Plenary Session, October 18th

Woody Biomass Utilization Update for Natural Resource Managers

Mark Knaebe — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PDT

Since WWII we have worked hard to stop forest fires. These efforts have resulted in more extreme fires today because of all the available ladder fuels. Thinning can reduce or even eliminate the catastrophic aspect of a fire but can the thinning’s pay their way out of the forest? Uses from water filters to wood/plastic composites will be discussed. Unfortunately energy is the least valuable use.

Energy Regulatory Policies Encouraging Biomass Power in the West

Daniel R. Simon — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PDT

Towards a Cohesive Federal Policy on Wood Bioenergy

Jay O'Laughlin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PDT

Renewable energy sources provided eight percent of the energy our nation consumed in 2010. Biomass accounted for half of that, and wood was the largest subcategory of biomass energy (“bioenergy”), followed closely by liquid biofuels—each provided about 2 percent of our total energy needs. We know how to use wood to make energy, and we have been doing it for a long time. We could be doing more of it. Policy objectives for wood bioenergy might include a) reducing fossil energy use and thereby displacing reliance on foreign oil, b) improving forest health and sustainability, in part by creating markets for forestry products, and c) revitalizing rural economies via jobs. Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is another potential objective, but dependent on the accounting stance towards sustainable forestry, which is currently a regulatory uncertainty (and addressed in my closing presentation on “The Forestry/Bioenergy/Carbon Connection”). Due to inattention to concerns affecting the western states, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) in August 2010 wrote to President Barack Obama’s energy/climate advisor calling for a cohesive federal wood bioenergy policy, and received no response. A cohesive policy would have clearly specified objectives or ends and then focus on providing means to attain ends. The WGA expressed a sense of urgency and suggested that federal agencies actively engage with the states to develop a clear and unambiguous federal policy for wood bioenergy and make a top priority of attaining the multiple goals of healthy forests, clean air, productive economies, and clean energy. Specific areas needing improvement are a) the counterproductive multitude of biomass definitions, b) bias towards liquid biofuels, and c) land management policies that make removal of hazardous fuels difficult at the scale needed to improve wildfire resiliency, which in turn limits potential bioenergy feedstock supplies and other benefits from active land management.

The History of Biomass Utilization in the West: From Tee Pee Burners to Woody Biomass Derived Aviation Fuel

Craig Rawlings — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PDT

Presentation will cover the history of woody biomass in the Rocky Mountain West (including Alaska), spanning a period of time from the late 60’s to 2011 and beyond. Two primary sources of woody biomass covered in this presentation will be “mill residue” (sawdust, shavings, and bark) and “in-woods” (generated from commercial logging operations and forest restoration activities).

Biomass Utilization: A Tool for Forest Restoration

Mike Dudley — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 PDT

The Forest Service mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. In this century, our forests and grasslands face serious threats to their sustainability from a variety of stresses and pressures. Foremost are climate change, altered disturbance regimes, non-native invasive species, and increasing pressures and impacts from an expanding human population. These diverse threats affect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in virtually every region of the country. Utilization of woody biomass generated from forest treatments can provide jobs, stimulate the local economy and ultimately reduce the cost of forest treatments.