To what degree do assessment methods affect conclusions about forest sustainability? We compare the criteria-driven Montreal Process to the question-driven Southern Forest Resource Assessment, evaluating the process and results of applying these methods to the forests of the southern US.

Growing demand for multiple outputs from forests has focused attention on how to measure the sustainability of forest management for those outputs. Different assessment methods may lead to different conclusions about sustainability. Comparison of the Montreal Process C&I and the recently completed SOFRA suggests that conclusions reached through different methods will reflect the concerns of the stakeholders involved in developing the methodologies. However, the approaches are complementary, in that the data and assessment results of SOFRA can be adapted and used to measure many of the indicators under the Montreal Process.