Nov 19, 2004. /Lesprom Network/. Rayonier announced that its nearly 2 million acres of U.S. timberlands have been recertified as meeting the standards set by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R) (SFI) program, one of the world's largest sustainable forestry programs. The recertification of the company's Northwest and Southeast timberlands, as well as its wood procurement organization, was the result of a third-party audit by the international quality assurance firm of Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI). The audit was a periodic review of Rayonier's forests - which achieved program certification in 2002 - to confirm that the company meets the exacting SFI standards for the sustainable growing and harvesting of trees, protection of wildlife and fish habitat, plants, soil and water quality and a wide range of other conservation goals. "SFI certification is a recognized mark of the highest level of professionalism in forestry," said W. Lee Nutter, Chairman, President and CEO. "We are proud of this accomplishment, which reflects our longtime commitment to sound forest practices and our ongoing leadership in sustainable forest management." As part of the recertification process, BVQI audited more than 150 sites on Rayonier's land base across Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Washington and performed exhaustive reviews of forestry policies and practices, as well as program implementation and documentation. They also conducted numerous interviews with Rayonier foresters, wood procurement employees, wood suppliers and loggers. Rayonier has more than 2 million acres of timber and land in the U.S. and New Zealand and is the world's premier supplier of high performance specialty cellulose fibers. Approximately 40 percent of the company's sales are outside the U.S. to customers in more than 50 countries.