Tennessee Forests Council
Citizens working to protect Tennessee's forests

 Member Groups

Tennessee Forests Council is a unification of citizens, environmental, conservation and grassroots organizations who have come together for the common purpose of protecting the forests of Tennessee through progressive forest policy reform. TFC bases its positions on sound forest science and economic principles.

Collectively, TFC represents the voices of 10 organizations and over 12,000 Tennesseans who support forest policy change that brings forest extraction methods and rates into balance with ecological integrity.

They are:

• Save Our Cumberland Mountains

• Tennessee Environmental Council

• Tennessee Clean Water Network

• Southern Forests Network

• Wildlaw

• Dogwood Alliance

• Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association

• Tennessee Forest Watch

• Model Forest Policy Program

• Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning

• Southwings

Interested in joining the Tennessee Forests Council?  Please contact us.

Dogwood Alliance is a growing regional network, comprised of 70 grassroots organizations in 17 states and concerned citizens from across the nation. We share a mission of protecting Southern forests and communities by engendering broad-based, diverse support for ending unsustainable industrial forest practices.

Specifically, we seek corporate policies from large purchasers and producers of paper to:

• Protect and restore endangered forests across the region
• End unsustainable forestry practices such as large-scale clearcutting, conversion of forests to plantations and the industrial use of chemicals
• Shift the source of fiber used to make paper away from forests and towards post-consumer recycled and other environmentally friendly alternatives

Model Forest Policy Program  www.mfpp.org

The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is committed to strengthening policies related to stewardship of private forestland by providing policy-making tools and capacity building to grassroots organizations, community leaders and policy makers. Our Advisory Committee of scientists, economists, foresters, and attorneys guide the process of developing the policy tools and provide technical guidance to environmental groups and legislators on specific legislative proposals. The project was created because current private-land forest policy often fails to address the myriad values/benefits/impacts of forests when guiding forest management decisions. Forest policy reform is needed that integrates ecological integrity with economic benefits.

Contact information:

Model Forest Policy Program
P.O. Box 14173
Roanoke, VA 24038

509-432-8679

Save Our Cumberland Mountains  www.socm.org

SOCM is a 32 year old grassroots organization working for environmental, social, and economic justice in rural Tennessee. We work to be a voice for those who traditionally do not have a say in how things are done in their community.  We work on a variety of campaigns from getting more funding for a local school to dismantling racism to working for responsible forest practices legislation.  What ties our work together is a belief that regular, every-day folks from impacted communities should be the ones to set campaign goals, decide on strategy, take action, and act as spokespeople for the organization.

Tennessee Clean Water Network     www.tcwn.org

Mission statement: TCWN is dedicated solely to protecting, restoring and enhancing Tennessee’s waters and the communities that depend on them.

Statement of Principles:  We believe that water is the common thread that ties all life together. We believe that maintaining clean water protects the health of our families and provides numerous recreational opportunities while sustaining plants, animals, and aquatic life. We believe that Tennessee's waters are among our most precious natural resources. Since these resources continue to be polluted by toxic and other pollutants from industry, sewage plants, runoff, and other sources, critical aquatic ecosystems will continue to be lost or degraded, and the health of our children and our ecosystems remain threatened. TCWN will work to protect the water resources of Tennessee.

Tennessee Environmental Council     www.tectn.org

The Tennessee Environmental Council (TEC) is a private nonprofit organization that works statewide to educate and advocate for the protection of the environment and public health.  TEC has worked since 1970 to empower the collective force of the environmental community and provide leadership in program areas of clean water, clean air, pollution prevention, healthy forests and smart growth. TEC works for strong state policy in the interest of public protection and provides assistance to local communities in opposition to the foes of pollution and destruction of our natural resources and threats to public health.  TEC efforts on behalf of all Tennesseans include:  1) saving the Pigeon River from devastating pulp and paper mill toxins; 2) stopping a highly dangerous uranium enrichment plant from being built in Hartsville; 3) taking legal action against illegal filling of wetlands in Chattanooga and West Tennessee; 4) stopping the air and water pollution from an unnecessary new power plant near Memphis; and 5) protecting Rumbling Falls Cave, the largest known underground cave in the Eastern U.S., from the sewage discharge of the town of Spencer.  Today TEC continues to work for strong state policy that keeps our clean waters clean, protects our forests from massive clear-cuts, and cleans up the unhealthy air being breathed by thousands of Tennesseans in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.  Memberships, donations, and foundation grants are critical to the support of TEC's efforts.

WildLaw     www.wildlaw.org

WildLaw works to preserve the natural heritage of the South by protecting ecosystems and supporting sustainable economic development. WildLaw’s Sustainable Forests Program is focused on shifting our region’s timber industry away from unsustainable forest management, centralized production, and corporate ownership and back into the hands of landowners, workers, and local businesses in the South. WildLaw is a founding member of the

Southern Forests Network

Southern Forests Network, a regional network of people and organizations who practice and support sustainable forestry on private lands.

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning  www.tcwp.org

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, founded in 1966, is a statewide organization working to protect our lands and waters. Our primary focus is on the Cumberland and Appalachian regions of Tennessee. Our strength lies in researching information pertinent to an issue, informing and educating our membership and the public, interacting with groups having similar objectives, and working through the legislative, administrative, and judicial branches of government on the federal, state, and local levels.