Press Release					
							
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								Contact: 	Mike D’Aquino, mdaquino@fs.fed.us
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE								RELEASE NO. 04-07

FIRST FOREST SERVICE BUILDING CERTIFIED GREEN –Oct. 9, 2007

     ATLANTA --The Sylamore Ranger District office on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests in Arkansas was recently recognized for being the first Forest Service building to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
      The designation is granted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  LEED is the wave of the future and all new Forest Service administrative buildings of more than 2,500 square feet are mandated to meet the certification.
     Sylamore District Ranger Cynthia Snow likes the new vaulted space and interior design. “It’s wonderful.  You have to know where we were to appreciate how fabulous this building is,” she said.  “We have gone from cramped rented space to this spacious, comfortable area –the staff loves it and the public loves it as well.”	
     Maurice Hoelting, regional architect, said the greatest difficulty in meeting the new standards was in the documentation.  However, the Forest Service standards were already close to those of the USGBC.
     “We had to provide documentation to prove that our paint, carpeting and furniture did not outgas and show how much waste we recycled,” said Hoelting.  He added the Forest Service was already using energy efficient heating and cooling systems.  It was a team effort with many of the regions engineers and architects already being LEED accredited, he said.
     LEED certified buildings are designed to conserve energy and protect the environment as well.  These projects are evaluated in six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources and indoor environmental quality.  The certification includes four levels: certified, silver, gold and platinum. In the future Forest Service buildings must be certified at the silver level.
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