ASSESSING COVERAGE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN NATIONAL MEDIA AND IMPACTS OF FIBER SOURCING STANDARD ON BIODIVERSITY AND FORESTRY BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES

This thesis assesses the position of forest certification in the United States. Understanding the coverage of forest certification by mass media is critically important because mass media shapes public opinion, and the discourse of certification schemes influences policy decisions, participation in certification schemes, and consumer behavior. Additionally, the impacts of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Fiber-Sourcing Standard (FSS) on the biodiversity of three states in the North American Coastal Plain, a biodiversity hotspot and global leader in timber production, is also analyzed. This research will better position forest certification as a tool for forest conservation in the United States and feed into current policy deliberations on the effectiveness of market-based tools in the conservation of natural resources in the United States and beyond.