HARRISBURG (100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) — The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources received two favorable audits on Wednesday.
The 2.2 million acres in the Pennsylvania state forest system were deemed "sustainable woodlands," announced by Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.
"These favorable 2020 surveillance audits by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) show our state forests meet their standards for sustainable certification," Dunn said. "These results are a stamp of excellence on the Bureau of Forestry's people, programs, and initiatives, all charting a path for healthy woodlands of tomorrow."
The audits were done in the Bald Eagle, Rothrock, Buchanan, and Forbes state forest districts back in October 2020.
Those specific DCNR findings from the audits are as followed:
1. The bureau exceeds standards under SFI for high-quality construction and maintenance of state forest roads
2. Notations commonly used by the auditors included "sound practices based on sound principles," "textbook water quality protection," and "all aspects of sustainability are evident in our management: social, economic, and environmental – demonstrating a stewardship ethic"
3. Two Minor Corrective Action Requests for the SFI certification, both related to administrative errors that will be easily corrected in 2021; there were no FSC findings.
The audits are performed to measure a forest's sustainability potential.
And contributions for the research and analysis are spearheaded by foresters and conservationists.
The measures taken are meant to get a clearer picture of the "water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value" and protect them.
The reports want to understand better how the factors interact and affect forest management in the state and country.
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