Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Sustainable Forest Biomass Conference Call - October 18, 2007

In this initial discussion, we brought together a group of academics and researchers interested in bioenergy production from forest materials. There was general agreement that an increase in active forest management, especially pre-commercial thinnings, is desirable in many, if not most, forests in this country from a standpoint of forest health. There seems to be two main obstacles to this thinning. The first is that we are facing a situation of domestic wood surplus and it difficult for a land manager to justify costly intermediate (pre-commercial) forest treatments when the demand for low-grade and small diameter material is essentially non-existent. The second barrier is a general wariness that the environmental community feels for both bioenergy and forest management. To address this concern, the consensus was that it is necessary to stress the co-benefits of using forest biomass for energy – not only is this a clean source of low carbon energy, but by adding value to forest thinnings it can make better forest management possible, including restoration forestry, pre-commercial thinning, wildlife habitat improvement, and much needed fire mitigation thinning across much of the western states. Uneven-aged silviculture, popular with private landowners and in areas managed for aesthetics and recreation, will also be feasible in more situations as the value of thinnings and low grade material is increased. Despite these positives, the group also came to a general consensus that we need to determine in greater detail the possible social, economic, and environmental impacts of using forest biomass for energy. In particular, we need to develop a model that allows us to determine the life-cycle climate change impacts of using forest biomass for energy (similar to the GREET model for agricultural crops). Finally, there was a discussion about scale and locations. In order to avoid negative impacts and overcome NIMBY feelings, it is key that both forest management and energy production sites are selected carefully and developed at a scale that is appropriate for both the local environment and the community.

Here are more detailed notes of this conference call (.PDF)