Policy

It is Weyerhaeuser’s policy to comply with all laws and regulations applicable to its business activities, including those providing protection for threatened and endangered (“T&E”) species.

Expectations

With input from wildlife biologists and the Law Department, each business will develop and maintain reliable processes for their respective business activities as required to ensure compliance with this policy. Such processes:

  • Must address how employees will determine when a business activity falls within a specific T&E compliance process.
  • Must address training of employees as needed to understand how to implement the compliance process.
  • If appropriate, require training of field personnel in T&E species or habitat identification and reporting of sightings.
  • Should be periodically reviewed and updated as new species become T&E or as new information becomes available.
  • Must prescribe mitigation measures considered adequate to achieve compliance.
  • Can utilize a hierarchical approach to approvals where mitigation measures involve application of case-by-case.

Where considered an effective approach to compliance with this Policy, the company may enter into formal T&E species agreements with governmental entities (such as a Habitat Conservation Plan, Safe Harbor Agreement, Candidate Conservation Agreement or other wildlife management species agreement). In such case, the business will ensure that effective means are put in place to adhere to the requirements of those agreements.

Procedures

Employees whose work falls within the scope of this policy:

  • Shall be trained on the business compliance processes and T&E species agreements in place to ensure adherence to this policy.
  • Must determine whether a compliance process or T&E species agreement applies to a proposed business activity, and if so, ensure that the activity is planned and executed in accordance with the process or agreement.
  • Where specific laws provide protections to T&E species (e.g., state forest practices or wildlife laws), adhere to all such protections.
  • Ensure that T&E species surveys are conducted in advance of operations where required by applicable law, permit, agreement, or the business’s T&E compliance process.
  • Ensure through planning and contract requirements that activities of third parties performing work for Weyerhaeuser are consistent with this policy.
  • If need to fulfill the requirements of the process or agreement, receive training in identifying T&E species likely to be encountered or their habitat characteristics.
  • Promptly report sightings of known or suspected T&E species to their team leader or other designated management representative (e.g., company wildlife biologist) for possible further evaluation.
  • Document all verified T&E sightings, survey results, and locations of known or likely T&E species occurrence.
  • Consult with team leader, Weyerhaeuser wildlife or fisheries biologists, the Law Department, and/or other experienced T&E managers when facing T&E species protection questions not covered by a T&E compliance process or T&E agreement.
  • Retain and immediately forward to the Law Department any communication (written or otherwise) from any governmental entity expressing concern about harm or potential harm to a T&E species in relation to a Weyerhaeuser operation or property or the contravention by Weyerhaeuser of any T&E agreement.

Guidelines

  • Where appropriate, work cooperatively with public agencies and other forest landowners to protect T&E species or further the state of knowledge about T&E species.
  • Help accomplish the wildlife and biodiversity objectives of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Forest Management and Fiber Sourcing standards.

Audience

This policy applies to all entities within Weyerhaeuser and when company employees, contractors or lessees conduct forestry, timber harvesting, or road construction operations on company-owned or leased lands, or on lands owned by other private forest owners or governmental entities. This policy applies to all persons engaged in:

  1. Timberlands operations;
  2. Raw material procurement for Wood Products manufacturing facilities;
  3. Those elements of the Real Estate, Energy & Natural Resources, Development and Recreational Lease Management businesses where lessees or permittees conduct activities within the scope of this policy; and
  4. Other employees who come into proximity of T&E species in the course of their work.

Consequences

Violation of T&E species protection laws can result in civil and criminal penalties for individuals involved and for the company. Individuals may be fined and/or imprisoned as the result of criminal prosecution. In addition, violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Adherence to this Policy should greatly reduce the risk of any inadvertent violations of T&E species protection laws, and concomitantly ensure that Weyerhaeuser’s reputation for forestry stewardship and environmental responsibility is not compromised.

Related Resources

Additional information can be found in the following associated policies and standards:

Internal

External

Last Updated

March 16, 2023

Related Resources

Additional information can be found in the following associated policies and standards: