Logger Certification: Why?

While promoting a program such as the American Loggers Council Master Logger Certification© program, it is difficult to figure out what all of this certification business is really all about. Initially, the driving force was an attempt by forest industry heavyweights to appease complaints from environmental organizations, which often practice extortion through boycotts and misrepresent the forest industry to the public. Where has that gotten us?

I wonder if the millions of dollars that have been spent by our industry on certification programs would have been better invested in public relations campaigns that emphasized the good job we are already doing.