FInch Paper Wood Procurement Policy

To help ensure a continuous supply of healthy, growing forests and high-quality, affordable forest products for people today and in the future, Finch Paper LLC endorses the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Standard (SFIS).

Finch Paper LLC will promote Sustainable Forestry through its wood procurement policies by:

• Building roundwood inventories in advance for the spring and fall in recognition of the limited acreage suitable for environmentally sound harvesting during those periods; continue to look for stockpiled inventories that could be purchased and delivered during the spring and fall;
• During periods of restricting roundwood deliveries, we will favor deliveries from 3rd-party-certified properties and from timber harvesters who maintain their professional logger certification;
• Strongly encourage all timber harvesters selling wood to our company to use Best Management Practices (BMP), as defined by the individual states, during all seasons of the year;
• Strongly encourage all timber harvesters selling wood to our company to obtain and maintain professional logger certification or licensing through a logger training program that supports SFI® Principles and Guidelines;
• Provide an incentive payment to timber harvesters selling wood to our company who obtain and maintain professional logger certification and harvest timber under the supervision of a SAF member or licensed forester representing the landowner utilizing a silvicultural system that addresses regeneration;
• Strongly encourage all landowners selling wood to our company to hire a professional forester to plan and supervise each harvest. Landowners should also be personally involved with the implementation of this plan;
• Strongly encourage all landowners selling wood to our company to hire only certified or licensed professional timber harvesters for all harvesting operations and encourage them to obtain references;
• Requiring company procurement foresters where applicable to become certified foresters and to continue their education (including BMP training) throughout their employment with the company;
• Requiring company procurement foresters to provide educational materials regarding SFI, BMP’s and Trained Logger Certification courses to timber harvesters and landowners, to document and report such actions on a monthly basis;
• Requiring company procurement foresters to know all suppliers of roundwood. Should a trucker or broker deliver wood in their name, they must provide us with the supplier’s name and job location;
• Finch Paper LLC will cooperate with any landowner or authority that requests information of wood deliveries from a pulpwood supplier. If a logger is convicted in terms of timber theft, then the company will no longer purchase their pulpwood;
• If you suspect SFI® inconsistent practices, confidential calls can be placed in New York at 518-463-1297 or in New Hampshire at 1-888-734-4625;
• It shall be the wood procurement forester’s obligation to notify the timber harvester and the landowner of any timber harvest practices which appear to violate any laws, rules or regulations. We will not be obligated to purchase wood from that vendor until that violation has been corrected. The wood procurement forester will re-contact the logger or landowner to confirm the violation has been corrected;
• Company procurement foresters will continuously inspect with landowner approval, and evaluate a representative sample of woodlots during and following harvesting operations to ensure proper BMP implementation. They will also give a copy of the inspection report to the wood supplier.

For more information on Finch Paper LLC compliance with the Principles of Sustainable Forestry, please call Stephen Satterfield, Wood Procurement Manager, at (518) 793-2541, extension 5550.