March 12, 2008

P&C Receives Forest Certification

(Bangor) — Prentiss & Carlisle (P&C) announced today it has received certification from an FSC-accredited auditing firm, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), for responsible stewardship of its Maine lands.

SCS evaluated P&C's forestry practices against certification standards established by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and SCS's own independent program. FSC is an international, non-profit organization that encourages responsible forest management and has established a rigorous set of standards to "ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way" (FSC Brochure 2007).

Don White, president of P&C, said, "We are very pleased to receive the Well-Managed Forest certification. Our professional staff works hard every day to do the right thing for our clients, for the environment, and for the community we live in."

SCS's Robert Hrubes said, "Third-party certification of forest management programs is a powerful means of assuring customers, neighbors, and other stakeholders that responsible practices are being employed. We are pleased to be able to certify Prentiss & Carlisle's Maine operations."

"Prentiss & Carlisle is one of the oldest and most respected timber management companies in Maine," said Governor John Baldacci. "P&C is a great steward of natural resources, and this certification reflects the company's — and Maine's — leadership in sustainable forestry."

The certification process for 748,000 acres of forestland began in August 2007. SCS interviewed a variety of stakeholders, including clients, environmental organizations, state agencies, logging contractors, and customers. SCS also conducted field visits to randomly selected P&C managed properties across northern Maine. Their goal: to evaluate the company's practices against environmental, economic, and social standards.

"Here at Prentiss & Carlisle, we've always been aware of how our operations affect the bigger picture – people, our environment, and the economy both locally and nationally," said David Dow, chief forester for P&C. "Certification proves that we manage our forests responsibly, and that our practices stand up to the scrutiny of an independent third party audit; it's a validation of what we've been doing all along."

The Well-Managed Forest Certification will also help Prentiss & Carlisle compete in the global paper and wood products markets that are now demanding that wood come from certified, sustainable forests.


*Prentiss & Carlisle is a forest resource management and timberland service firm with offices in Maine, Wisconsin, and Michigan. P&C provides strategic, administrative, and operational forest management services while practicing responsible forest stewardship.

*Prentiss & Carlisle manages nearly 1,500,000 acres of timberland, 1,050,000 of which is in Maine. This most recent certification brings the total number of certified acres in Maine up to 982,000.