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Association News

Forest Biomass Carbon-Neutral
The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) voiced support for the established science on the carbon-neutrality of domestic, renewable forest biomass, and offered to work collaboratively with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and other stakeholders on realizing the carbon mitigation potential of working forests in climate change policy.

David P. Tenny, President and CEO of NAFO, said, "NAFO agrees with the position of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that, 'In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fiber, or energy from the forest, will generate the greatest mitigation benefit.' NAFO also shares the view of the EPA that there is, 'scientific consensus' that carbon dioxide emitted from burning biomass will not increase CO2 in the air if done on a sustainable basis,' a position also supported by the IPCC."

SFI Calls on USGBC to Recognize Multiple Forest Certification Standards
The Sustainable Forest Initiative® Inc. (SFI®) called on the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to encourage more forest certification worldwide through inclusive recognition of SFI, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), American Tree Farm System (ATFS), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC).

The SFI program recommends a process that is far simpler than the 60 benchmarks being proposed. For information, you can see the posted SFI statement at www.sfiprogram.org/newsroom/?p=188.

New Location for Sierra-Cascade Conference
The 61st annual Sierra-Cascade Conference will be held February 11-13, 2010 at the Redding Civic Auditorium instead of the Anderson Fairgrounds. This is a new location for the conference, so please take note.

Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference, Inc. will present "2010 Forest Products & Construction Equipment Exposition." For more information, please visit the conference website at SierraCascadeExpo.com.

New Coalition for Wood Products Industry
A new national coalition was announced today, formed under the American Wood Council (AWC), which will provide an organizational structure for wood products companies and associations to work together on building codes and standards, green building policy issues, and federal and state environmental regulations affecting manufacturers.

Companies of all sizes and from across numerous wood product segments are committing to join together to have an effective voice through the coalition.

Steve Zika, President and CEO of Hampton Affiliates in Portland, Ore., said, "In the face of broad upcoming challenges to our industry, no single company can achieve the changes necessary to ensure a level playing field. It is absolutely essential that we work together and overcome these challenges together as an industry."

The coalition began forming in August and already has 40 supporting members representing more than 50 percent of lumber production, 70 percent of structural panel production, and 60 percent of engineered wood products. The coalition is expected to launch on January 1, 2010. For more information, visit www.awc.org.

FRA Speaks out on Non-native Guestworkers
The Forest Resources Association submitted testimony to the U.S. Department of Labor pointing out that DOL's proposal to move the status of non-native guestworkers employed in reforestation from H-2B to H-2A visa status would essentially shut down the guestworker program in that sector, threatening the reforestation work that underpins sustainable forestry in much of the U.S.

In FRA's submitted comment to the record, FRA President Richard Lewis pointed out that the H-2A visa program, directed toward conventional farm work, does not have the flexibility to deal with the special needs of tree-planting, brush clearing, and pre-commercial thinning. He noted that the need to arrange for inspected housing, and to specify work locations and working hours, months in advance of actual work, does not account for the special weather-related and logistical realities of this type of employment, with decisions about actual working locations often made within very short time-frames. www.forestresources.org