Grant Invests in Logger Certification to Support Green Economy
CONCORD, NH The Future Forest Economy Initiative is investing $250,000 to enhance markets for certified wood and to strengthen the supply chain for wood in the Northern Forest region through a grant to the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands (TCNEF).
“Only a fraction of the forestland in our region is green certified,” said Joe Short, vice president of the Northern Forest Center, which manages the Future Forest Economy program. “Certifying logging companies through TCNEF’s Master Logger program will increase the volume of certified, sustainably harvested wood available to the region’s mills. Certified lands alone are not enough to meet demand for certified wood in the region.”
Northern Forest Center grew out of a congressional mandate to support the development of markets for wood products. This is the fourth grant in a three-year program that will invest $2.6 million to expand innovation, create market demand and create conditions that will allow businesses and communities to benefit from these innovations.
The Northeast Master Logger program is a performance-based certification for logging companies in seven Northeastern states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It provides a unique third-party certification of a logging company’s work in the woods rather than certifying the forestland, as other programs do.