re LEED Hurts Maryland Citizens

Dear MFA members and Friends

Please see statement below from Al Goetzl regarding the op-ed on LEED that came out of the MFA office. What was submitted by MFA, based on information provided by Mr. Goetzl, unfortunately contained some outdated numbers that were quickly brought to my attention by CTN readers and MFA members. The statement below explains the error and gives the corrected figures. The FSC acres existing in Allegany and Garrett Counties are managed by Red Rock Enterprises of Friendsville, MD in Garrett Co (a MFA member).

MFA regrets the mistake that occurs, but as Mr. Goetzl states below: "However, the fact of the matter remains that the area certified by SFI and ATFS in the state is over four times the area certified by FSC, reinforcing the point that Maryland forest landowners are disadvantaged by a LEED-only policy."

Karin Miller, MFA Executive Director

Karin Miller is right to be critical of the LEED® rating system for green buildings. When it comes to wood products, a major flaw in LEED is that credits are not given to materials that sequester carbon (rather than emit carbon) or use significantly much less fossil fuels in their manufacture. LEED also recognizes only the one forest certification system – Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – even though the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) and American Tree Farm System® are more prevalent in Maryland. The data cited by Karin in her piece came from a compilation of certified forests that I provided and which should be updated. The FSC website lists just two forest management certificates in Maryland as of September, 2008, totaling just shy of 50,000 acres. One of the two certified forests is, in fact, in western Maryland. However, the fact of the matter remains that the area certified by SFI and ATFS in the state is over four times the area certified by FSC, reinforcing the point that Maryland forest landowners are disadvantaged by a LEED-only policy.

Alberto Goetzl
Seneca Creek Associates, LLC
17203 Lightfoot Lane
Poolesville, Maryland 20837
Voice: 202-463-2713
Fax: 202-463-4703
E-Mail: agoetzl@sencreek.com