4/3/08 

Forest Certification 

And Its Implications for America’s National Forests

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

This Q&A paper provides basic background information on this issue, including the history of the U.S. 

government’s involvement, describes the steps the Forest Service will take next, weighs some of the potential pros 

and cons of National Forest certification, and addresses several additional questions of particular importance. As the 

issue continues to evolve, further information and updates will be provided. 

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY 

1. What is forest certification? 

Forest certification is a non-regulatory means of promoting responsible forest management 

practices, and is one of the most significant innovations in forestry of the last quarter century. It

was developed in the 1990s by a variety of non-governmental interests around the world who 

sought new approaches for improving forest management. Certification was designed to provide 

assurance by an independent, third party that a forest management operation meets standards set 

by a particular certification program. It is normally open to all types of landowners, who apply 

voluntarily to have their forests assessed to determine whether they meet the standards. The 

most credible standards typically cover a comprehensive range of environmental, social and 

economic attributes, and establish requirements not only for planning and management systems, 

but also for measurable performance on the ground. Although the harvesting of timber or nontimber forest products is not necessarily required, certification is usually associated with the ecolabeling of such products, and with “chain-of-custody” certification which ensures that the 

labeled products originate in a certified forest, thereby creating a market-based incentive for 

good forest management. 

While there are four certification programs operating in the U.S. today, the Forest Stewardship 

Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) are the two major programs and are 

most suitable for large areas of public lands. The area of SFI and FSC certified forests in the U.S. 

has increased from virtually none in 1998 to over 60 million acres today. Over 14 million acres 

of primarily state-owned public lands have been certified in the U.S., mostly to both SFI and 

FSC standards. 

2. What has been the role of the U.S. government in certification to date? 

Internationally, the U.S. government, through such agencies as the State Department U.S. Forest 

Service and the U. S. Agency for International Development, has been active in numerous forest 

policy arenas where certification has been extensively discussed over the last decade. 

Throughout this period, the basic U.S. approach has been to regard certification as an important 

market-based tool to promote and create incentives for the improved management of forests, and 

as a private sector activity that should remain independent of government. Accordingly, while it 

is appropriate for our government to establish national legal and institutional frameworks to 

encourage responsible forest management, U.S. government agencies believe that it would be 
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inappropriate for them to endorse, or be perceived to endorse, any particular certification 

program, or to set standards or policies for such programs. 

The U.S. has long sought to encourage and assist other countries in building their legal and 

institutional capacities to improve the management of their forests. Many countries have 

expressed interest in certification as a means of such improvement, and much of the land 

certified worldwide to date is owned by national governments. The International Programs 

office of the Forest Service has been actively supporting international partners in their efforts to 

improve forest management and monitoring and has provided technical assistance to that end in 

numerous countries, including Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana, Russia, China, 

Indonesia, Cameroon, Liberia, Ghana, and Gabon. In many instances, these improvements have 

allowed land owners to pursue independent certification. Increasingly, countries that have 

worked closely with the U.S. on these issues over the years have asked why our National Forests 

have not been certified. 

3. What is the history of Forest Service interest in the question of National Forest 

certification? 

The Forest Service’s interest in forest certification began to develop in the 1990s, both 

domestically and internationally. However, at that time FSC auditors had little experience on 

public lands and SFI had not yet launched a third party certification program. In the late 90s, the 

FSC also developed a Federal Lands Policy which set some special conditions that would need to 

be met before the FSC would be willing to consider National Forests to be open to certification 

assessment. 

During this time, Forest Service policy has been to not seek certification for National Forests, 

and this policy is still in effect. Nevertheless, over the years the Forest Service has been 

approached by various outside organizations and communities who have encouraged the agency 

to explore certification, and some have suggested carrying out pilot tests of certification on 

National Forest System (NFS) lands. As certification has become more widespread globally 

among landowners of all types, and as more questions have been raised internationally about 

why our National Forests are not certified, the Forest Service decided in 2005 to participate in an 

independent pilot study involving five units of the NFS. 

