Tuesday, 01 March 2005
View From A Member
A Letter to the Editor From Sierra Club
We would like to call attention to an editorial faux-pas in the February 2005 issue of FSC U.S. News & Views, which despite its seemingly small size is nonetheless of considerably greater significance in the broader world of certification policy and procedure. In the article titled, “Congratulations to Potlatch Corporation” (pg. 3), a reference was made to specific parcels of Potlatch land that had been certified to FSC standards in 2004. However, the article then went on to inappropriately presume that additional Potlatch lands “are expected to obtain FSC certification in 2005.”
Although the writer may indeed have such expectations, we hope the FSC assessment process decidedly does not. For the same reason that a school student is not graded on her mere participation in a test, but only on the results of that test, a forest owner is not given a certificatebefore a forest management assessment is completed and the results are determined.
An assessment can just as easily produce a failing grade as a passing grade. To imply that an assessment will lead to certification (as the article does), or to praise a forest owner for results that are not yet in, is not only inaccurate but it impugns the integrity of the FSC as a whole. As a founding member of the FSC, we are fully prepared to congratulate a certificate-holder for legitimately passing the test — but not before the final grade is in. More importantly, we need the integrity of the FSC, its standards, its assessment process, and all its checks and balances to remain strong and intact. Toward that end, we respectfully ask FSC U.S. News & Views writers and editors to avoid inappropriate presumptions wherever possible. We promise we will do our best to do the same. Thanks for keeping us informed.
John Berry
Sierra Club Representative to the FSC