Maryland's Forest Stewardship Educator Vol. Pam Townsend Published quarterly and distributed to more than 4,500 forest landowners, resource professionals, and others interested in forest stewardship. Deadlines are the 10th of January, April, July, and October. This means they meet certain standards.
Forest certification is an independent audit of forest practices.
In theory, some consumers will prefer products that are sustainably harvested and managed and will pay a premium for certified products. Each of these programs has unique concerns and limitations, but all must answer to the free market. The FSC is an international, independent, nonprofit, non-government organization with strong environmental ties. FSC has accredited several organizations to certify the management activities of landowners and foresters. Two of these groups are SmartWood and Scientific Certification Systems.