Certified Walnut and Mesquite?

Walnut

Walnut trees are very valuable.  They grow scattered about the land or in small groves, so that there are usually not many in most timber harvests.  Mills that specialize in walnut pay the best price for walnut logs, so the reasonable thing for anyone harvesting timber to do is segregate the walnut and haul it to such a mill.  Because these mills serve broad areas and because certified wood currently does not gain much of a premium in price, there is little way or incentive to maintain a chain of custody on wood from certified tracts.  I am confident that this will change.  As more land is certified and more woodworkers and more consumers ask for certified walnut, new channels will emerge in the market.  I expect to purchase only certified walnut someday in the future.

Mesquite

I never expect to purchase certified mesquite.  Mesquite grows in the arid Southwest and into some areas of Texas getting 35 inches of rain or so.  But not in forests.  The trees that are harvested are the rare individuals that obtain a fair size trunk while surrounded by brushy, scrubby brothers and sisters.  While it would be possible to manage a tract of land well to obtain a sustainable and improving harvest of firewood, posts, and a few trees to mill, while grazing and hunting are the main ventures, I don't see such an effort being certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.