May 9, 2003

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Phil Guillery, 612-870-3456, pguillery@iatp.org

Minneapolis - An international certification body has officially certified the Community Forestry Resource Center of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) as following standards of responsible forestry. The new designation will make it easier for Minnesota and Upper Midwest landowners to take advantage of economic, social and ecological benefits of forest certification.

The certification for IATP's Community Forestry Resource Center (CFRC) allows the program to certify private woodland owners as utilizing responsible forestry management practices. The certification came from the SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance, which is accredited to certify under the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) standards of ecologically sound forestry.

Over the past three years, the CFRC has been developing and piloting an "umbrella certification system" as an innovative way to help private landowners overcome some of the economic and capacity barriers of FSC certification. In nearly all situations, landowners themselves have absorbed significant costs to get certification. Under the new system CFRC holds the certification and landowners work under the umbrella system. This model of "group certification" will make it easier for landowners to produce FSC certified products, while providing the benefit of access to CFRC staff for help with tracking and evaluating management planning and implementation in relation to the FSC standards. The program should greatly increase access to certification for landowners living in areas without existing certified resource managers or other means to access certification. Costs and risk are reduced by CFRC bearing the direct assessment responsibility and fees.

"This certification by SmartWood is a major step forward in our efforts to increase the number of landowners and acreage of forests that are responsibly managed," says Phil Guillery, director of the CFRC program at IATP. "This new certification should directly benefit small landowners interested in the ecological, social and economic benefits of sustainably managed forests."

The Umbrella Certification program was developed with a pilot group of about 10 landowners representing just under 1,000 acres. There is additional interest from the members of at least three forestry co-ops to apply for membership in the Umbrella. The agreement with SmartWood allows CFRC to offer membership to landowners in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The CFRC hopes to enroll at least 10 additional landowners this year and as many as 20 next year, representing about 100 acres each on average.

Since 1998, the CFRC has been helping to develop and access the forest management and market benefits of FSC certification for private woodland landowners. The FSC is the internationally recognized standard setting body that accredits and monitors forestry certifiers worldwide. FSC certification provides assurance that the forestry being practiced meets the highest available economic, social, and environmental standards of good forestry. Forest products from certified forests are marketed using the FSC trademark.

Currently, CFRC assists 17 forestry cooperatives or non-profit organizations, and 14 other groups in various stages of exploring and developing landowner associations committed to practicing sustainable forestry.

SmartWood has been doing certification assessments in the Midwest for more than five years, including the recent certification of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN and the recertification of Aitkin County Land Department. FSC forest certification in Minnesota began with the 1997 certification of Aitkin County Land Department and MN DNR-managed lands in Aitkin County. This base of FSC-certified forests has since been expanded to include Cass County and private forestlands, making Minnesota a recognized leader in forest certification and responsible forestry. Close to one million acres have been FSC certified in Minnesota.

For more information, contact: Community Forestry Resource Center of IATP, 2105 First Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55429, 612-870-3415, forestrycenter@iatp.org, www.forestrycenter.org

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy.

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