The Society of American Foresters awarded accreditation last week to Green River Community College’s Natural Resources — Forestry degree.

Green River was one of the first community college technical programs in North America to apply for accreditation of its forestry curriculum. Prior to 2011, SAF only provided recognition to two year colleges, and accreditation to four year colleges and universities.

“The Green River Natural Resources program is truly outstanding, and accreditation affirms that,” said Green River President Dr. Eileen Ely. “It is a rigorous process, and I commend the Natural Resources instructors and staff for seeing it through.”

The accreditation follows a 2011 site visit and study by SAF. Accreditation is a non-governmental, peer-reviewed process that ensures a program’s quality. SAF is recognized by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation.

The Associate in Applied Science is a 124-credit degree in which students take a total of 902 lecture hours and 578 lab hours. The degree also includes 462 hours of volunteer or paid work within an internship capstone course each student completes in the final year.

No undergraduate, four-year university in the state offers a forestry degree.