Verso Paper Corp. Awards Verso Forest Certification Grant to Dirigo Timberlands

Verso Paper Corp. Awards Verso Forest Certification Grant to Dirigo Timberlands

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Verso Paper Corp. (NYS: VRS) today announced that it has selected Dirigo Timberlands to receive a Verso Forest Certification Grant. Dirigo is a forest management company that provides forest management planning, road construction and timber harvesting services to a range of forest ownerships throughout the state of Maine. The grant will enable the company to pursue group certification of its client landowners to the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC®) Family Forest Standard which, in turn, will allow Dirigo to increase the amount of FSC-certified pulpwood it supplies to Verso's two paper mills in Maine.

Dirigo's primary focus is on long-term, sustainable forest management for small and medium sized land ownerships. With five licensed professional foresters and two registered forest technicians, the company has the required expertise to pursue a Resource Manager Group Certification Program to enroll landowners in FSC's group certification program. Dirigo achieved "Well Managed Group Forest Certification" effective August 20, 2013 (License Code FSC®-C117893).

"Verso has a long history of promoting third-party forest certification within our wood supply chain," said Verso Fiber Supply Manager Jim Contino. "We launched the Verso Forest Certification Grant Program last year to help increase the amount of certified fiber available to our mills. Dirigo's project is well suited to our criteria, and our existing wood supplier relationship with them will be even stronger as a result of this partnership."

"It's refreshing to see a large mill customer like Verso willing to support efforts to increase the number of small landowners enrolled in certification systems," said Dirigo Timberlands President Blaine Miller. "We believe increasing the amount of certified wood products from small landowners is the next step in keeping Maine's mills competitive and keeping our forest products economy healthy, thus benefitting us all."

Anyone interested in learning more about the Verso Forest Certification Grant Program or in obtaining a grant application may contact:

Greg Barrows
Verso Paper Corp.
Bucksport Mill
P.O. Box 1200
2 River Road
Bucksport, ME 04417
Email: greg.barrows@versopaper.com

About Verso

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Verso Paper Corp. is a leading North American producer of coated papers, including coated groundwood and coated freesheet, and specialty products. Verso's paper products are used primarily in media and marketing applications, including magazines, catalogs and commercial printing applications such as high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct-mail advertising. Additional information about Verso is available on the company's website at versopaper.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In this press release, all statements that are not purely historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available business, economic, financial and other information and reflect management's current beliefs, expectations and views with respect to future developments and their potential effects on Verso. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties that may affect Verso and its business. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Verso's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Verso assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this press release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances or actual outcomes.

Verso Paper Corp.
Monica Garvey, Sustainability Manager, 901-369-4154
monica.garvey@versopaper.com
www.versopaper.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Tennessee

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