Download Certification and Silviculture – Has Anything Really Changed?

Certification and Silviculture –
Has anything really changed?
Robert S. Seymour
Dept. 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:
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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)
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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
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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 evenaged 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…
Area (M
Landowner
ac)
Auditor
TNC (Atlas, StJohnR) 208
SW
Mass. Public Lands
500
SCS
Maine BPL
485
SCS
Hancock Land Co.
22
SW
Finch Pruyn
67
SW
Penn. BOF
2,100
SCS
Minnesota
4,840
SCS
Michigan DNR
3,750
SCS
Seven Islands Land Co.975
SCS
Wisconsin
490
SCS
Baskahegan Co.
101
SCS
Baxter Scientific Forest Mgt
29 Area
SW/SGS
13,567
Total
CARs
18
17
13
11
11
12
14
13
10
9
4
3
135
CARs related
to Silviculture
1
none
3
5
3
2
3
1
none
none
1
none
19
Summary of Recent Audits…
Reference for
Landowner
CAR
TNC (Atlas, StJohnR)
8.2
Maine BPL
Pre-std
Hancock Land Co.
Pre-std
Finch Pruyn
Pre-std
Penn. BOF
6.3, 9.3, P7
Minnesota
6.3
Michigan DNR
6.3
Baskahegan Co.
6.3
•
Subject
Regen monitoring
Structural retention, species mix
Many
Prescription process; buffers
Deer, logging damage
Structural Retention; deer
Structural Retention; deer
Structural retention, vernal pools
Virtually all silvicultural conditions related
to P6.3 “Regeneration and Succession”
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
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Harvest Regulation (Allowable Cut)
Stocking and Growth (SILVICULTURE!)
Pest Management
Forest Access
Harvest Efficiency, Product Utilization
Management Plan
Rating Timber Management
1. ALLOWABLE CUT
2. 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”