EXHIBIT 23.1


                      CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
                              One Champion Plaza
                              Stamford, CT  06921


                                March 15, 2000


Champion International Corporation
One Champion Plaza
Stamford, CT  06921

Dear Sirs:

     As Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Champion International
Corporation (the "Company"), I advise you as follows in connection with legal
and administrative claims and proceedings which are pending or known to be
threatened against the Company.

     I call your attention to the fact that, as Senior Vice President and
General Counsel of the Company, I have general supervision of the Company's
legal affairs. In such capacity, I have reviewed litigation and claims
threatened or asserted involving the Company and have consulted with outside
legal counsel with respect thereto where I have deemed it appropriate.

     On March 1, 2000, an action was filed against the Company, each of the
Company's directors and UPM-Kymmene Corporation in the Supreme Court of the
State of New York for the County of New York. The action, which purports to be a
class action on behalf of the Company's shareholders, alleges breach of
fiduciary duty by the directors of the Company in approving the Company's
proposed merger with UPM-Kymmene. The action seeks compensatory damages in an
unspecified amount and an injunction against the merger. The Company intends to
vigorously defend this action.

     While any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, subject to the
foregoing, it is my opinion that the outcome of each such proceeding or claim
which is now pending or known to be threatened, or all of them combined,
including the action described above, will not have a material adverse effect on
the Company.


March 15, 2000
Page 2

     I hereby consent to the reference to this opinion in the Company's Annual
Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999, and in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999
(the "Form 10-K"), and to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Form
10-K.

                                     Very truly yours,



                                     /s/ Stephen B. Brown
                                     Senior Vice President
                                     and General Counsel

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