Thursday, 01 May 2003
PA a Keystone for FSC
Pennsylvania’s 2.2 million acres of FSC-certified state forests are a diverse mix of hardwoods enriched with thousands of plant and animal species, rivers and streams, and opportunities for recreation. Pennsylvania’s state forestland now represents the largest FSC-certified forest in the U.S.
Some of the most valuable timber species in the world come from this forest: maple, oak, ash, poplar and black cherry. Using sustainable forestry practices under the FSC to retain biological diversity, Pennsylvania manages all the values of the forests in order to protect the long-term health and viability of the forests for generations to come. “We want the state forests to serve as a model of sustainable forestry for all our citizens and private landowners," said Dr. James Grace, the Pennsylvania State Forester.
In 1997 and 1998, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) evaluated Pennsylvania’s state forestland for FSC certification, with help from a generous grant by The Heinz Endowments. Pennsylvania’s state forestland represented some of the first public land in the U.S. to be considered for certification. Pennsylvania’s state forests ranked high in all areas of evaluation: timber resources sustainability, forest ecosystem management, and financial and socio-economic impact.
“The health of Pennsylvania’s forests goes a long way in strengthening the vitality of the state, economically, ecologically, educationally and culturally. We believe that the FSC’s standards best promote the practice of responsible forestry and we are proud that we could help ensure that Pennsylvania’s forests achieved FSC certification," said Caren Glotfelty of the Heinz Endowments.
Harvest levels of certified timber on the state forests range from 45 to 60 million board feet of grade and veneer quality logs annually. In addition, more than 5 million cubic feet of low-grade hardwoods are harvested for use by the paper and composite board industries. Each year, 30 to 50 firms purchase standing timber for harvest and processing. While this high-quality lumber has many uses, much of it is used worldwide for furniture and flooring. The market for cherry and other hardwoods coming from this land is very strong, allowing the state to turn its revenue into more sustainable forestry practices. Given the global market for wood from Pennsylvania, FSC sees opportunity for growth. An increasing number of mills have undergone chain-of-custody certification and now make FSC-certified lumber and other wood products from Pennsylvania’s forests available to world markets.
Pennsylvania manages its forests to retain their wild character, wherever possible. Ecosystem management is the strategy that guides the state Bureau of Forestry’s approach. Ecosystem management means that all forest values and functions are maintained at the landscape level.
Endangered species share the forests with hikers and backpackers. Some of the state level rare species include the Short-eared owl, the Peregrine falcon, the American bittern, the Great egret, the rock vole, the Allegheny woodrat, and the Yellow-crowned Night-heron. Whitetail deer abound—still a significant challenge for the state, since deer eat the young seedlings that regenerate the forest.
The biggest advantage to Pennsylvania of having a certified forest is verification of the quality of the state’s public land management, according to Grace. “Most of the requirements of our certification were things we already had underway—we had an internal ecosystem advisory committee, so certification provided a cross check of where we were headed," said Grace. Pennsylvania’s state FSC-certified land is this summer about to undergo recertification. Grace expects everything to go smoothly, and believes FSC certification will pay off. “Certainly certification’s role in public land management has been very important—it’s definitely been worth the effort and the financial resources involved," said Grace.