{"id":18513,"date":"2011-09-14T20:57:58","date_gmt":"2011-09-14T20:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/162.217.168.59\/?p=18513"},"modified":"2023-03-22T16:29:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:29:05","slug":"lymetimbercowmi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/lymetimbercowmi\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lyme Timber Company and WMI Receive SFI Conservation Research Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

BURLINGTON, VT<\/strong> \u2013 The Lyme Timber Company of Hanover, NH, and the Wildlife Management\u00a0Institute received a Sustainable Forestry Initiative\u00ae (SFI\u00ae) Conservation Leadership Award for Biodiversity\u00a0Research today for leading a project that is improving forest habitat for the American woodcock in\u00a0northern New York State.<\/p>\n

The Lyme Timber Company, a private timberland investment company, and the Wildlife Management\u00a0Institute, a non-profit conservation, scientific and educational organization, are collaborating to\u00a0implement the Northern Young Forest Initiative, a landscape-scale habitat restoration project in the\u00a0Adirondack region. SFI-certified Lyme Adirondack Forest Company owns about 240,000 acres\/97,000\u00a0hectares in the area. Other project partners include the New York State Department of Environmental\u00a0Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Fish and Wildlife\u00a0Foundation, and Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project demonstrates the power of partnerships in achieving conservation goals,\u201d said SFI President\u00a0and CEO Kathy Abusow, who presented the award at the SFI annual conference. \u201cIt also shows how\u00a0conservation projects directly tied to SFI standard requirements can result in improved forest\u00a0management plans and can guide future activities for all SFI program participants.\u201d<\/p>\n

About half of the forest land in the Adirondack region is publicly owned and designated as a forest\u00a0reserve, and there are stringent harvest regulations on privately owned forests. Over time, this has led to\u00a0a reduction in young forests, and a decline in a large number of species, including the American\u00a0woodcock, which thrive in early successional forests. The woodcock is identified by the New York\u00a0Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan as a species of greatest conservation need in northern New\u00a0York State.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with project partners, we modified our harvesting techniques on more than 50 sites, creating\u00a0forest conditions where woodcock can mate, rear their broods, feed and roost,\u201d said Sean Ross, director\u00a0of forestry operations for Lyme Timber. \u201cWhen we acquired the Adirondack property in 2006, just 76\u00a0acres were in a young forest condition. We have created nearly 11,000 additional acres of suitable\u00a0habitat, and in 10 years we aim to have more than 15,000 acres \u2013 about five percent of our forest \u2013 of\u00a0brushy early successional woodland, as important habitat for American woodcock and other species.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the project, survey routes were established in 2006 in the harvested stands. Annual monitoring\u00a0of woodcock in these areas shows the average number of birds observed per route has increased to nine\u00a0in 2010 from three in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve believed for a long time that responsibly managed forestlands, like those certified to the SFI\u00a0standard, provide significant benefits to wildlife,\u201d said Scot Williamson, vice president of the Wildlife\u00a0Management Institute. \u201cThis project illustrates how we can work successfully with landowners to\u00a0integrate improved habitat and wildlife management along with the production of forest products.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partnership has also involved outreach through events and meetings to inform the public,\u00a0government officials, local conservation groups and the forestry community about the importance of\u00a0supporting harvesting techniques that help create and maintain early successional forests.<\/p>\n

SFI Inc. manages the largest single forest certification standard in the world, and is unique among\u00a0independent third-party forest certification programs in that it includes research as one of its standard\u00a0requirements. Since 1995, SFI program participants have contributed more than $1.2 billion for research\u00a0activities that improve the health, productivity and responsible management of forest resources. The SFI\u00a0conservation leadership award was introduced in 2007 to recognize projects with strong partnerships that\u00a0achieve ongoing and far-reaching benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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