Certifiably Oregon Grown

(Continued from page 44) would be pleased with the progress the industry has shown. But that has never appeared to be the case.

As much as I think I understand a little about competition, I've never seen such a battle for "market share" as I have among these non-profit organizations. There must be a lot of money to be made in non-profit work or else there are hidden agendas at play here that I don't know about, but for sure the spirit of cooperation, compromise and conciliation is missing from this picture.

Five years ago I moved to southern Oregon. Although I have been in the lumber and building material business more than 30 years, I had never before lived in a "producing" region, at least not one as prolific as the state of Oregon. It has been quite a learning experience as I find myself living in the midst of the emotional battle over how to manage the forests. During my brief tenure in this state, I have witnessed the largest wildfire in the history of Oregon (the Biscuit Bum in 2002); an attack by the Earth Liberation Front, which burned the corporate office of a local forest products company, and various protests and demonstrations against any kind of logging.

What I haven't seen or heard any mention of is the Oregon Forest Practices Act. And that is too bad, because the Oregon Forest Practices Act was in essence, certification before certification was even a seed of an idea in any organization's head.

The Oregon legislature approved the nation's first Forest Practices Act in 197 1. more than 20 years before any of the current certification agencies came into existence. In 1972,the standards set up and established by the Oregon Forest Practices Act became law. At the time these standards (which covered such actions as reforestation, road construction, streamside buffer strips, and many other issues) were far and away the most stringent in the country. (States later adopting similar acts often used Oregon as their model.) And though the standards were advisory in nature, they were specific and, more important, enforceable. More impressive was the fact that over 6,800 people completed a Forest Practices Act training program.

During its 34 years of existence, the Act has continually updated its standards, adopted amendments to cover additional issues from quality water protection to clearing rules, and, most crucial, enforced the law. These regulations apply to forest operations on all of Oregon's non-federal lands (private, state-owned, county-owned, and cityowned). Operations on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are not directly regulated, but both agencies have agreed to meet or exceed the Oregon Forest Practices Act requirements. Of course, the federal lands available for harvesting today have shrunk to virtually nothing.

The only flaw I can find with the Oregon Forest Practices Act is that they don't do enough to promote their activities. They prefer, it appears, to spend their time in the woods making sure the rules of engagement are adhered to rather than becoming a certification agency. Many certifying agencies award certification for a period of five years after the initial audit and then only come back to audit once a year. The folks in Oregon aren't nearly as generous, as they're always in the woods and if you're found to be out of compliance you'll be fined and shut down. It's simply the law. This is a huge distinction from associations who "market" and promote their standards and practices to the architects and specifiers ofthe world.

Today there are two large, high profile programs in the certification game in the U.S., the Forest Stewardship Council, founded in 1993, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, founded in 1994. Both of these organizations have done a goodjob ofpromoting certified forests and the finished wood products from such, of educating the general, consuming public, and explaining their own programs as to what constitutes sound forest practices. Both have strong supporters and together they are bringing sustainable forest practices to the public's attention and increasing the awareness of the benefits of sound forest practices. That is a good thing.

Still, for many companies that want to choose a certification agency there is uncertainty over which way to go. It's a little like trying to pick the right horse to back during the Triple Crown races. They're all thoroughbreds and in excellent shape, but which one will run a little better than the others? It's a problem. But there may be a simple solution if you're confused and concerned about what type of certified wood to buy. The answer would be to play it safe and buy wood that is manufactured in the state of Oregon and from trees harvested in that state. Not only are all the forest practices on all the non-federal lands there regulated and monitored... it's the law.

- Bob Maurer has more than 30 years of experience in the lumber and building materials business. He has worked for retail Iumber chains, wholesale distribution, buying groups, and manufacturing companies.