Forest Certification Test Project
on the Allegheny National Forest
Evaluation - June 12-16, 2006
Report – July 15, 2007
Experience from the test audit
on the Allegheny NF
Why the Allegheny?
• Strong local interest and support for
certified forests in Pennsylvania
• Active and controversial timber sale
program
• A diverse and complex set of
management issues to deal with
Pre-assessment Documentation
• Forest Plan
• Forest Service Manual/Handbook
Direction
• Programmatic Direction Documents
• Monitoring and Evaluation Reports
Pre-Assessment Process
• Two-day discussion of resource
management programs and processes
• Informal, with cross-section of resource
managers and program leaders in
attendance
• Designed to help guide the assessment
team to the answers they needed
Management Aspects Reviewed in the Field
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Type of Site # Sites visited
Shelterwood
11
Thinning
5
Salvage thinning
5
Salvage 2-age
2
Two-age (1st cut
3
Prescribed burn
2
Perimeter fencing
3
Pine planting
1
Herbicide application 2
Lop/scatter slash
2
Landings
9
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Type of Site
# Sites
visited
Skid Trails
Stand inclusions
Boundary lines
Borrow pits
Hiking trails
Forest roads
Oil and gas well
heads and pads
Riparian buffer zone
Wildlife openings
Road/stream crossing
ATV trail
9+
3
2
2
3
9+
4
4
2
1
1
Oil/Gas Development
Private Oil & Gas
• Audit team struggled with how to access
impacts from private oil & gas
development (water quality, social, wildlife)
• Concluded it did not have an overriding
influence on the forest at this time
• Concern is on balancing with other forest
uses in the future
What were some of the findings
on the ANF?
• NFS management meets or exceeds many FSC and SFI
standards
• Logging contractors do not consistently fulfill safe guards built
into the Timber Sale Contracts and are not state certified (CAR
2/06 & 7/06)
• The need to assess and manage the harvesting and monitoring
of non-timber forest products (CAR 3/06)
• No protocol for assessing presence or monitoring to maintain
attributes of High Conservation Value Forests on abutting
forestlands (CAR 9/06 & 10/06)
• ANF guidelines for protecting riparian zones do not match FSC
standard (CAR 4/06)
What did we learn?
• Our workforce is open to outside audit
• Stakeholder contacts balanced the
interests of our concerned publics
• It was comprehensive and expanded our
view on logger safety & HCVF on
adjoining lands
• An adequate exchange with audit team
occurred after field session – No
disagreement with CAR’s