Letter to Chief Thomas Tidwell, USDA Forest Service

Letter

Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus is touting a new U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service green building initiative as a step toward creating new Montana forestry jobs.

"This is a big win for Montana loggers and good-paying jobs in our forest industry. Montana is blessed with a wealth of environmentally sustainable building materials that ought to be used as part of the USDA's green building initiative. It makes good sense for Montana jobs," said Baucus, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley said, "We are in full support of Secretary Vilsack's announcement and recognize Senator Baucus' efforts to bring this forward. Recognizing wood as an important part of green building policy sends a strong message in support of thousands of employees of timberland owners and wood manufacturing facilities in Montana and throughout the country. We're glad the USDA responded to Max's call to recognize multiple forest certification standards, including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative."

Earlier this month, Baucus stood up for Montana loggers urging the U.S. Forest Service to use Montana timber as part their green building plans. In response, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell issued a directive to all units this week calling for increased use of locally milled timber in all new agency buildings and facilities.

Additional Background:

In a March 10, 2011 letter co-signed by Senator Vitter (R-Louisiana) to Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell, Baucus pushed him to use a green building rating system that does not discriminate against domestic wood products and local foresters.

Text of letter:

March 10, 2011

Thomas Tidwell, Chief
USDA Forest Service
Mailstop 1144
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, District of Columbia 20250

Dear Chief Tidwell:

As supporters of domestic forestry, we are concerned about the Forest Service's policy mandating the use of the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for new building construction. Although we support the Forest Service's efforts to use environmentally sustainable materials, the LEED rating system does not give credit to two of the largest, independently audited forest certification programs in the United States - the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). Over 84 million acres of forests in the United States are SFI or ATFS certified.

We are concerned that the decision to use the LEED rating system will place American forestry at a disadvantage and result in fewer forestry jobs. While the USGBC does not give credit to SFI and ATFS certified forests, it does recognize Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, the large majority of which is grown in other countries. Additionally, the LEED certification system requires wood to have third party certification to receive a credit while other building materials such as steel and concrete do not have this requirement.

Wood is an environmentally friendly renewable resource that sequesters carbon and is a critical component of sound architectural design. We believe the Forest Service should be encouraging the competitiveness of the American forestry industry rather than placing it at a disadvantage. Rural communities rely on forestry for their livelihood. We call on the Forest Service to use a green building rating system that does not discriminate against domestic wood products and local foresters. Thank you for your time, and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Max Baucus David Vitter
U.S. Senator U.S. Senator

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