December 8, 2000
Mendocino Beacon,
Fort Bragg Advocate
Ukiah Daily Journal
Dear Editor,
We appreciate the story Glenda Anderson wrote regarding the recent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification of Mendocino Redwood Company's forestlands. We began exploring Forest Stewardship Council Certification in the first months we began operations. Our goal was getting independent third party validation that the directions we were heading were meaningful in terms of sustainability and stewardship.
Two years of hard work have taught us that achieving certification means we must continuously demonstrate our commitment to exemplary forestry to friends and critics alike. Building trust with this community will not come from any one event such as certification, but from continuous demonstrations of our commitments on the ground.
Glenda's article reported that one of the conditions of our FSC certification was that we continue to implement our Old Growth Policy. I think it is important for the community to understand that in the summer of 2000, we strengthened the company's Old Growth Policy adopted in the fall of 1998. Protections were expanded to include a greater number of residual trees with smaller diameters that have old growth type characteristics such as plate-like bark, irregular crowns, large limbs, cavities, presence of lichens, and nesting platforms. These changes were in conjunction with early 1999 discussions with the certification team and other forestry experts that a protection policy for old growth trees should driven by ecological features in addition to size.
For more information about FSC certification and Mendocino Redwood Company, please visit our Web Site at www.mrc.com.
Sandy Dean
Chairman
Glenda Anderson 11/27 article
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