MINNEAPOLIS -- A gathering in July at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, WI, will explore the challenges and opportunities for growing family forest certification, according to Dovetail Partners Inc. The outcome will be the identification of a strategic path forward, and the timing of the meeting is designed to coincide with efforts by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to develop a family forest program in the United States.
“Responsible forestry is everyone’s responsibility, whether you are the steward of 100 acres or 100,000 acres,” said Kathryn Fernholz, executive director of Dovetail Partners and core organizer for the FSC Family Forests Alliance. “But the reality is that what works well for small landowners is different from what works for larger ones.”
To date, less than 5 million acres of privately owned, non-industrial forestland is third-party certified in the United States. A new national effort aims to develop the partnerships that are needed to overcome the known barriers to family forest certification.
“The FSC is the world’s fastest growing certification program and it is important that family forest owners are given equal opportunity to participate in this marketing opportunity,” said Ian Hanna with the Northwest Natural Resources Group.
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