Certification and Silviculture – Has anything really changed?

Robert S. SeymourDept. Forest Ecosystem Science

University of Maine

Outline

• How Silviculture is evaluated presently under FSC, SFI (emphasis on former)

• Results of recent FSC evaluations in NE and Lake States

• Conclusions and Opinions

My Certification Background

Member of 8 Audit teams as a consultant to Scientific Certification Systems, totaling over 9 million acres:• Seven Islands Land Co. –1993, 1999• Kane Hardwood (Collins Pine) - 1994• Menominee Tribal Enterprises - 1996• Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry - 1997-98, 2003• J.D. Irving, Ltd. (Maine and NB) - 1996-2002• Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (2001-present)• Massachusetts Public Lands (2002-present)• Yale School Forests (2005 Audit)

The two major systems…

Forest Stewardship Council 10 Principles and Criteria (P&C)

• Principle #1: Compliance With Laws And FSC Principles

• Principle #2: Tenure And Use Rights And Responsibilities

• Principle #3: Indigenous Peoples' Rights

• Principle #4: Community Relations And Worker's Rights

FSC P&C (continued)

• Principle # 5: Benefits From The Forest  

• Principle #6: Environmental Impact

• Principle #7: Management Plan

• Principle #8: Monitoring And Assessment

• Principle # 9: Maintenance Of High Conservation Value Forests

• Principle # 10: Plantations

How are these evaluated?

• Regional standards define specific criteria and indicators for each principle

• Northeast US completed in 2002

• Before this, each certifier had their own system to address the P&C

Principle #5 Benefits from the Forest

• “Forest management operations shall encourage the efficient use of the forest's multiple products and services to ensure economic viability and a wide range of environmental and social benefits.”

5.1.e. Management practices & silvicultural techniques lead to improvements in productivity & quality.

• Stands are well-stocked

• Advance regeneration is protected

• Quality crop trees are retained and protected

• Regenerated stands are fully stocked

Principle #6 Environmental Impact

• Primary location of silvicultural requirements (esp. 6.3.a)

• Basic philosophy: “…to maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest”

• Key Scientific Underpinnings: Natural disturbance regimes, Natural range of variation

Managers of large public forests are generally expected to:

a. manage for longer rotations than would typically be expected on a certified private forest and

b. to designate portions of the forest for natural development towards late successional characteristics.

6.3

Ecological functions and values shall be maintained intact, enhanced, or restored, including:

a. Forest regeneration and succession,

b. Genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity,

c. Natural cycles that affect the productivity of the forest ecosystem.

6.3 a. Forest regeneration and succession:

• 6.3.a.2. Silvicultural systems favor natural regeneration where appropriate, and forest operations are planned to protect pre-established natural regeneration of desirable species.

6.3 a. Forest regeneration and succession:

• 6.3.a.5. Forest owners or managers maintain or restore a portion of the forest to the range and distribution of forest structures (including size and condition of trees) and species composition consistent with naturally occurring stand development patterns for the region.

6.3.a.8

• When even-aged management is employed, the retention of live trees and native vegetation within the harvest unit is based on an analysis of surrounding stand and landscape conditions.

• The level of retention increases with the size of the management unit, scale, the intensity of management within even-aged management units, and the total area of such units on the landscape.

Objective 2: Forest Productivity

Performance Measure 2.1: …reforest after final harvest, unless delayed for site-specific environmental or forest health considerations, through artificial regeneration within two years or two planting seasons, or by planned natural regeneration methods within five years.

SFI PM 2.1 Indicator 3:

Minimized plantings of exotic tree species and research documentation that exotic tree species, planted operationally, pose minimal risk.

SFI PM 2.1 Indicator 4:

Protection of desirable or planned advance natural regeneration during harvest.

SFI PM 2.1 Indicator 5:

Artificial reforestation programs that consider potential ecological impacts of a different species or species mix from that which was harvested.

Performance Measure 2.3:

“…implement management practices to protect and maintain forest and soil productivity.”

SFI PM 2.3 Indicator 5:

“Retention of vigorous trees during partial harvesting, consistent with silvicultural norms for the area.”

What if this were the norm?

Objective 4: Biodiversity

Performance Measure 4.1: “…programs to promote biological diversity at stand and landscape levels.”

Indicator 4.4

“…implementation of criteria, as guided by regionally appropriate science, for retention of stand-level wildlife habitat elements (snags, mast trees, ….”

