Department of Conservation

For further information:
Tony Sprague 287-3531

AUGUSTA Maine - (March 19, 2002) Governor Angus S. King Jr. announced today that Maine's 485,000 acres of multiple use lands managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands were awarded independent certification under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) programs.

The State of Maine is the largest forest landowner in the nation to concurrently undertake and pass SFI and FSC certification audits.

"The public's forests deserve the best possible management, and these certifications demonstrate they are receiving it. Our dedicated foresters have undergone a rigorous examination of their stewardship and passed not one but two audits. Congratulations to the Bureau of Parks and Lands," said Governor King.

The certification concludes a process begun in the summer of 2000 when the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands, through the Washington DC-based Pinchot Institute for Conservation, contracted with two separate third-party forest certification programs. The team of InterForest, LLC of Branford, Connecticut, and Arthur Andersen of Seattle, Washington conducted the SFI portion of the audit, while Scientific Certification Systems of Oakland, California undertook the FSC portion. The process was unique in that the Bureau became the first public land manager to undertake two forest certification evaluations simultaneously.

"The State has been encouraging private landowners to certify their lands, so it was only fair that we should submit to the same standard," said Tom Morrison, Director of the Bureau of Parks and Lands. "What we gained was not just certification, but a fresh look at our management practices and specific guidance on how to make them even better."

The Pinchot Institute for Conservation provided all of the financial support for the audits through a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. "We recognize the importance of certification in the march toward sustainable forests," said Peter Howell of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. In return, the Bureau has completed an assessment of the dual-certification process for the Pinchot Institute, a non-profit organization created by President Kennedy in 1963 with a mandate to strengthen forest conservation thought, policy, and action. The Institute plans to release the findings of several public land managers' assessments of SFI and FSC certification programs by the end of March 2002.

"We have gained considerable insight into the role of independent certification in encouraging and measuring sustainable forest management. The State of Maine has made a significant contribution to both the science and the art of certification," said the Pinchot Institute's Senior Fellow Catherine Mater. "The lessons learned here in Maine will provide an important foundation of learning to many other states across the US."

"These accomplishments will be a guide to the owners and managers of public and private forest lands alike," added Al Sample, President of the Pinchot Institute. "They demonstrate-not just on paper, but on the ground where it counts-that environmentally responsible and economically viable forest management are one and the same."

The audit consisted of an analysis of the Bureau's financial, personnel, policy development and record keeping systems, in addition to an intensive two-week field audit. The Bureau spent almost one year preparing for the review.

"We were very impressed with the Bureau's management practices, their commitment to further improvements, and with their approach to the audit," commented SCS/FSC's Dr. Robert Hrubes. SFI audit team leader Mike Ferrucci concurred, noting, "The SFI process reviews current management and establishes benchmarks for future practices. The Bureau exceeded standards in many areas and has new goals they must meet to stay certified."

Certifications from both programs are being issued with certain "conditions" that will require implementation to retain certification status over the next five year period. These conditions include improvements in methods for collecting and utilizing forestry data for future forest management planning, as well as improvements in the use of Best Management Practices and further efforts in public education and outreach. It is standard for audit reviews to include these kinds of requests.

Copies of the Final Reports and a map of the forestlands managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands, may be obtained by contacting John Titus, Bureau of Parks and Lands, 22 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333, (207-287-3821) or may be viewed by visiting the Department's web site at: www.state.me.us/doc