FEDERAL WAY, Washington -- Weyerhaeuser Company announced that it plans to commit up to 3 million acres of private timberland in Washington and Oregon to support a variety of conservation efforts focused on reintroducing the North American Fisher throughout the West.

The Fisher reintroduction and conservation effort is being led by a variety of partners including: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), state wildlife agencies, conservation organizations and private forestland owners, like Weyerhaeuser.

Today, the USFWS took a constructive step by recognizing the positive benefits of working forests when it determined the Fisher is not warranted for listing as a threatened or endangered species in the Northwest.

Instead, it will cooperatively work with private landowners to encourage Fisher conservation. The USFWS has structured conservation agreements with private forestland owners like Weyerhaeuser, which are called Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs). The agreements last for 20 years.

"Weyerhaeuser's working forests are perfect partners for wildlife conservation efforts because they are continually managed," said Rhonda Hunter, Weyerhaeuser's senior vice president for timberlands. "Private timberlands held by companies like Weyerhaeuser are attractive habitats for animals, like the Fisher. Sustainability is a core value at Weyerhaeuser, and we're proud to be part of this program."

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. The company owns or controls more than 13 million acres of timberlands, primarily in the U.S., and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada.