Major Gap in Sustainable Forestry Industry Filled

By Anonymous

A major gap in the sustainable wood industry was filled last month when, for the first time in the U.S., a Minnesota loggers cooperative received certification from an international certification body. The certification paves the way for much greater volume of certified wood to be delivered to companies seeking it. The certification came from the SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance, which is accredited to certify under the Forest Stewardship Councils (FSC) standards of ecologically sound forestry. FSC certification provides assurance that the forestry being practiced meets the highest available economic, social, and environmental standards of good forestry. Forest products from certified forests are marketed worldwide using the FSC trademark. The Aurora-based Forest Management Systems Cooperative is composed of nine companies located from Brainerd to the Iron Range to Finland. Previously, there was only one FSC certified chain-of- custody logging and trucking company in the whole state of Minnesota. Currently, there isn’t enough certified wood being produced in Minnesota to meet the demand. Many companies around the country are searching for FSC certified paper and wood products including Time-Warner, Home Depot, and LL Bean. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is working to FSC certify more than 5 million acres of state lands by 2006. Very quickly, a large amount of FSC wood will be available and the logger’s cooperative will be part of the infrastructure to deliver it. For more information, go to: www.forestrycenter.org.

Copyright Forest Products Society Sep 2005