FSC-US Standards Revision Process
November 17. 2008
FSC members and stakeholders:
We are pleased to announce that the FSC-US Forest Management standards are now available for public comment. We welcome your participation in this important process that will provide a foundation for FSC-certified forestry in the U.S.
Click here to access the standards: FSC-US Forest Management Standard Draft 6.1
Revising FSC Forest Management Standards
FSC-International policy requires that national and sub-national standards be reviewed and, if necessary revised, every five years. This presents a great opportunity to build on the foundation set by the current standards as well as learn from the results of an indepe ndent review of the standards, completed in March 2006, on how to better address scientific and social validity, implementability, and auditability of the standards.
This process also meets the requirements set by FSC International Center (FSC-IC), Accreditation Services International (ASI), the goals of FSC-US, and stakeholder interest.
Since January 2008, the Board-appointed FSC-US Standards Working Group (the ‘crafting body’) and Standards Committee (the ‘decision-making body’) have been working on revising the standards. Both groups comprise diverse representatives from FSC’s three chambers– environmental, social, and economic – and follow a consensus-seeking process in their deliberations. They will recommend a final draft of the standards to the FSC-US Board for approval; the approved standards then go to FSC-IC and ASI for final approval.
Stakeholder consultation is a core component of the standards revision process, and there are several opportunities in which interested parties can provide input. To date, we have received comments on the Standards Review and the Standards Revision Methodology , and these helped ensure a solid foundation for our work. Today, we invite you to provide comments on the draft standards.
This 60-public comment period extends until January 17, 2009. All comments will be carefully considered by the Standards Committee. A 60-day public appeal opportunity will also take place once the FSC-US Board approves the final draft, in mid-February.
Comment Process
There are several options available for submitting comments:
- On-line Survey – Click here to access our on-line survey (preferred method).
- Survey template – Click here to download a word-version of the survey that you may submit as a word document (coming soon).
- Comment letter – Email or mail a letter detailing your comments on the standards. Please send all correspondence to:
Karen Steer, Standards Revision Coordinator
FSC-US
3322 NE 14th Avenue; Portland, OR 97212
Email: ksteer@fscus.org
Please try to be as specific as possible in your comments – we encourage you to provide comments on specific indicators and to offer recommendations for how to improve the indicators.
A slight modification was made to the interpretation in Criterion 6.10 in the Standard. Please make sure you use the draft standard 6.1 that was posted after November 21 when making your comments.
For More Information
Please contact Karen Steer,
Coordinator of the Standards Revision Process:
ksteer@fscus.org
503.260.8335
Thank you for your participation in ensuring forest stewardship!
Sincerely,
Corey Brinkema, President
Forest Stewardship Council - US
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