Danzer Forestland has achieved Forest Council Stewardship (FSC) certification for almost 6,500 acres (2,630 hectares) of forests in Indiana. Danzer Forestland is a subsidiary of Danzer Group, a Baar, Switzerland-based producer of decorative veneer.

FSC certification of Danzer Forestland’s holdings was part of a group certification by the Indiana Classified Forest Program, which is administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. This program encompasses several private forest owners and defines standards of forestry management. Danzer Forestland has been taking part in the Indiana Classified Forest Program for seven years. With group certification now complete, all products from Danzer Forestland’s forests in Indiana can be labelled with the FSC seal.

“FSC certification demonstrates our commitment to sustainable forestry,” said Hans-Joachim Danzer, Danzer Group ceo. “As a conscientious timber-processing company, we support the principle of responsible forestry management.”

FSC certification In Indiana was approved by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), an independent certification company, after an extensive audit. The audit is based on the FSC’s 10 principles and took into consideration the social, ecological and economic aspects of responsible forestry.

“SCS examined, for example, compliance with the laws, consideration of the rights of the population and workers, the effects on the environment and the Forest Management Plan set up by Danzer Forestland,” noted Zane T. Brown, Danzer Forestland ceo. “Among other things, our Forest Management Plan contains extensive forest inventories of trees and fauna as well as measures to protect threatened and endangered species.”

Danzer Forestland’s 20 FSC-certified timber tracts are located in southwestern Indiana. The woodlands consist to a large extent of hardwood trees of the species white oak, red oak, yellow poplar, hickory, walnut, maple, ash, cherry and beech. The company harvests approximately 1 million board feet (2,360 cubic metres) of timber annually, primarily for the production of high-quality veneer as well as for lumber production.

Danzer Forestland own forests totaling 48,000 acres (20,000 hectares) in the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Indiana.