Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) was created in July 2008 through the reorganization of the former Pacific Lumber Company and related entities. HRC consists of approximately 327 square miles (209,300 acres) of forestland spanning across over 60 Northern California coastal watersheds. The core property is located in a north to south band lying 5 to 50 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean within Humboldt County, CA. Vegetation on HRC lands is primarily Coastal Redwood and Douglas-fir Mixed Conifer Forests. Areas that lie inland farther from the influence of the marine climate, and holdings in the Bear and Mattole River drainages are dominated by Douglas-fir and Hardwood Mixed Evergreen Forest. Approximately 95% of the property is forested, with the remaining area covered by prairie, shrubs, and waterways. HRC operates under a Habitat Conservation Plan which provides protection to numerous wildlife and aquatic species as well as 6,640 acres of conservation area. HRC manages commercially on a sustained yield basis and utilizes multiple silvicultural treatments other than traditional clearcutting with the objective of bringing an uneven-age stand structure back to the forestlands that have been managed in the past as even-aged. Scope and Certification Evaluation Process SCS Global Services (SCS), a FSC-accredited certification body based in Emeryville, California, will conduct this FSC evaluation. Performance will be evaluated against the FSC-US Forest Management Standard (v1.0) (w/o FF Indicators & Guidance), approved by FSC-IC, July 8th, 2010. A copy of the standard is available from scsglobalservices/certification-standards-and-program-documents or SCS upon request. The Evaluation Process Includes the Following Phases: § Public notification: distribution of the standard and solicitation of comments on the certification applicant; Audit planning and document review; § Field assessment: A representative sample of field sites and operations within the defined forest area are inspected by a team of auditors; § Stakeholder consultation; § Synthesis of findings: Compliance with the standard is ascertained and the certification decision is formulated; § Reporting: A draft report describing the evaluation process, findings, and certification decision is produced; § Delivery of final certification report; § Certification decision: a public summary of the certification report is released, if certification is awarded. Evaluation Team Robert J. Hrubes, Ph.D. SCS Executive Vice President: Lead Auditor Joseph McBride, Ph.D. Professor and Chair of the Forest Science Division of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley: Ecological Expert Sheila Steinberg, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology at Humboldt State University: Sociology Expert Liz Forwand, SCS Certification Forester: Team Auditor Call for Public Participation SCS welcomes comments on the forest management of Humboldt Redwood Company or other topics pertinent to their seeking FSC certification, such as whether HRC complies with the legal, social, technical, and environmental requirements of the standard or identification of high conservation value Forests[1] within the lands of HRC. Comments can be submitted via email, standard mail, or facsimile to Liz Forwand. The audit team can make arrangements to allow stakeholders to meet with them during the evaluation upon request. All comments and sources will be kept in strict confidence at the request of the commenter. Dates The field evaluation is scheduled to commence during the week of August 18th, 2014. SCS will make arrangements to meet with interested parties during the evaluation if appropriate, but it is preferred that comments are submitted before the evaluation commences. Public Meeting A Public Meeting will be held to allow any interested parties to provide comments and discuss with the auditors. The Public Meeting will be held: Monday, August 18th 7:00pm – 8:30pm The Monday Club Building, 610 Main Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 Please arrive promptly. Light refreshments will be provided. Dispute Resolution Procedure As provided by the FSC Interim Dispute Resolution Protocol and the SCS Forest Conservation Program Quality Manual, dispute resolution procedures are in place and available to interested parties at scsglobalservices/your-feedback Additional Information More information about FSC and SCS can be obtained from fsc.org and SCSglobalServices. Information on HRC can be found at mrc. Please contact us Liz Forwand Brendan Grady FSC Auditor SCS Director of Forest Management 2000 Powell St, Suite 600; Emeryville CA 94608, USA Tel +1 (510)452-8034, Fax +1 (510) 452-6882 LForwand@scsglobalservices BGrady@scsglobalservices [1]High Conservation Value Forests possess one or more of the following attributes: a) forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant: concentrations of biodiversity values (eg. endemism, endangered species, refugia); and/or large landscape level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance b) forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems c) forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (eg. watershed protection, erosion control) d) forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (eg. subsistence, health) and/or critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities). Also see Principle 9, in the FSC Principles and Criteria. Kind Regards, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eric J. Smith | Program Coordinator, Forest Management Certification Natural Resources Division +1.510.452.8035 | eric.smith.scs1 skype ESmith@scsglobalservices SCSglobalServices cid:6C872851-5F26-4CAA-AA1A-0A94723A0FC7 Setting the Standard for Sustainability™ SCS proudly introduces the Kingfisher certification mark, signifying products and services that deliver proven environmental, social and quality benefits. cid:A257FAFA-D98A-4D0F-955C-60293759D611 cid:2297CCF1-FF4E-4E74-84B9-059EF63D7A43 cid:851C222D-8C89-4E8D-A488-8081CC29DFA3 cid:[email protected] [1]High Conservation Value Forests possess one or more of the following attributes: a) forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant: concentrations of biodiversity values (eg. endemism, endangered species, refugia); and/or large landscape level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance b) forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems c) forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (eg. watershed protection, erosion control) d) forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (eg. subsistence, health) and/or critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities). Also see Principle 9, in the FSC Principles and Criteria.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 07:58:18 +0000