Newsletter Stories


Thursday, 30 August 2012
Seattle Parks earns FSC certification

 (© Bethany Weeks via Flickr Creative Commons)© Bethany Weeks via Flickr Creative Commons

The City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation became the first urban forest manager in the US to earn FSC certification for 2,500 acres of forested parkland.


The Northwest Natural Resources Group issued the certificate as part of their FSC Forest Management Group, which is certified by the Soil Association’s Woodmark Program. The certification complements the work of Green Seattle Partnership, which works to restore forested parklands by removing ivy, invasive species and other threats to Seattle’s urban forest.

“The FSC certification helps ensure we are doing the right things to assure a healthy and sustainable forest for Seattle. We appreciate the help we’re getting from the Northwest Natural Resource Group, and everyone — from the Forest Stewards and Superintendent of Parks to Mayor McGinn — are very excited about getting certified. We are very happy to be the first urban forest in the US to receive the Certification,” said Mark Mead, Senior Urban Forester with the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.

In becoming FSC certified, the Parks Department joins Seattle Public Utilities, which provides drinking water to Seattle and earned FSC certification for the Cedar River Watershed. The forested parklands cover six percent of Seattle’s land area and comprise 20 percent of the urban forest canopy.

For more information, visit http://parkways.seattle.gov/2012/08/15/2411/.

Read "A Seattle First: Parks With Sustainable Urban Forests" by KCTS9 / EarthFix reporter Katie Campbell.