"Green" Lumber Expands Its Niche Though born only three years ago, the "greencertified" lumber business in the Northeast has already entered a growth spurt that may soon put as many as 2 million acres of Northeast forestland under sustainable management practices — and make an ever-increasing volume and variety of environmentally certified lumber and wood products available to builders. "There's no question that it's a growing movement," says Eric Palola, a resource economist for the National Wildlife Federation who helps coordinate one of the major certification programs, the SmartWood Program, in the northeast U.S. "Though it's still an experiment — and one much needed — the necessary connections are starting to form, and we're getting a more solid