Summary: FSC vs SFI

• FSC emphasizes conserving ecological structure and function of natural forests

• SFI stresses adequate regeneration after even-aged harvests

Changes in practice result mainly from Conditions or Corrective Action

Requests (CARs)

How many CARS relate to silvicultural issues??

Summary of Recent Audits…

Landowner Area (M ac) Auditor

Total CARs

CARs related to Silviculture

TNC (Atlas, StJohnR) 208 SW 18 1Mass. Public Lands 500 SCS 17 noneMaine BPL 485 SCS 13 3Hancock Land Co. 22 SW 11 5Finch Pruyn 67 SW 11 3Penn. BOF 2,100 SCS 12 2Minnesota 4,840 SCS 14 3Michigan DNR 3,750 SCS 13 1Seven Islands Land Co.975 SCS 10 noneWisconsin 490 SCS 9 noneBaskahegan Co. 101 SCS 4 1Baxter Scientific Forest Mgt Area29 SW/SGS 3 none

13,567 135 19

Summary of Recent Audits…

• Virtually all silvicultural conditions related to P6.3 “Regeneration and Succession”

LandownerReference for

CAR SubjectTNC (Atlas, StJohnR) 8.2 Regen monitoringMaine BPL Pre-std Structural retention, species mix Hancock Land Co. Pre-std ManyFinch Pruyn Pre-std Prescription process; buffersPenn. BOF 6.3, 9.3, P7 Deer, logging damageMinnesota 6.3 Structural Retention; deerMichigan DNR 6.3 Structural Retention; deerBaskahegan Co. 6.3 Structural retention, vernal pools

Most CARS involve ensuring

adequate and consistent structural retention

Silviculture and Deer…..

Fenced Regeneration

PA CAR directed at Natural Areas

Summary of Recent Audits…

• Not a single one of the 135 CARs on 13+ million acres is based on Principle 5.1.e

• “Management practices lead to improvements in productivity and quality.”

Possible Interpretations…?

A. FSC Certification has simply recognized those who already practice a high level of silviculture, and/or…..

B. FSC Certification fails to address shortcomings in traditional (i.e., commodity production) silviculture, owing to lame standards or lax application thereof by certifiers.

Conclusions (FSC)

• In either case, FSC certification has arguably caused little change• Ecological exception: structural retention

stds.

• Arguably has created a third-party recognized, high standard of silvicultural practice on 13 million ac.

Natural Resources Council of Maine advertisement, ca. 2001

Conclusions (SFI)

• No personal experience; evidence not publicized (unlike FSC)

• Unlikely to have much effect with the “…regional norms…” indicator.

If not silviculture, then what are these CARs about?

• Things that are important to stakeholders, not issues of value to the client

• Reporting/ public summaries• Formal Monitoring• Written compliance with P&C• Seven Islands example …10 CARs

It wasn’t always

this way…..

Certification used to be about performance!

Former Evaluation System (SCS, 1993-2002, before

Regional Standards)

• Timber

• Ecosystem Maintenance

• Socio-economics

Timber Management Criteria

• Harvest Regulation (Allowable Cut)

• Stocking and Growth (SILVICULTURE!)

• Pest Management

• Forest Access

• Harvest Efficiency, Product Utilization

• Management Plan

Rating Timber Management

1. ALLOWABLE CUT2. SILVICULTURE• These made up 60-70% of the score;

now everything is equal• If the allowable cut was sound and the

silviculture was first-rate, we tended to forgive weak management plans, lack of monitoring

Rating Silviculture -- Ideal Performance

(100 points) High-quality, vigorous

trees and stands are routinely favored for retention; high-risk, low vigor, and poor quality trees and stands are routinely assigned highest priority for harvest scheduling.

Rating Silviculture (continued)

Young age (and/or small diameter) classes are adequately present over the ownership and are fully stocked with preferred species and are developing as planned.

Silvicultural systems used for timber production of natural stands strive to maintain the original diversity of natural forests indigenous to the region, in both species and structure; extensive and unnatural uniformity in composition or structure is avoided.

Rating Silviculture (continued)

Foresters who prescribe silvicultural treatments are fully knowledgeable about and apply up-to-date, scientifically based silvicultural practices; prescriptions are tailored to individual stand conditions and markets

Certification has “matured”