Independent Auditors Certify Willamette Southern Forests as Meeting The Objectives of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative

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Independent Auditors Certify Willamette Southern Forests as Meeting The Objectives of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative

    PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Willamette Industries' forestlands
in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas have passed a third-party audit for
sustainability. Completed in late September, the audit certifies that forest
management activities in Willamette's Southern region are in full compliance
with the standards of the American Forest & Paper Association's Sustainable
Forestry Initiative (SFI)(SM) program.
    PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the same independent accounting firm that in
the past year has audited Willamette's regional forestlands in the Northwest
and East, examined Willamette's forest management practices in the South to
ensure the implementation, maintenance and improvement of sustainable
forestry. Willamette owns and manages 738,000 acres in Louisiana, Arkansas and
Texas.
    In its audit, PricewaterhouseCoopers gave high marks to a number of
Willamette's Southern forest management practices.  Specifically, the auditors
commended the region's efforts to:  establish a comprehensive set of policies
to ensure compliance with all SFI objectives; protect forestland along
streams, thereby providing much-needed diversity to the landscape; consider
the visual impact of a highly visible and sensitive management area; solicit
public opinion on the visual impact of forest management; and erosion control
on temporary roads following harvests.
    PricewaterhouseCoopers also identified areas for improvement. Suggestions
included utilizing landscape analysis tools when developing five-year harvest
plans, developing long-term biodiversity goals and increasing support of
research for biodiversity and water quality.
    The SFI program has 11 objectives, including promptly reforesting
harvested areas, protecting water quality by establishing streamside
protection measures, enhancing the quality of wildlife habitat, and continuing
to improve forest utilization to help ensure the most efficient use of forest
resources.
    Willamette's forestlands in Tennessee and Missouri will be audited by
PricewaterhouseCoopers this month. In addition to the 738,000 acres in
Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, Willamette also manages 610,000 acres in
Oregon; 215,000 acres in Tennessee and Missouri; and 167,000 acres in the
Carolinas.
    According to Andy Kepper, Willamette's Southern sustainable forestry
coordinator, this is an on-going process that focuses on continuous
improvement of Willamette's forest management program and involves the
intensive effort of Southern region foresters and support staff. Lands will be
re-audited by a third party on a regular basis, supplemented by formal
internal audits and on-going monitoring of action plans that address goals for
continued progress and improvement.
    Willamette Industries is a vertically integrated, Fortune 500 forest
products company with more than 100 manufacturing facilities in the
United States, Mexico, France and Ireland. Willamette owns 1.7 million acres
of forest land in the United States and manages it sustainably according to
the principles of the American Forest & Paper Association's (SFI)(SM) program.

SOURCE Willamette Industries, Inc.

http://www.wii.com
Company News On-Call:

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/971763.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 971763
CONTACT:
Andy Kepper, 318-628-6901, or Jeff Guin,
318-255-6258, both for Willamette Industries, Inc.
NOTE TO EDITORS: A full copy of this release, as well as other
company news, is available at http://www.wii.com