The study was funded mostly by Forest Service appropriations (except for contributions from the 

non-profit Heinz Foundation and the Collins Pine Company to cover the costs of the certification 

audits on two of the study units). The study was carried out by the Pinchot Institute for 

Conservation, an independent non-profit research and education organization. The Pinchot 

Institute used existing SFI and FSC standards to assess the current management of the five units 

(although the tests were completely independent of SFI and FSC and were not designed to lead 

to actual certification). A number of additional considerations were added to the standards to 

reflect the unique role of National Forests in America. The goals of the study were to see how 

current NFS management aligned with the two sets of certification standards, and to enable the 

Forest Service to more effectively evaluate the benefits and costs of certification as it develops 

related policy and management options for the future – including whether to formally pursue 

certification. 

The final report of the Pinchot study was released in October 2007 and is available at: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/projects/forestcertification/index.shtml. 
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NEXT STEPS AND PROCEDURES 

4. What will the Forest Service do next? 

Although the results of the Pinchot pilot study were very encouraging, the Forest Service has not 

yet decided whether it will seek certification for the National Forest System. The Forest Service 

already has what it believes are the most comprehensive laws and regulations for forest 

management in the world, and the National Forests and Grasslands are already managed in a 

transparent public process which is also subject to judicial review in the Federal courts. 

Certification would present some challenges, as well as some costs, risks and uncertainties, but 

also several potentially significant benefits. 

The next step will be for the Forest Service to further evaluate the potential costs and benefits, 

and to seek the views of stakeholders and other interested parties to promote a broader and 

deeper dialogue on the question of certification as it relates to National Forest lands. 

5. If the Forest Service were to seek certification of NFS lands, what process would need to 

be followed? 

If the Forest Service were to decide to seek certification, several things would need to happen. 

First, both the FSC and SFI certification programs would need to make a number of internal 

policy decisions. 

SFI has already expressed a willingness to work with the Forest Service to certify NFS lands, but 

SFI would likely need to consider how certain elements of its standards would apply to such 

lands. With respect to the FSC, the pre-conditions in its Federal Lands Policy, which apply to 

any federal land management agency or system seeking FSC certification, would have to be met. 

The three conditions are: (1) a willing landowner, e.g., the Forest Service; (2) a determination 

that public consensus exists regarding management of the NFS; and (3) development of a set of 

new standards specific to the NFS to more effectively evaluate its unique legal, procedural, and 

governance mandates and structure. To date, none of these FSC conditions have been met. 

In addition, a landowner seeking SFI or FSC certification must formally commit to reporting and 

management measures specific to each certification program. How and whether the Forest 

Service could make these commitments would need to be determined.

SOME PROS AND CONS 

6. What might be some of the benefits and costs of NFS certification? 

Potential benefits of NFS certification could include:

• Certification would provide independent review of NFS management practices by a credible 

third-party organization, giving the Forest Service another perspective on how its 

management compares with the current ‘state-of-the-art’, enhancing NFS quality control, and 

helping the general public better understand and assess how National Forests are managed. 
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• Certification could result in management improvements. For example, if an independent 

certification audit team identifies management weaknesses that need to be corrected before 

the forest could be certified, the Forest Service may decide to make such improvements. If 

the forest is certified with conditions attached, called ‘Corrective Action Requests’, the 

Forest Service would be required to take the corrective actions in order to maintain the 

certification. Finally, once corrective actions are recommended by a credible, independent 

auditor, stakeholders and the Congress may have an incentive to support and encourage the 

Forest Service to take such actions. 

• The addition of certified forest product supply from National Forests could help expand the 

market for such product, thereby providing additional certified market opportunities for the 

private sector and further incentives for management improvements on privately-owned 

forests. 

• Becoming certified could increase the credibility and influence of the Forest Service’s work 

with other countries to help improve the management of forests around the world. 

Potential costs of NFS certification could include:

• The FSC’s special standards for NFS lands may end up being inconsistent with existing 

management plans and/or federal resource management policies. 

• After the Forest Service commits to certification, FSC or SFI may modify their standards or 

change their requirements in other ways, complicating compliance and increasing costs. 

