Traditional Challenges
There are numerous challenges facing private woodlot owners in Ontario - no doubt you're familiar with many of them. The cost s associated with developing a management plan for a woodlot can be high. Many people have to hire help (such as licensed tree markers and qualified forest operators). Others may feel uncomfortable dealing with logging contractors and fear that they won't get a good price for their trees. High property taxes, income taxes, and cash flow concerns all may cause anxiety for woodlot owners. These financial pressures often lead people to sacrifice the long-term health of their forest for short-term monetary gain.
Forest Certification
Forest certification is a recent international trend that offers opportunities for woodlot owners to meet some of these challenges. A certified organization will audit a forest management operation (using specified social, ecological and economic standards) to ensure that it is operating in a sustainable manner. Certification is a valuable marketing tool because it proves that an operation is meeting very high standards for forest management. Wood products from approved forest operations often carry a logo telling consumers that the product comes from a well-managed forest.
Woodlot owners who hire a certified forest manager can have peace of mind knowing that their property is being managed by a professional who follows international standards for good forest management. Certification also has a number of potential benefits for the forest industry. It is a means for improving the industry's public image by recognizing good wood products, increased market share, and it allows continued access to the expanding 'green market.'
Forest certification started in the late 1980's as a grassroots movement dominated by environmental groups. Today certification has blossomed into international trend with more than 15 million hectares certified worldwide by the Forest Certification Council (FSC). In Canada, FSC-certified operations include the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve, the Private Land Management Program of Tembec's Huntsville Division and J.D. Irving's Black Box Brook Management Unit.
While forest certification may offer benefits for both woodlot owners and forest managers, certification is costly. Prices vary depending on the size of the property and the complexity of forest management. Initial assessments average $0.25 to $0.50 per acre for larger properties (>20,000 acres). Certificates for smaller woodlots can range between $5,000 to $15,000 for the initial audit.
The demand for certified wood is still relatively small, and those supplying it are typically catering to niche markets. However, if the certification trend continues, the time may come when only certified forest products are traded internationally. There are already indications that it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell improperly harvested wood. For wood from managed forests only (by the year 2000), and last year Tembec in Huntsville stopped purchasing wood from a large clearcut in the Haliburton region
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Cooperative Opportunities
In the US many woodlot owners are working together to share their resources to reduce the costs of forest management, certification and marketing.
Wisconsin's Sustainable Woods Cooperative is a good example of such joint efforts. Small woodlot owners combined their properties under an 'umbrella management plan' and have been certified by the FSC. Individually, they could not have afforded to hire professional help and pay for certification. 'The cooperative has been a revolution - it has allowed landowners to take control of their lands. With the assistance of the cooperative's staff (a forester. Ecologist, and timber harvest manager) landowners get actively involved in the management of their properties, ' says Jim Birkemeier, one of the founders of the Wisconsin cooperative. Such groups may go beyond forest management with marketing. 'We're trying to put more money into the pockets of woodlot owners while managing the forests in sustainable fashion', says Jim.
The Wisconsin model is based on the ration of roughly 5, 000 to 10, 000 acres of land supporting one cooperative (with a full complement of staff). There are now two sustainable woods cooperatives in the stated. A newer group involves about 50 owners and 6, 500 acres of land. Birkemeier says there has been a lot of interest in using the Wisconsin model in other regions and estimates that plans are underway for about 40 new cooperatives.
Similar efforts are underway in the New Haven watershed area of Vermont. The vast majority of this forested land is in parcels that are small, privately owned and non-industrial. In 1996, a group calling itself Vermont Family Forests was formed with the stated goal of helping landowners achieve their woodlot management objectives in ways that respects the ecological integrity of their forests. These properties are now collectively managed for a number of economic, environmental and recreational benefits and have also recently become FSC certified.
Another example of cooperative action is the Nature Conservancy's 'Forest Bank'. The initiative is targeted specifically at private woodlot owners who are interested in managing their land in a sustainable fashion, but who may be faced with financial constraints. A woodlot owner can 'deposit' their property with the Forest Bank. This gives the Forest Bank the right to grow, manage and harvest the trees on the property. The Bank will also pay the depositors the full cash value of the deposited trees on demand, however, the Bank retains the timber rights.
Conclusion
While some woodlot owners find initiatives like the Forest Bank too radical, such new ideas must be explored. But only time will tell if they will be successful, and whether they will grow beyond a niche use.
Most woodlot owners just want to do the right thing. They want to ensure the long-term health of their forests, but they also must fulfill their financial needs. Cooperative efforts to manage numerous woodlots and efforts to achieve certification are options worth considering. It is likely that these initiatives will grow in popularity and may become common practice in the not-too-distant future.
For further information contact:
Nature Conservancy's Forest Bank contact Kent Gilges at (716) 232-3530.
Forestry Cooperative Resource Centre - Phil Guillery, 2105 Fist Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404 at (612) 870-3456.
Sustainable Woods Alliance: Jim Birkemeier, S11478 Soelder Rd., Spring Green, WI 53588 at (608) 588-7342.
Forest Stewardship Council of Canada - Marcelo Levy, 49 Myrtle Ave. Toronto, ON M4M 2A4, at (416) 778-5568.
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