Thursday, 01 April 2004
Largest State Forest System in U.S. To Seek FSC Certification
Michigan's 4 Million Acres to be Assessed Under the FSC System.
In February 2004 Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that nearly four million acres of Michigan state forestland will be assessed by independent auditors to assure they are managed to the FSC’s standards of responsible forest management.
Governor Granholm’s announcement launches what will be the largest single FSC forest certification project on public or private land in the United States.
Forest certification will not only benefit biodiversity, it will also help the bottom line of Michigan businesses that depend on state forests for timber supply. Major purchasers of forest products like Time Inc., The Home Depot, Lowes and Kinko’s have begun requiring that suppliers demonstrate their product comes from well-managed forests, and Michigan hopes that its businesses can be a part of this market opportunity.
Helen Taylor, the state director of The Nature Conservancy’s Michigan Chapter and a member of the Governor’s Michigan Land Use Leadership Council, noted that managing the state forest system in a way that balances their economic, recreational and environmental benefits was a consensus recommendation of the land use council.
“We’re very excited that the State of Michigan has decided to seek FSC certification for their forestlands. FSC certification would allow products coming out of the Michigan forests to compete both in the U.S. certified forest products market, as well as in the global market. This is a significant opportunity for Michigan to be recognized for the positive impacts forestry has had in the state from a social, environmental and economic perspective,” said Roger Dower, FSC-US President.
If the assessment is successful and the State decides to sign the certification contract, this would mean a more than 40% increase in the amount of FSC-certified lands in the U.S., bringing a tremendous amount of new FSC-certified products to the North American marketplace.