William Banzhaf, a member of the Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB), will discuss "Issues of Importance in Developing a New SFI Standard for 2005" at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Banzhaf�s talk, part of the College of Natural Resources (CNR) Colloquium Series, will be held in Room 170 of the CNR Building. It will be open to the public free of charge. The subject will address the theme of this year�s CNR Colloquium Series, "2004 Year of Forestry."

Established in the mid-90s, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a program directed at continual improvement of sustainable forestry techniques and standards. SFI Standards are one way to evaluate forestland as well as establish new standards for forest industries. These standards also serve as a way for industry to share advancements in forestry with private landowners. Banzhaf also plans to discuss the issues related to the development of new standards.

A graduate of the University of Colorado and the University of Michigan, Banzhaf has been involved with sustainable forestry for most of his career. He spent 21 years as president of George Banzhaf & Company, then went on to be the executive vice president of the Society of American Foresters (SAF) for another 14 years. From there he became president of the Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB). Now vice-chair of the SFB, Banzhaf is active in many organizations and fills a variety of speaking engagements.