Over the past 15 years significant strides have been made at both ends of the wood products channel: in the forest with certified forestry improving forest management practices, and in the marketplace with a growing number of well-defined green purchasing guidelines and certification programs. There is no question these developments have made a difference in both the forests and in the stores. So, a relevant question is, are we there yet? Have we achieved sufficient progress to make the concept of sustainability, sustainable?

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

[New York] Taking what’s been called a leadership position among financial service firms in the corporate green movement, the Charlotte, N.C.-based financial giant set aside all but $2 billion of its commitment for lending, advice and market creation to help commercial clients finance the use and production of new products, services and technologies. The bank also will launch the capability to trade carbon emissions credits, a move designed “to enable clients to achieve carbon emission neutrality through existing and emerging market mechanisms.” The bank’s also evaluating investment management solutions that incorporate forest conservation principles consistent with those defined by the Forest Stewardship Council. In addition, Bank of America will commit $1.4 billion to achieve LEED certification — short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — in all new construction facilities and banking centers, including a New York City skyscraper expected to open late in 2008.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

[Oregon] Carbon-credit trading is on the rise worldwide, but woodland owners will need to overcome serious obstacles to gain a foothold in the new market, according to several industry experts at the Forests, Carbon and Climate Change Conference in Corvallis, Ore. Although the carbon credit cap-and-trade system has grown into an estimated $40 billion global industry since being implemented in 2005, “forest carbon was a trivial part of that,” said Bettina von Hagen, vice president of forestry for the Ecotrust nonprofit group. “It’s not a done deal that we will become part of the mix unless we begin to shape the rules in Oregon” and elsewhere. Difficulties in measuring offset emissions, managing risk, navigating complex rules and committing to lengthy contracts all impede the growth of the forest carbon market, said Matt Delaney, a forestry consultant.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

[West Virginia] Our long standing goal with Crummies Creek Tree Farm is to balance our portfolio by managing for and deriving income from as wide a variety of sources as possible. In addition to annual timber sales on our 965 acres, Crummies Creek produces non-timber commodities including black Cohosh, American ginseng, Goldenseal and log moss. And we like to tell others about what we are doing by regularly holding forest management programs and demonstrations. We’ve found tremendous income potential and interest from our clients in managing non-timber commodities, however this work has also focused our attention on the ground, where non-native plants threaten to compromise our new found opportunities. In addition to eliminating many important understory plants from our native woodlands, invasive species like Japanese stiltgrass, garlic mustard, Asian honeysuckle and Chinese tree of heaven are now becoming recognized for their negative impact on hardwood regeneration. [From the latest Forest Guild newsletter]

The Southern Forests Network is seeking an experienced forestry professional to provide coordination and technical expertise for programs in sustainable forestry, forest certification, and market development for sustainable forest products. The full-time position provides competitive salary and benefits, excellent opportunities for professional development, and the opportunity to work at the forefront of the South’s growing sustainable forestry movement.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

Areas of Europe and North America shown to be reversing deforestation
[Rome] Europe and North America have reversed centuries of deforestation and are showing a net increase in wooded areas, but most developing countries continue to cut down their trees, a U.N. agency said Tuesday. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in its biannual report on the State of the World’s Forests that economic prosperity and careful forest management have had positive effects. However, poor or conflict-stricken countries — where clear-cutting and uncontrolled fires are especially severe — still face serious challenges in managing their wooded areas, the agency said.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is a voluntary, market-based system for achieving sustainability in the forest products industry. FSC certification is growing quickly- the acreage of FSC certified forests in the U.S. doubled from 2005 to 2006 to nearly 25 million acres. Yet FSC certification is inaccessible to most private landowners and small mills due to the cost and administrative requirements. The Southern Forests Network’s Group Certification Program will provide private forestlands and small facilities with FSC certification and technical assistance.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org<

[California] Plan-It Hardware and Friedman’s Home Improvement have announced the introduction of the new Green It Yourself campaign in the three Friedman’s stores in Santa Rosa, Sonoma and Ukiah. The company selected hundreds of products that offer the greenest option in many hardware categories including paints, lawn-and-garden, housewares and cleaners, plumbing, and lighting. Selecting green and sustainable products has become easier thanks to a growing number of independent third-party certification organizations whose expertise Plan-It Hardware respects. The Forest Stewardship Council (www.fsc.org) approves lumber and wood products coming from sustainably managed forests.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org

The report inventories economic benefits assessments, illustrates how they were used in local land use planning, and provides a starting place for conservationists interested in conducting their own assessments.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

The Longleaf Alliance hosts an informational forum with postings on longleaf restoration and management. Topics include longleaf pine establishment, exotic species control, prescribed fire, groundcover restoration, upcoming events, and news items.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

March 30, 2007 in Oakwood, VA & March 31, 2007 in Galax, VA, sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia State University

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www.southernsustainableforests.org

LMS is an evolving application designed to assist in landscape level analysis and planning of forest ecosystems by automating the tasks of stand projection, graphical and tabular summarization, stand visualization, and landscape visualization. LMS is implemented as a Microsoft Windows (TM) application that coordinates the activities of other programs (projection models, visualization tools, etc.) that makeup the overall system. Click on the link above to access the Free LMS Download page.

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www.southernsustainableforests.org