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Franklin
Timber Company is all about people. All of our
employees, suppliers, and customers are members of a
community that impacts, or is impacted, by our
environment in one way or another, every day. We
recognize that a little effort to be responsible
stewards with the resources God has given us, reaps many
rewards in the long run. This is why we’ve become
licensed under the AF&PA (American Forest and Paper
Association) SFI sm(Sustainable Forestry
Initiative sm)
program.
It’s
an effort to educate the forest products industry,
loggers, and the public about the best possible
approaches to handle their timber harvests. It stresses
the importance of stewardship, and the knowledge that
what we do effects other, the need to follow strict
harvesting guidelines throughout the process , and the
importance of replanting harvested sites.
Through
this licensing agreement, we are held accountable to
follow the directives of the SFI sm
program. Failure to
comply would result in the loss of the license. We are
presently pursuing a third party certification, by an
independent auditor, to prove the efforts we’ve made
are not just hollow promises.
The
benefits to the community are many. By enhancing
wildlife habitat, we ensure progress in rehabilitating
endangered species; we also increase the recreation
aspects of game hunting. Following Streamside Management
Zone guidelines helps keep our Mississippi waters clear
of silt and debris, and that helps all the way from
local streams to the Gulf of Mexico. Harvesting and
replanting with more vigorous trees, traps more carbon
from the atmosphere than would an over-mature forest, if
left standing. Fast growing trees do much to rid our
atmosphere of "greenhouse gases". Taking out
detrimental bug infested trees which threaten the forest
helps prevent rampant wildfires due to excessive fuel
buildup.
Timber
is our greatest resource. It is easily renewable in
almost any locale under many conditions. The number of
uses for timber is staggering. In a simple sawmill such
as ours, every part of the log is used. Lumber is made
from the solid wood, mulch is made from the bark, waste
chips are used to make paper and tissue, planer shavings
are used to make particle board or for animal bedding,
and sawdust is used as fuel to produce steam to dry the
lumber. As long as there is a business like ours in the
community, trees will have value.
By
working together with our industrial partners,
environmental conservation groups, and private
individuals, we can make this process work. We can
utilize this wonderful renewable resource, and always
have a new supply growing for tomorrow.
Please
look at the link for SFI sm
program under links.
*Franklin Timber Company
is a participant in the AF&PA's Sustainable Forestry
Initiative (SFI) sm
Program. AF&PA's Sustainable Forestry Initiative
(SFI) sm
Program is an 11-point commitment addressing
reforestation, water quality protection, wildlife
conservation, visual quality, biological diversity and
efficient use of forest resources. For further
information, on the SFI sm
program, please check the AF&PA website at www.afandpa.org.
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