The Southern Cypress Manufacturer’s Association (SCMA) and its member companies are committed to sustainable forestry practices in the harvesting of Cypress timber and the sustainability of the Cypress resource.  The bylaws of the SCMA state the following:

…to encourage the highest and best use of cypress resources as well as to ensure the sustainability of those resources through proper forest management and stewardship.  We believe the harvesting of cypress trees exclusively or primarily for the production of mulch is incompatible with this objective.  As an organization, our goal is to ensure that the cypress resource that we depend on will provide beneficial products to the public, and that this goal will be accomplished in an environmentally sound manner.”

The SCMA and its member companies promote and are committed to the following:
Harvesting practices as outlined by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Standard 92005-2009 Edition).
Science-based standards in the silviculture practices and sustainability goals.
Using Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the harvesting of Cypress Timber.
Harvesting timber within theses guidelines to utilize the Cypress resource in the marketplace without compromising the resource for future generations. Complying with federal, state and local regulations and laws in the harvesting of Cypress timber and the manufacture of lumber.

The SCMA and its members are also committed to harvesting Cypress at a rate that is sustainable in relation to growth, harvesting and natural elimination.  The SCMA’s position on sustainability is based on the recent U.S. Forest Service May 2008 report, “Cypress Facts for the South”, see below.

“Though the cypress resource has fluctuated in recent years, no State has experienced a statistically significant change in volume in recent surveys.”

Regional and statewide totals indicate relative stability of the resource, but data at these scales can mask countervailing trends at the sub-regional or sub-State scale.

The SCMA and its members are also proud to promote Cypress as part of one of the best kept secrets in the world; forests in the United States are the country’s greatest renewable resource and the world’s best source for renewable and legal forest products.