A complete product line from one of the South's most modern mills

\te pnoduce over 110 million board feet of pressrrne treated products annually, plus an additional 170 million board feet of untreated.

In all, hundreds of wood products...

INCLI]DING:

Radius edge decking, treated plywood, dog eared fencing, lattice, mail box kits, deco-posts and hand rail, balusters, picnic tables, Gothic top fence posh, stair stringers, patio squares, bench supports for decks, French Gothic and Gothic 1x4 fencing in 4'a.d 6', landscape timbers. markets in 13 Southern states

PLUS: a complete line of Southern Pine dimension lumber in all three grades.

PLUS: enthusiastic senrice to back up our extensive line of quality products.

PLUS: a company fleet of 165 trucks for quick deliveries coastto-coast.

EDITORI.AL

No facts, just action

If you've ever wondered what it takes to get a species listed under the Endangered Species Act" the case of the California gnatcatcher provides what may be a typical example.

While Department of the Interior secretary Bruce Babbitt has held up the gnatcarcher as a demonstration of his "flexible" approach to the ESA, it urrns out Interior listed the bird despite a total absence ofresearch data.

In a fit of environmental zeal, Interior's bureaucrats decided to list the bird without allowing any public review of the data that 'Justified" their action. Responding to the howls of local builders and developers, U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin took the bird off the threatened species list. Then Mr. Babbitt promised to provide the da0a, so back onto the threatened list the gnatcatcher went.

When the building industry asked Interior for the research data. it was nowhere to be found. Referred to the ornithologist who did the study, industry was told the daa had been destroyed in 1986. Now the story gets really weird. The 1991 report that backed the original listing had been

DAVID CUTLER publisher

preceded by two reports. One in 1988 which claimed the Mexican and California gnarcarchefs were the same species and a 1990 report saying they weren't. California builders had earlier pointod out that. the thouands of birds norh of tbe bord€r werc at least matched by a similrr number south of the bord€r. Endangered specbs" inde€d. Despite its lack of justification, the Interior Deparment's enviros have continued to push fc the listing of the gnatcarcher as 6a sndangened species. In view of the fact that ttreir liSing pts vast tracts of coastal land off limits to develop ment, the species most threatened here is the human. Much of tbe land involved was sliated fm first time home buyers and low income fmilies. By putting the bird fint and the citizens secon4 the Deparunent's commitment to environmental extremism becomes clear. Similar examples abound across the U.S. No matrer what fre factg the Interior Deparment is going to do what it wants to do.

It seems an obvious case of the public be danned.

Environmental Certification Growth

A wide selection of certified environmental products was displayed at the National Building Products Exposition & Conference in Chicago, Il., last month. Certification of environmentat claims for hardline products has gained in the past three years with increasing numbers of building product retailers committed to selling certified products.

"It has become clear that a watershed has been reached in our industry," said Mark Eisen, environmental marketing manager for Home Depot. "We've now reached the critical mass we need to begin advertising the envirorunental achievements of our vendors."

Environmental claims are often supported by a cross and globe environmental label or an Environmental Report

PRELIMINARY findings of an environmental study of ACQ Preserve are undergoing final peer and stakeholder review. lt is expected that lhe product will be lhe first pressure treated wood chemical lo receive an Environmertal Reporl Card from Scientific Ceilification Systems, a third party certification organization. The trealment preservative, which conlains no arcenic or chromium, is being judged for its entire life cycle from the time raw matedals were extracied from the earlh througti product manufadure, distribution, use and disposal.

Card indicating certification by Scientific Certification Systems, Oakland, Ca. Their report card provides a comprehensive view of the product's "eco-profile" including natural resource and energy use and pollution and waste generated during the product's life cycle. SCS also certifies wood products under a Forest. Conservation Program.

Stores carrying certified products include Ace Hardware, Builder's Square, Busy Beaver Home Centers, Chase-Pitkin, Coast to Coast, Courtesy Home Centers, Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers, Hechinger, HomeBase, Home Depot, Lowe's, NHD Stores, Orchard Supply Hardware, Pergament Home Centers, Sears, ServiStar, Stambaugh-Thompson, Sutherland Lumber and True Value Hardware Stores.

"We're glad to see that our work of the past few yean is now bearing fruit," said Richard Lindsay, National Retail Hardware Association direc0or of sales. "In a very short time, our industry has learned the value of presenting accurate, verified environmental information to our customers."