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Essex Timber Company Awarded FSC Certification
Largest private forestland in Vermont managed for ecological and forest products values
December 3, 2003
CONTACT:
Stacy Brown, National Wildlife Federation, 802.229.0650
Wilhelm Merck, Essex Timber Company, 978.356.5995
Dave Bubser, SmartWood, 507.663.1115
Bina Venkataraman, Rainforest Alliance, 212.677.1900
Richmond, Vermont - The SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance has announced that Essex Timber Company, LLC (ETC) has been granted Forest Management certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) managed the assessment process, which resulted in the certification of 86,104 acres owned by ETC, the largest privately owned forestland in the state.
Essex Timber Company was founded in 1999 when it acquired this forestland, located in the Northeast Kingdom region of Vermont, from The Conservation Fund (TCF). TCF had purchased the land from Champion International Company and coordinated the sale of conservation and public access easements. This innovative and ambitious project was designed to create a new model for conservation in the Northern Forest. The ETC forestlands had been managed for timber for many years and prior to its sale much of the high value timber had been harvested. ETC bought relatively young forests that will require a light harvesting hand for a number of years as the forest grows in age and timber value.
Traditionally, these forestlands have played a significant role in supporting the local and regional economy through the flow of timber harvested on these lands; the provision of important fish and wildlife habitat; and the opportunities for public recreation such as hunting and snowmobiling. As a timber investment management organization (TIMO), ETC is focused on investors interested in long-term gains with low risk, and the company's objectives coincide well with both the forests' resources and the terms of the easements. Following this tradition ETC will maintain the land as a working forest supporting the region's economy; offer public access which has been a common feature of industry ownership; and provide permanent protection for unique and important wildlife habitat and natural areas. A working forest easement and public access easement on ETC forestlands, held by the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources respectively, confirm ETC's commitment to upholding these important values.
The FSC certification process entails detailed review of the owner's forest management plan; on-the-ground inspections of timber harvests and other management activities; interviews of affected community members and timber harvesting contractors; and periodic audits of the owner's adherence to forest management plans and ecological protections. The NWF assessment team was comprised of ecology, forestry and socio-economic specialists from the region, and based its evaluations on the SmartWood Northeast Regional Guidelines.
"Managing the lands with FSC standards goes hand in hand with our investment objectives and conservation values. Essex Timber Company is committed to the idea that responsible forest stewardship will ultimately result in the highest value forest. For us that means careful harvesting complemented by a period of re-growth for large areas of the forestland," said Wilhelm Merck, Managing Member of Essex Timber Company. "Together with other certified landowners we would like to supply a timber product that is differentiated in the marketplace by the fact that the forests it came from are managed with a long-term perspective."
ETC lands are within an area of nearly 200,000 conserved acres, and the company will endeavor to integrate landscape level management planning where appropriate. Neighboring Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service acquired 26,000 acres when the Champion lands were sold, and the State of the Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources/ Department of Fish and Wildlife bought 16,500 acres to form the new West Mountain Wildlife Management area. ETC parcels are located in 14 towns in the sparsely populated NE Kingdom and together comprise over 20 percent of Vermont's Essex County.
"The certification of Essex Timber Company lands completes the picture of maintaining healthy working forests alongside state and federal investments in the former Champion Lands," said Stacy Brown of NWF. "Not only will public access be retained on ETC lands, but Vermonters can look towards a sustainable flow of timber products that support both jobs and wildlife."
The ETC forestlands are home to more than 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians; notably the boreal chickadee, black-backed woodpecker, mink frog, snowshoe hare, black bear, moose and white-tailed deer. These forests include such ecologically significant areas as old growth forest, undisturbed wetlands complexes, deer wintering areas and relatively remote ponds. Ponds, streams, wetlands and vernal pools are sprinkled across a landscape of sloping hardwood forests, softwood in lowland basins and mixed wood forests.
The certification of ETC's forestlands will considerably enhance the volume of FSC-certified forestlands in Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom area, and provide opportunities for mills and manufacturers interested in selling certified products to access an additional local/regional source of certified logs.
SmartWood is a program of the Rainforest Alliance, an international conservation organization that works to protect endangered ecosystems and the people and wildlife that live in them by transforming land use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Established in 1989, SmartWood is the oldest and most extensive global forest certification program and is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council. SmartWood has eight regional offices and partners with a network of nonprofit conservation organizations. SmartWood is headquartered in Richmond, Vermont, USA. Further information about SmartWood can be found at www.smartwood.org.
The Forest Stewardship Council supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. FSC promotes responsible forest management by evaluating and accrediting certifiers, by encouraging the development of national and regional forest management standards and by providing public education and information about independent, third-party certification as a tool for ensuring that the world's forests are protected for future generations. Information on the FSC can be found at www.fscoax.org.
The National Wildlife Federation is the nation's largest member-supported conservation advocacy and education group, uniting people from all walks of life to protect nature, wildlife, and the world we all share. Working with the FSC-accredited SmartWood program, NWF has certified forest landowners and companies across the northeastern U.S., involving more than 1 million forested acres. Visit NWF at www.nwf.org
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