Dogwood Alliance

On June 29, 2005, Dogwood Alliance, NRDC, and Bowater, Inc. announced the signing of an accord that will increase protection for hundred of thousands of acres on the Cumberland Plateau and across the South.

The agreement with Bowater - the largest newsprint manufacturer in the U.S. - will change the way the company does business and serve as a model for all other paper companies operating in the South.

Highlighting the agreement is the fact that Bowater has agreed to end the conversion of hardwood forests to single-species pine plantations on its land. Bowater will also stop purchasing fiber from private landowners that convert their land after 2007. There are currently 32 million acres of pine plantations in the South comprising over 15% of our forests.

"Bowater is no longer converting diverse, natural forests into lifeless pine plantations," said Danna Smith, Dogwood Alliance Policy Director. "Instead they are helping transform one of the most destructive industries of our time - the paper industry - towards ecological sustainability."

Bowater will also take steps to regulate aerial spraying that goes beyond any laws regulating the practice across the entire region. Additionally, the company will take steps to protect endangered forests including setting aside all ephemeral ponds on company lands which is critical habitat for salamanders and other freshwater species.

Together we've made this happen, we couldn't have done it without you.

Click here to read a summary of the Dogwood Alliance Memorandum of Understanding with Bowater

Click here to read the press release.

Click here to learn more about the Cumberland Plateau.

Bowater Update: Sale of Bowater Timberlands will impact agreement but key provisions remain.

In November 2005, Bowater announced plans to sell 380,000 acres of timber lands in the American South, primarily in Tennessee. Coming on the heels of Bowater’s historic Memorandum of Understanding the sale of their lands has the potential to undermine certain hard fought protections.

Regardless of any transfers in ownership of the timberlands, Bowater’s commitment to stop buying pine fiber from third-party landowners that convert natural forests to pine plantations after 2007, the cornerstone of the agreement will remain in effect Their agreement to halt fiber purchases from landowners who continue to convert natural forests to plantations will provide critical protection for this special area and stands as a crucial environmental benchmark for the entire paper industry.

A key issue is Bowater’s agreement to adopt a 300-foot buffer zone from human habitation for aerial spraying of both herbicides and fertilizers on their approximately 280,000 acres of pine plantations in Tennessee, a new landowner would not automatically be held to that standard.

Bowater also owned approximately 100,000 acres of high conservation value native hardwood forests located on the Cumberland Plateau. The MOU called for protection of biologically important ephemeral ponds and a moratorium on logging on approximately 7,000 acres of particularly sensitive gulfs and coves forests and limitations on clearcutting.

Since Bowater’s announcement we have seen a substantial amount of their Southern holdings change hands. We know that certain key lands have been purchased by the State of Tennessee and will be protected and that others have been purchased by Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMO’s.) In addition we know that some acreage will be slated for development. Dogwood Alliance continues to believe that the spirit of the MOU should drive the land sale process.

Bowater Update: Dogwood Alliance Reports Substantial Compliance with Bowater's MOU

Dogwood Alliance is proud to report progress, made possible with your help, in our effort to transform industrial forestry in the South. In June of 2005, Dogwood Alliance and our partner Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Greenville, SC based, Bowater, Inc. – the largest newsprint manufacturer in the U.S and the largest paper company operating in one of the South’s most important biological treasures – the Cumberland Plateau.

The MOU set the standard for improved management of the Southern United States’ working forest landscape. The understanding, in which Bowater committed to identify and protect endangered forests, end the conversion of natural forests to plantations, restrict the aerial spraying of chemical fertilizers and herbicides and the use of large-scale clearcutting and to increase the use of recycled fiber serves as a model for all other paper companies operating in the South.

With the release of this first annual progress report, Dogwood Alliance members, supporters and volunteers can now see that our efforts have made a true difference.

Click here to download the full report or read it online.