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Forest Program

As a leading source of authoritative information on rare species and important ecosystems, NatureServe is committed to sharing its knowledge to promote sustainable forest management and planning. Our standards and data are used as references for two major forest certification systems (the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Serwardship Council) to identify and conserve sites of important ecological value.

What is NatureServe Doing?

• Improving biodiversity conservation on forests in the United States and Canada through an agreement with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Products Association of Canada.
• Improving the quality of data and management guidelines on rare species and ecological communities, focusing on key biodiversity 'hot spots' such as the Cumberland Plateau, an area that extends from eastern Kentucky through Tennesse and into Alabama.
• Improving inventory tools and methods to facilitate biodiversity inventories.
• Ensuring that biodiversity information is available at all stages in the fiber supply chain, from landowners and loggers to foresters and retailers.
• Providing public and private land managers training, inventory and data services through our network of member programs in Canada and the U.S.
• Working with partners such as the U.S. Forest Service to track rare species and ecological communities, establish ecological links among different forest types, and support national forest planning.

Working Together

The growing interest from the market in environmentally sound products and processes has prompted a number of leading paper retailers and catalog producers to seek NatureServe's assistance to support sustainable forest management efforts.

In 2004, NatureServe teamed up with Office Depot, the world's leading paper retailer, Conservation International, and The Nature Conservancy to establish the Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. Through this initiative, NatureServe is helping Office Depot advance its biodiversity conservation policies by developing biodiversity data standards and tools and improving data on ecological communities and systems.

Companies such as L.L. Bean and Limited Brand are supporting NatureServe to improve the quality of biodiversity data in the Canadian Boreal region. Biodiversity data is a key component of evaluations such as the Forest Stewardship Council's High Conservation Value Forest assessment.

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