USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and state forester perspectives on certification

Certification of forest management practices and manufactured wood products can potentially involve many stakeholders. One group that has the potentia l to influence certification in the United States is public forest-related agency managers. In this study, certification was researched from the persp ectives of forest managers in the two largest federal public land managemen t agencies (USDA Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management) and sta te foresters. Respondents believed there is more of a need for certificatio n of tropical forests than for U.S. forests. In addition, they believed tha t state and federal timberlands are in the least need of certification rela tive to privately held timberland. Although respondents understand the conc ept of certification, they have a low degree of trust in environmental clai ms made by wood products manufacturers. Finally respondents generally do no t believe that consumers will pay a premium for certified wood products nor that the public will support certification as a mechanism to ensure forest sustainability.