The Newfoundland Forest Service (NFS) directly manages a substantial portion of the province’s forests. The two forest-products companies that manage the remainder have registered their forest management systems to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard. With an eye to getting all managed forest land in the province registered to ISO 14001, the NFS engaged us to undertake a study of the challenges and opportunities it would face in doing so. To meet the study objective, interviews were conducted with 30 people, most of whom work for the NFS. Upper-management commitment was identified as the most significant potential barrier, in part due to its influence on other possible barriers such as funding and commitment of staff time. Political interference, not previously identified in the literature, also poses a potential barrier. We conclude that no potential barriers pose insurmountable hurdles, and that the NFS should proceed expeditiously with ISO-14001 registration of the forests it manages.

certification, ISO 14001, forest management, Newfoundland, perceptions, barriers