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Boise Cascade's Idaho Timberlands Receive Certification to Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI(SM)) Standards
Boise Cascade's Idaho Timberlands Receive Certification to Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI(SM)) Standards
Published 10-24-00
Submitted by Boise Cascade Corporation
Boise Cascade Corp. (NYSE: BCC)announced today results from an independent, third-party audit to certify approximately 200,000 acres of timberland located in the company's Idaho Region.
standards and confirmed compliance with the company's proprietary Forest Stewardship Values and Measures. The audit examined forest management practices on timberland owned and managed by the company and on private and
public land where the company harvests standing timber.
Accompanying the audit team as observers during portions of the audit were six representatives from Boise Cascade wood products customers and two members of the independent Forest Stewardship Advisory Council. The independent Forest Stewardship Advisory Council is composed of nationally recognized conservation experts who have agreed to advise Boise Cascade on forest
stewardship enhancements. Council members are: George Brown, Ph.D., dean emeritus, College of Forestry, Oregon State University; David Thorud, Ph.D.,dean emeritus, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington; and Jack Ward Thomas, Ph.D., professor of wildlife biology, University of Montana School of Forestry, and chief emeritus, U.S. Forest Service.
PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit report certified that Boise Cascade is in full compliance with the SFI standards. The audit report also identified a
number of Good Management Practices, where performance was judged to be superior to the norm. Boise Cascade land managers were commended for leadership in landscape-level planning echniques, effective communications with contractors, meeting scenic visual objectives, and logger training. Also identified were some Opportunities for Improvement, where procedures could be upgraded, including addressing the impacts of livestock on streams, formal methods to measure natural regeneration, and minimizing soil productivity effects during site preparation.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers audit team included technical experts in forest engineering, forest planning, silviculture, and forest hydrology. Auditors interviewed Boise Cascade staff, contractors, U.S. Forest Service employees,
and neighboring landowners, plus they inspected office processes and numerous individual sites in the forest.
Boise Cascade's Western Oregon timberlands, approximately 300,000 acres, were previously certified for SFI compliance in June 2000.
"We are extremely pleased that our Western Oregon and Idaho timberlands are now certified using SFI and our own Forest Stewardship Values and Measures
as standards," said David New, vice president of Timberland Resources. "We continue to identify opportunities to improve our forest practices. The knowledge we have gained from our first two audits will help us work with the independent Forest Stewardship Advisory Council and our forest managers to enhance our practices in sustainable forestry."
The American Forest & Paper Association's Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI(SM)) Program is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives, and performance measures that integrates the sustainable growing and harvesting of trees with protection of wildlife, plants, soil, and water quality. Boise Cascade was one of the original developers of SFI.
Boise Cascade Corp., headquartered in Boise, Idaho, is a major distributor of office products and building materials and an integrated manufacturer and distributor of paper and wood products. The company also owns or controls
2.3 million acres of timberland in the United States. A leader in sustainable forestry, Boise Cascade uses third-party audits and an advisory council of independent experts in its Forest Stewardship Program to ensure the protection
of wildlife, plants, soil, and air and water quality. Visit the Boise Cascade
web site at http://www.bc.com.
