Cooper, Chief Conservation Officer at SFI. “As part of the SFI 2025-2030 Strategic Direction, we are focused on advancing data, tools, and practices that drive measurable conservation outcomes. Peter Stein, Sean Ross, and the Lyme Timber team are helping SFI bring that vision to life across North American forests with collaboration on climate and biodiversity.”

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Stein and Ross have also served as valuable advisors to SFI in advancing the development and implementation of climate smart forestry practices in the United States and have been supporters of multiple successful proposals that have resulted in the SFI Climate Smart Forest Initiative.   

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“We are delighted by this recognition and value the opportunity to collaborate with SFI on advancing scientific research and the conservation of biodiversity in working forests,” said Sean Ross. “In a time when our investors are increasingly interested in addressing these issues through their investments, Lyme’s ongoing partnership with SFI has helped us understand, quantify, and continue to improve how our forest management practices contribute to protecting and promoting biological diversity.”