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WALKER - Dave Bubser of the Rainforest Alliance presented a plaque to Cass County Tuesday during the county board meeting to recognize the county for 15 years of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

Cass commissioners approved engaging Rainforest Alliance to begin a new audit process this year to renew the county's certification as managing its forest in a sustainable manner. Rainforest Alliance audits practices not only of forest management, but also of agricultural land management and of manufacturing. Its mission is to "conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land use practices, business practices and consumer behavior." Rainforest Alliance was founded in 1987. It is based in New York, but operates worldwide from 16 global offices. It has issued 1,966 FSC certificates for 95.7 million acres of forests in 43 countries. Consumers spend over $12 billion annually on Rainforest Alliance certified products. Cass County was first certified in 2000. Today, it holds the seventh largest Rainforest Alliance certificate in the United States and has the ninth oldest continuous certification.

Cass' land department has "a highly skilled and dedicated staff," Bubser said. The county manages its resources in a very balanced way, he added. There currently are 33,620,860 acres certified in the U.S., according to Bubser, with the highest number of acres being in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maine, New York and California.

Minnesota led the movement for forest certification, he said, and currently comprises 48 percent of certified area in the U.S, Bubser said. FSC is approaching 10 percent of U.S. forest products in the marketplace, he added.

It is dominant in pulp and paper, fast growing in packaging and expanding in furniture and construction sectors, according to Bubser. More than 4,500 companies are chain of custody certified as manufacturers and distributors of sustainably produced goods. Land Commissioner Josh Stevenson recognized county forester Amy Rand from his staff as the person who maintains Cass's certification program.

In other land department business, the county board approved four permits to private individuals to allow them to cut hay on county administered land. They are Larry Converse, $28 to cut three acres; Tony Dumpprope, $300 to cut 26 acres; Rodney Aker, $25 to cut three acres; and Terry Mejdrich, $25 to cut eight acres.

Cass sold $153,477 worth of timber from county land at a May 28 auction. All 10 tracts offered were sold. Loggers paid $31.50 per cord for aspen and $27.99 per cord for red oak. They paid only $4.02 per cord for tamarack.

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