AUGUSTA, ME – The Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands (TCNEF) has hired Sydney Andersen of Topsham, ME as its new Program Manager.

Andersen started her new position in mid-January and is looking forward to working with loggers through the Northeast Master Logger® Certification Program to meet their professional needs.

“Sydney brings great experience and a strong professional background to her role and will be a huge asset to the Trust and the Master Logger program,” Ted Wright, Executive Director of the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands (TCNEF) and the Master Logger® program, said. “She will be focused on working with Master Loggers across the Northeast to improve and expand what the program offers and we are lucky to have her on board.”

Ms. Andersen grew up in Oregon, where she graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in Forest Engineering. During her studies, she took the opportunity to study abroad in Belgium, Québec, and New Zealand. While in Québec, Ms. Andersen fell in love with the East Coast. After three years of serving on the Board of Directors for a Soil and Water Conservation District and five years of working in forestry on the West Coast, she decided to pursue a career and livelihood in Maine. She currently lives in Topsham, where she is enjoying the next chapter of her life in Maine.

Ms. Andersen may be reached at (207) 688-8195 or sydney@tcnef.org

The Northeast Master Logger® Certification Program was created in 2001 as the first in the world point-of-harvest certification program, offering independent third-party certification of logging companies’ harvesting practices. In 2003, the TCNEF took over administration of the program with the broader goal of “enhancing the health of working forest ecosystems through exceptional accountability” throughout the Northern Forest region, which includes New England and New York.

There are currently 125 Master Logger® companies in the Northeast.

In addition to administering the Master Logger® program, TCNEF administers an FSC®-certified group of family forest landowners throughout New England and New York. Under this arrangement forest landowners can inexpensively gain access to FSC® group certification. TCNEF is the administrative body that holds the FSC certificate and has overall responsibility for compliance with the FSC® Northeast Regional Standard.

TCNEF also administers an FSC®-certified group of Chain of Custody that provides an information trail, established and audited according to rules set by FSC, for Master Loggers and wood products companies to ensure that wood comes from certified forests.

For more information on the Master Logger® program or TCNEF, contact Ted Wright at (207) 688-8195 opt. 2 or executivedirector@tcnef.org. Additional information is also available at masterloggercertification.com

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