/Silvi-Econ_Case_Study_D._Puttock_10

SILV-ECON LTD. CERTIFIED FOREST PROGRAM

David Puttock

SILV-ECON LTD. Resource Management Consultants   

Established in 1987, in our 24th year of operation 2 Registered Professional Foresters, 1 Technician, Associates Full Service Provider of Forest Management Services

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FSC Forest Certification Management Planning including MFTIP Forest Inventory , GPS/GIS Mapping Silvicultural Prescriptions Tree Marking for Thinning by Certified Tree Markers Timber Harvest Monitoring

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Tree Planting, Etc.

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FSC Resource Manager   

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In 2006, Silv-Econ became the first forest management consultant to receive FSC certification in Canada Currently 1214 ha of FSC Certified Forest on 16 properties including 1 county forest In addition to the certified forests that we manage, we have established a unique partnership with 2 sawmills to certify woodlots that those mills are managing. The mills have Chain of Custody (COC) certificates.

2010 was the first year in which timber from Silv-Econ certified forests was sold as FSC Certified

Certified Forest Program  

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Silv-Econ has developed a framework for enrolling a property in our Certified Forest Program Flexible to accommodate landowner objectives and the management expertise required to achieve those objectives Key elements are:      

5-year Forest Certification Agreement with the landowner Silv-Econ operating standards for forest management Forest Stewardship Plan Process/ Assistance for public consultation for public forests Forest management services as needed, e.g. silvicultural prescriptions, tree marking, etc.

Landowner can use FSC, Rainforest Alliance, Smartwood trademarks/logos subject to FSC/Smartwood approval

Certified Forest Program Expenses    

Initial enrollment fee $8/ ha public forests, $11 /ha private forests (2011) Annual Certified Forest Program expense $4.89/ha (2011) public forests only FSC Accreditation administration fee - N/C Smartwood annual audit expense – landowner’s portion of cost for field audit by Smartwood auditors. Silv-Econ absorbs all other audit costs 

2011 audit $10469 – landowners’ portion $1400 shared between the 2 landowners whose forests were audited

Lessons Learned 

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Certified Forest Program must remain flexible to accommodate landowner objectives and the management expertise required to achieve those objectives Certification can be expensive, especially during the initial years until a sufficient amount of area is under the certificate to make costs sustainable There are economies of scale Market demand for FSC certified timber is growing, however timber buyers are unwilling to pay a premium for certified timber There appears to be greater access to markets for certified timber than for non-certified timber, especially during slow markets Legitimacy with the environmental community, public, media