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Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification protects water quality by protecting watersheds
The FSC has ten principles and criteria for Forest Stewardship. Each one of the FSC principles provides guidance for how Minnesota’s forest managers can better protect our water quality through long-term management planning. You can support these efforts by buying locally produced FSC-certified products. Look for the label.
Aitkin County covers about 1.2 million acres and is 60% forested. Two-thirds of the forest in the county is in public ownership and virtually all of these public lands are FSC-certified. These FSC-certified, forested watersheds help protect the local water resources. Water provides many benefits to Minnesotans and it is important that we protect it. High-quality water is essential for a healthy state economy. Land management practices that protect soils and healthy forests in the watershed help maintain and improve water quality. Healthy and diverse vegetation provided good habitat for fish, wildlife and native plants. Fish and wildlife need healthy spawning areas, as well as habitat for feeding, resting and mating life stages. Fishing and hunting are benefits of good shoreline and watershed management practices.
Water quality begins in forested watersheds
A forested landscape has only 10% runoff from storm events, over half of the precipitation that falls on forests ends up recharging ground water supplies. Forests adjacent to lakes and streams filter sediment and contaminants before they can enter the water. A healthy aquatic food chain is vitally linked to the condition of the network of small streams in the forest. FSC certification requires sound on-the-ground forestry practices to protect water resources. FSC certification also emphasizes long-range, landscape based planning to ensure the health of the forested watershed for future generations.
What this means for YOU
In 1997, county and state managed forests in Aitkin County were among the first publicly managed forests to be certified as well managed with Forest Stewardship Council principles. Today the six million acres of certified forests in Minnesota represent one-forth of the total certified areas in the United States. When you buy wood products bearing the FSC logo, you know they have been harvested by companies committed to protecting forest biodiversity and wildlife. It may cost a little more, but your purchase is and investment in the well-being of Minnesota forests.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international network dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. Their mission is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Socially beneficial forest management helps both local people and society at large to enjoy long term benefits and it provides strong incentives to local people to sustain the forest resources and adhere to long-term management plans. Environmentally appropriate forest management ensures that the harvest of timber and non-timber products maintains the forest’s biodiversity, productivity and ecological processes. Economically viable forest management means that forest operations are structured and managed to be sufficiently profitable, without generating financial profit at the expense of the forest resources, the ecosystem or affected communities. The tension between the need to generate adequate financial returns and the principles of responsible forest operations can be reduced through efforts to market forest products for their best value.
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