Sustainable Forest Management Certification

The Menominee Tribal Enterprises in northern Wisconsin this spring became the first group in the U.S. to have their lumber certified as harvested sus­tainably by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), owners of the green cross and globe emblem. SCS does extensive research to verify claims of sustainable management, with criteria based on the goals of species preservation, habitat preservation, resource preservation, and social values.

It is fitting that the Menominee should be the first group to receive the certification, since their forest has been managed continuously since 1854 with a clear vision of stewardship. With an intricate plan based on continuous forest inventory, the Menominee ensure that no one species of tree or area of the forest is over-harvested. The current standing inventory on their 220,000 acres is estimated at 1.5 billion board feet, which is just what it was estimated to be 138 years ago, when the reservation was established. In the meantime, an estimated 2 billion board feet have been harvested.