August 2008
Indiana’s first “certified” forest products go to market

The first “certified” products from Indiana’s state forests entered the market in April when nine timber harvesting companies made offers on three forest products sales at the Jackson-Washington State Forest. 

The timber sales are the first to be planned and completed since Indiana state forests received certification from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Certification puts a “green” stamp on Indiana’s state forests as areas being managed in a working-forest environment where renewable resources provide wood products while maintaining standards for clean air, clean water and wildlife-friendly habitat.

The forest products industry can harvest these trees and market the products under the “certified” label. Companies that harvest and process those wood products also must be SFI- and FSC-certified in order to label their products as such.

Certification has a ripple effect on the value of the products.

The $215,437 received by the Division of Forestry from the sales will result in an estimated $37 million to the state’s economy once all the harvesting, transportation, manufacturing, supporting, wholesale and retail industries are involved.

The Indiana state forest system is the only forest with SFI certification in Indiana. The only other land with FSC certification belongs to The Nature Conservancy.

The three sales in Jackson-Washington State Forest southwest of Seymour involve almost 750,000 board feet of timber, mostly oak and yellow-poplar, that will be selectively harvested from 289 acres of the 18,000-acre state forest.

Additional timber sales planned for Jackson-Washington State Forest will bring the total to approximately 1.2 million board feet this year. 

For more information, contact the Division of Forestry at (317) 232-4105 or forestryinfo@dnr.in.gov.