January 11, 2001
Experts list: Would state forestlands profit from ‘green’ certification?
The University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources recently brought together 10 experts on forest certification to provide information to state and Congressional leaders, county land commissioners, agency personnel, environmental groups and foresters. Following is a list of Web sites and experts that might be helpful for future stories about forest certification in Washington state and elsewhere.
Useful Web sites
For a primer on certification, see http://faculty.washington.edu/bare/Nov9Symp/
Forest Stewardship Council, United States, see http://www.fscus.org/
American Forest & Paper Association’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative, see http://www.afandpa.org/forestry/sfi_frame.html
Certified Forest Products Council, see http://www.certifiedwood.org/
Kristiina Vogt, University of Washington dean of the College of Forest Resources
(206) 685-1928, kvogt@u.washington.edu
— Vogt, an ecosystem scientist and co-author of the just published book “Forest Certification: Roots, Issues, Challenges, and Benefits,” is interested in what forest certification might contribute to the sustainability and biodiversity of our forests. Her work in forests around the world gives her a global perspective on questions about certification and other Northwest resource issues.
B. Bruce Bare, University of Washington professor of forest resources
(206) 685-0878, bare@u.washington.edu
— Bare is a forest management specialist who is investigating the role of forest certification in relation to sustainable forestry. He can discuss the various certification schemes as well as other conservation tools such as forest trusts, conservation easements and habitat conservation plans.
Jerry Franklin, University of Washington professor of forest resources
(206) 543-2138, (206) 543-4853, jff@u.washington.edu
— Franklin has considered the benefits of certification to the Department of Natural Resources and, in turn, the trust funds that rely on money from state timber sales. He also can talk about the benefits of certification to help the public know as much as it can about the stewardship of trust lands. He says it’s important for the state to realize that third-party certification is a must and that the state should look for the most effective system in terms of cost.
Bruce Lippke, University of Washington professor of forest resources
(206) 543-8684, blippke@u.washington.edu
— Lippke studies the economic and environmental impacts of management alternatives under the state’s Forest and Fish Act, habitat conservation plans, conservation easements and forest certification. Forest certification, for example, has been touted as a way for landowners and retailers to get better prices for products and thus offset the costs of following additional rules or restrictions. So far, however, Lippke says environmental groups have been using forest certification like a “club” to pressure retailers into offering only certified wood and boycotting other sources, which is not the same as offering incentives in an open market.
Gabriel Tucker, Evergreen State College faculty member
(360) 867-6739, tuckerg@evergreen.edu
— Certification of forestlands could provide incentives to land managers to thin and manage young, second-growth forests (30 to 50 years of age) for biodiversity as well as timber, says Tucker, who has studied how trees and understory plants respond to different amounts of thinning. Tucker helps teach the yearlong undergraduate course “Sustainable Forestry” where this year’s project involves certifying Evergreen’s 1,000-acre campus.
Marc Daudon, management consultant on environmental issues
Cascadia Consulting Group, headquartered in Seattle
(206) 343-9759, extension 104, marc@cascadiaconsulting.com
— Certifying forestlands is only one part of the equation, according to Marc Daudon, who has considered ways to expand the market for certified wood products in the Pacific Northwest. Consideration also must be given to such things as having a large enough supply of certified timber (so mills and retailers aren’t burdened with an overly complex stream of certified and non-certified wood and wood products), and finding or creating demand for certified products. Daudon says Washington state should certify its forests with the understanding that certification could jump-start the market for certified dimensional lumber in the region.
Michael Ferrucci, partner with Interforest, headquartered in Madison, Conn.
(203) 245-7436, interforest@snet.net
— Ferrucci is an independent analyst who says sustainable forestry only works if it is both profitable and ecologically sensitive. He is currently working with individual clients who are going through certification. He also is part of a novel approach being tried by the state of Maine — something that might work in Washington state, he says. Maine is trying to obtain simultaneous, dual certification under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative guidelines, developed by the industry group American Forest & Paper Association, and through the Forest Stewardship Council, a partnership of environmental groups, companies and foundations.
Chadwick Oliver, University of Washington professor of forest resources
(206) 685-0875, 543-6210, oliver@silvae.cfr.washington.edu
— Oliver can discuss certification and other options for trying to ensure that forestlands are managed sustainably. He can also talk about possible protocols and technologies that can be used to assess the sustainability of management on the state’s Department of Natural Resources lands.
James Grace, director, Bureau of Forestry, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
(717) 787-2703, jgrace@dcnr.state.pa.us
— Forest certification has been touted as a market-driven process intended to appeal to consumers who will pay more for products. For Pennsylvania forestlands, however, the intention was to verify that the state is practicing sound land-management practices, Grace says. Since 1998 the state has certified its forests under guidelines from the Forest Stewardship Council and is considering undergoing additional scrutiny using the sustainable-forestry process developed by the American Forest & Paper Association, an industry group. His advice to Washington state includes being ready for evaluations that, while they may reveal many positive practices already in place, will also highlight weaknesses that the state must be willing to deal with.
Bruce Larson, University of Washington acting professor of forest resources
(206) 543-2765, bclarson@u.washington.edu
— Larson has been following national and international trends in certification for more than half a decade and is co-author of the just-published book “Forest Certification: Roots, Issues, Challenges, and Benefits.” He says the debate over certification usually centers on society’s objectives and rarely includes mention of the landowners’ objectives, which can include sustainability, staying in business and making a profit. A key step as the state contemplates certifying DNR timberlands is for the state to be clear about its objectives.
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