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What's Happening from Environmental Building News

June 1, 2008

FSC National Standard Friendly to Small Forests

The rules for certifying small forests through the Forest Stewardship Council are being incorporated into a national standard. Many of these small forests are owned and operated by families.

Every five years, the U.S. chapter of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC–US) revises the standards it uses to certify forests. The current revision process promises a change from regional standards to a national one friendlier to small forests, including many owned and managed by families.

Forests in the U.S. are currently certified using one of nine regional variations of the international FSC standards. A national standard would combine the similar elements of those standards. Regional concerns could be addressed through applicability notes that would describe in which regions a given criteria should be used. According to FSC–US, this approach would streamline review of the standard and allow the Council to certify forests in parts of the U.S. not currently covered by regional standards, such as Hawaii and Alaska.

As part of this review process, a working group is adapting the FSC–US rules for small forests for use in the national standard. Starting in 2004, FSC–US allowed managers of small forests (under 2,500 acres, or 1,000 ha) to use streamlined certification rules. Small forests are subject to lower sampling levels, more local stakeholder review (instead of national), and fewer peer reviews than larger forests. According to Karen Steer, a consultant to FSC–US and the coordinator of the standards revision process, the working group is “not looking in any way to change the intent of the standards,” but is rather working to make the national standard more accessible for owners of small forests. FSC International is also looking at this issue; it gathered interested parties together in Portugal in May 2008 to discuss improving access to FSC standards for small forests worldwide.

FSC–US expects to have a draft of the new standards available for public comment in the summer of 2008 and to release the final version by the end of the year.

– Allyson Wendt

For More Information:

Forest Stewardship Council
Reston, Virginia
703-438-3570
www.fscus.org/standards_criteria

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