Alabama Pilot Results in Certified Lands

Close to 800,000 acres/324,000 hectares of privately owned Alabama forestlands have been certified through an innovative pilot where forest owners who are part of the state's "Treasure Forest" program are eligible now for certification to the American Tree Farm System (ATFS).

The pilot, involving the Alabama Forestry Commission, The Alabama Forestry Association, Alabama SFI Implementation Committee and ATFS, involves 1,313 different forest properties. The SFI Implementation Committee paid for a risk assessment by PriceWaterhousecoopers that showed forest management practices required by Alabama's Treasure Forest program met Tree Farm's strict standards.

"We invested in this project because we wanted to have a larger basket of certified wood for our customers, and to make people more aware of the value of certification," says Sam Hopkins of the Westervelt Company, who chairs the SFI Implementation Committee. "With demand for certified wood increasing, this helps us maintain desirable markets."

The SFI program recognizes fiber from any standard operating in North America endorsed by PEFC, which means fiber from forests certified to ATFS and the Canadian Standards Association can be counted as certified content for SFI label use.