Oregon’s forestry department is looking into the possibility of having all forests in the state environmentally certified.
The department has signed a US$60,000 contract with the Pinchot Institute of Conservation to examine whether private, state and federal forests in Oregon can be certified to global principles.
Officials believe certification, already demanded by many large timber buyers such as Home Depot, could give forest owners an extra selling strength.
Most of the state’s industrial forests are already certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative but officials are looking to secure statewide certification.
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes is one system which will be examined but officials are not sure whether the PEFC Council would certify on a state level instead of the normal countrywide approach.