7-Eleven® stores in and around the Denver metro area now carry the Colorado Forest Products brand, ensuring consumers this wood, marketed by United Wood Products of Longmont, is produced in Colorado forests.

" We're pleased that the Colorado Forest Products (CFP) brand will appear at retail outlets in Colorado," said Joe Duda, forest management division supervisor, Colorado State Forest Service, and director of Colorado Wood, CFP's parent organization. "When customers see our logo, they can be assured the products they're buying come from Colorado forests. Investing in local wood products is important because it can help maintain environmentally and economically sustainable forestry efforts."

Products carrying the CFP logo must consist of at least 50 percent wood generated from Colorado forests. But 7-Eleven's firewood is 100 percent Colorado wood, said United Wood Products President Raul Bustamante.

Bustamante has been marketing wood products and working on forest improvement projects for more than three decades. His family's involvement in forestry dates back to about 1910, when his great-grandfather, Ysidoro Bustamante, was involved in forestry in northern New Mexico.

" The majority of our wood is coming from mountain pine beetle areas, from I-70 to the Wyoming border," Bustamante said. By March 3, more than 40 local 7-Eleven® stores were carrying bundled firewood with the CFP brand and more trucks were on their way.

Duda said that while CFP is a relatively new program, it could have profound implications for the future health of Colorado forests.

" We anticipate that a portion of our wood resources will contribute to renewable energy in Colorado," he said. "But we also need to develop a broad range of uses for the variety of products our forests can produce. Adding value to forest products can help local communities achieve their objectives for fuels reduction and other forest management projects in a cost-effective manner."

Duda hopes initial CFP branding efforts will increase awareness of Colorado's forest products and ongoing forest management activities that focus on forest health, and encourage more retailers and wood providers to participate in the program.

To learn more about the CFP program or to find a wood producer near your home, please visit www.coloradoforestproducts.org. Businesses that wish to participate in the program can download a licensing agreement from the site. To learn more about Colorado Wood, visit www.colostate.edu/programs/cowood.

United Wood Products offers a variety of wood products produced from local forest management efforts. The company's website is located at www.unitedwoodproductsinc.com.

To locate a 7-Eleven store near you, visit www.7-eleven.com/storelocator/PrxInput.aspx.