• Meeting certification standards may add procedural burdens to existing NFS management 

systems. There are also requirements that the landowner make various formal commitments 

to FSC and SFI as a prerequisite to becoming certified, and the full implications of these 

commitments are not yet understood. 

• The direct monetary costs of a certification audit, and of Forest Service staff preparation for 

it, are not insignificant. Based on the Pinchot study experience, costs would include the 

initial certification audit ($70-80 K per National Forest); annual audits (c. $20K per year); a 

full re-audit every 5 years (c. $60-70 K); some additional annual monitoring and paperwork 

requirements; and staff time to prepare for and participate in the audits (between 50 and 150 

person days per forest). 

• Certification assessments by an independent auditor do not automatically lead to 

certification. The Forest Service may spend funds for a certification audit, but, if 

management weaknesses and performance gaps are found, the agency may be unwilling or 

unable to spend additional funds to change forest management enough to qualify for 

certification, thus reducing the value of the initial expenditure. 

• Failure of a National Forest to become certified may generate adverse public reaction with 

potential political or legal consequences. 

• If major performance gaps are identified by a certification assessment, there is some 

uncertainty over how the Forest Service would address them if they are outside the control of 

individual National Forests, particularly if they might take several years or require actions by 

other federal agencies or Congress to resolve (e.g., those requiring additional appropriations). 

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS 

7. If the Forest Service were to seek certification, would all NFS lands be involved, or only 

some of them?
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This question has not been resolved and will be determined by several factors, including SFI and 

FSC policies and requirements. For example, FSC policies strongly encourage large landowners 

to have all of their lands certified, and restrict public statements and claims when only some 

parts of the ownership are certified. Further dialogue with NFS stakeholders and with FSC and 

SFI will help illuminate the options. 

8. Would becoming certified require changes in current National Forest management? 

It depends. Landowners seeking certification do so with the policies, management objectives, 

and systems they already have in place. Certification programs assess whether these policies and 

their implementation meet the certification standards. If they do not meet the standards, it is up to 

the landowner to decide whether to make any changes in management in order to comply. 

The Forest Service has numerous executive and legislatively mandated processes for determining 

how NFS lands are managed. Such mandates address the amount of forest products harvested, 

the extent of roadless area and Wilderness designations, and other management decisions 

affecting natural resource restoration, biodiversity protection, water quality and watershed 

protection, fire fuels management, grazing, mineral and oil exploration and extraction, 

development of water storage and distribution facilities, motorized and other recreation, and 

other developments. Existing statutes also govern the processes through which the Forest 

Service makes decisions and carries out management activities, such as those requiring the 

evaluation of potential ecological effects, and the collection and consideration of public input. 

Pursuing certification would not exempt the agency from meeting these mandates, or from 

carrying out its normal planning and budgeting processes. However, meeting certification 

standards may require the Forest Service to modify its management in specific ways, and it is 

possible that some modifications would require the support of Congress and the public. 

9. Would certification interfere with or preclude Forest Service compliance with existing 

laws or regulations? 

No. 

10. Would NFS public involvement procedures be affected by certification? 

Any public involvement procedures already required by law would still apply, regardless of the 

outcome of an independent certification assessment or the certification of a National Forest. If 

certification audits were to uncover performance gaps that required corrective actions, any major 

Forest Service action that would normally trigger established public involvement and 

environmental review procedures (including those under the National Environmental Policy Act 

and the National Forest Management Act) would still do so. 

11. If a National Forest were certified, what would happen if action by the courts, Congress 

or administration resulted in the inability of that forest to continue to comply with the 

certification standards? 

Normally, a certifier would create a Corrective Action Request with a deadline by which the 

landowner would have to take the action in order to comply with the standards. Provided the 

Forest Service could comply by the deadline, the certificate would likely remain valid. If not, 

the certificate would typically be revoked by the certifier. However, court action or acts of 

Congress resulting in the inability of the agency to comply with certification standards would 

probably be considered final, and thus more likely to lead to revocation of the certificate for that 

forest.