Weyerhaeuser commits three million acres in Washington and Oregon to support the reintroduction of the North American Fisher
Weyerhaeuser Company plans to commit up to 3 million acres of private timberland in Washington and Oregon to support a variety of conservation efforts focused on reintroducing the North American Fisher (Fisher) throughout the West. The Fisher reintroduction and conservation effort is being led by a variety of partners including: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), state wildlife agencies, conservation organizations and private forestland owners, like Weyerhaeuser. Today, the USFWS took a constructive step by recognizing the positive benefits of working forests when it determined the Fisher is not warranted for listing as a threatened or endangered species in the Northwest. Instead, it will cooperatively work with private landowners to encourage Fisher conservation.
"Weyerhaeuser's working forests are perfect partners for wildlife conservation efforts because they are continually managed," said Rhonda Hunter, Weyerhaeuser's senior vice president for timberlands. "Private timberlands held by companies like Weyerhaeuser are attractive habitats for animals, like the Fisher. Sustainability is a core value at Weyerhaeuser, and we're proud to be part of this program." The Fisher is one of the larger members of the weasel family and is found only in North America's boreal and temperate forests. Fisher populations in Washington and Oregon were reduced dramatically in the 1800s and early 1900s through trapping, and predator and pest control.