Those who need timber for home improvement purposes no longer need to feel guilty about supporting the logging of our state's forests.

According to the Albany Times Union, New York state's forests were re-certified under international sustainability standards. The forests were certified by two nonprofit groups: the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forest Initiative, receiving the certification from the latter for the first time. The newly-certified forests are the state-owned forests located outside of the Adirondack and Catskills parks. A quarter of the certified land is owned by private timber companies, while the rest is owned by the state.

The state's announcement is favorable news for home improvement retail chains such as Home Depot, particularly because their customers have increasingly demanded sustainable wood as we become more environmentally aware consumers.

The sustainability certifications help protect New York state's forests in two ways: Timber companies have to plant trees to replace those that are logged, and the state has the right to raise the price of timber from its forests for protective purposes.