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Washington's State-Managed Forests Get 'Green' Tag From Timber Industry

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 September 2004, 06:00 CDT

Sep. 29--The state's management of 1.4 million acres of Western Washington forests meets timber industry quality standards, according to a third-party audit commissioned for the state Department of Natural Resources.

The audit, completed Sept. 16 by BVQI of North America, suggests timber sold by the state qualifies for a Sustainable Forestry Initiative label sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Association.

Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, who runs the agency, said Tuesday he's glad state-managed lands qualify for the timber industry label. He also promised to seek similar "green" certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, which runs a competing program backed by environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund.

"This is definitely the right thing to do -- to ensure to the public and consumers that our practices protect water quality, fish, biological diversity and healthy ecosystems," Sutherland said in a prepared statement.

State Rep. Mike Cooper (D-Edmonds), who is running against Sutherland (R-Lacey) in the November general election, has made pursuit of "green" certification for state-managed forests a key element of his campaign. In a prepared statement issued after Sutherland's announcement, Cooper said he is disappointed by Sutherland's commitment to Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification.

"Doug Sutherland is embracing a timber industry certification program that lacks public credibility and rigorous standards. SFI gives a seal of approval to extensive clear-cutting, short timber-growing cycles and heavy use of chemicals," Cooper said.

Sutherland's failure to actively pursue Forest Stewardship Council certification long has been a focus of criticism from environmental activists.

Sutherland and the Board of Natural Resources, which sets DNR policy, refused to incorporate FSC requirements in the calculations for the state's recently adopted 10-year timber harvest target, despite objections from the Washington Environmental Council, a coalition of environmental groups.

Sutherland's predecessor, Jennifer Belcher, took the first steps toward FSC certification before she left office in 2000. After that, a third-party auditor, Scientific Certification Systems, conducted two audits of state-managed timber lands. The state's land management programs met most, but not all FSC standards.

After Sutherland's announcement Tuesday, Becky Kelley, the WEC's forest policy analyst, said the Sustainable Forestry Initiative is "not a credible measure of environmental performance." She also called Sutherland's commitment to green certification meaningless. "I think the public in Washington expects better management of our public forests than the standard timber industry forest," she said.

Sutherland said he didn't pursue FSC certification earlier because he didn't want to divert attention from a decision on the harvest target. He also insisted that the environmental standards of the industry-backed Sustainable Forestry Initiative are more stringent than those of the FSC, which also strives to meet social justice goals.

The lands commissioner's commitment to SFI is backed by Bruce Bare, dean of the University of Washington's College of Forest Resources, who is also a member of the Board of Natural Resources.

"Third-party certification recognizes that DNR is practicing sustainable forest management," he said.

Washington forests certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative include lands managed by Hampton Resources, Hancock Timber Resource Group, Green Diamond Resource Co. (a division of Simpson), Port Blakely Tree Farms, Rayonier and Weyerhaeuser.

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WY, RYN,

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