WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A shift in policy by wood and paper products manufacturer Georgia-Pacific is good news for important bird areas in the U.S. southeast, a conservancy group says.
Georgia-Pacific says it will no longer buy wood fiber from southeastern areas identified as environmentally sensitive or from land where slow-growing hardwood forests have been cleared to plant quick-growing pine, the American Bird Conservancy reported in a release.
This will benefit five areas in the Carolinas and Virginia that are designated as globally important bird areas, the conservancy said.
"This policy shift to protect sensitive areas and discourage the destruction of hardwood forests is a much-needed and welcome step in the right direction for preserving dwindling important bird habitat in the Southeast," said Dave Younkman, chief conservation officer for the conservancy.
Georgia-Pacific worked with scientists and environmental groups to identify 11 key sites totaling 600,000 acres in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal area, as well as 90 million acres of natural hardwood forests in the southern region, the conservancy release said.
The sites include Francis Marion National Forest and Congaree Swamp in South Carolina, Alligator River Region and the Croatan National Forest in North Carolina, and the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia.
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