The negative advertisement of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) regarding Forest Certification continue to be counterproductive to the forests and the people of Maine. While NRCM has the right to choose and support a single forest certification process, it should recognize that the several forest certification processes available to forest landowners are all voluntary. Each process has its pros and cons, but all are focused on promoting and continually improving forest management. The myopia of NRCM eats away at what makes Maine great: the forests, the wildlife, the landscape, the communities that make this state “The way life should be” and the freedom of choice.

Sustainable forest management, from an industrial viewpoint, is the practice of managing the forest for the long term to grow wood while balancing the many other uses society expects from the land – recreation, wildlife habitat management, access, hunting, fishing, employment, and community stability.

The big question has been, “Are the forests of Maine being harvested faster than they are growing?” The recent draft version of the “State of Forest Report” indicates that Maine’s forests are healthy. One must look at the forest across the landscape rather than as a single stand of trees and understand the differences among short, medium, and long-term change. Trees grow whether we want them to or not – try not mowing your lawn for a few months. Today you will find Maine’s forests in better health and with more wood growing than in many years of the past.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine would like people to think much differently and I am proud to see that the people of Maine think for themselves. Extremists have wanted the State of Maine for a wilderness playground area that would serve the interest of a very few.

I read with interest the op-ed commentary by John Nutting, Marge Kilkelly and Richard Kneeland regarding the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s misleading forest certification ad (BDN, June 15). I believe the senators have hit the nail right on the head with their assessment of NRCM’s initiative to run a misleading malicious ad campaign for the benefit of their fund-raising interests.

What’s at the heart of this campaign is the hypocrisy by NRCM for choosing one certification system over another while failing to recognize the significance and importance of forest certification systems in general. As Woodlands Manager for Nexfor Fraser Papers in Maine, I can say that NRCM’s ad is misleading, malicious and out of touch with reality. NRCM has never visited our woodlands, nor have they ever expressed an interest to do so. Like any consumer product, forest certification systems are a matter of choice. Fraser chose to third party register an ISO 14001 environmental management system and designed in forest sustainability. Fraser Papers Inc. made a conscious decision to be third party verified to the American Forest and Paper Association Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFIsm) Standard that requires commitments beyond our own lands.

Fraser’s certification covers two systems in two countries with over two million acres, two different languages, and two jurisdictions (public and private lands) at the same time. This covers all planning for Canadian and U.S. lands and includes all aspects of forest operations on Fraser’s owned lands and all Fraser’s controlled forestry operations on public lands. The commitment comes from the president of the company and goes to the roots of our operations – the people working at the stump. The commitment is extended through four Regional Forest Advisory Committees who engage us in important dialogue on forest issues.

Everyone working for Fraser or our contractors plays a very important part in making the registrations and certification possible. NRCM continues to sit in the gallery and take shots at us without making any real contribution to forestry in the state and without any knowledge of the quality of forest management and forest operations performed by our employees, contractors and staff of professional foresters.

Fraser committed to certification more than two years ago and to date we have accomplished Third Party Registration to ISO 14001 Standard by the Quality Management Institute and Third Party Verified to SFI 2001 Standards by the Quality Management Institute. After all of the work and commitment to protect the environment by so many dedicated people, NRCM does not recognize our certification even though it is consistent with the basic principles of the process they advocate. It makes me question their objectives. It appears that NRCM’s endeavor to discredit the positive forestry work of alternative certification processes carried out by professional forestry personnel makes their position hypocrisy and serves little purpose.

Brian Condon is a resident of Portage Lake and is the Woodlands Manager for Nexfor Fraser Papers in Maine.