Conservation groups are moving beyond the courtroom into the marketplace to pressure two of the nation’s largest timber companies.
In separate actions, Seattle Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Council of Maine are challenging green labels held by Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek Timber that certify their forests are managed in environmentally sustainable ways.
Amid growing worries about global warming, major corporations such as Home Depot are demanding wood and paper products be certified as sustainable.
Losing that certification could hurt the bottom line of the two Washington-based timber companies.
Seattle Audubon complaint alleges Weyerhaeuser has been logging too heavily in spotted owl habitat in southwest Washington.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine alleges Plum Creek Timber should lose its certification after repeated violations of Maine logging standards. Plum Creek has proposed a development in northern Maine’s Moosehead Lake area calling for 975 house lots, two resorts and an industrial park.
Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek deny violating their certifications.
