Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §8876-B is enacted to read:

§8876-B.__Maine Forest Certification Council

1.__Definitions.__As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

A.__"Forest certification system" means a system that verifies sustainable forest management through independent 3rd-party auditors.

B.__"Forest management audit" means the audit report generated by a forest certification system after conducting an audit of forest management of lands in this State.

C.__"Goals, criteria and standards of sustainable forest management" means the goals, criteria and standards of sustainable forest management reported by the director pursuant to section 8876-A, subsection 3.

2.__Council established.__The Maine Forest Certification Council, referred to in this section as the "council," is established to review forest management audits conducted by forest certification systems and to report upon its findings for the purpose of assessing the value of the use of forest certification systems in helping to achieve__the goals, criteria and standards of sustainable forest management in this State.

3.__Members; terms; staff.__The council consists of 12 appointed members.__The Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint 4 members to the council.__Members must be chosen based upon their expertise in at least one of the following areas: forest management, silviculture, timber harvesting, forest mensuration, forest protection, forest ecology, soil science, wildlife biology, inland fisheries biology, plant ecology, forest economics and forest-based recreation.__Members serve 3-year terms.

The Department of Conservation shall provide one employee to assist and to staff the council.__The department staff person is responsible for coordinating meetings, encouraging public participation and coordinating additional research efforts that may be necessary to carry out the purpose of the council.

4.__Duties.__The members of the council shall review forest management audits and annually report their findings regarding the value of forest certification systems in helping to achieve the goals, criteria and standards of sustainable forest