Clearing biomass from nation's forests will keep them healthy
Despite pending federal legislation that promotes renewable, clean energy and creates new jobs, hard-working people in rural areas are being denied the promise of a green economy, according to the American Loggers Council (ALC).
Unemployed loggers all over the country could have a future in sustainably gathering and selling tons of clean-burning woody biomass to power plants were it not for the fine print in The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 that's now under consideration in the House of Representatives. The harvesting of woody biomass involves collecting stems and wood waste from the forest or stands of beetle-killed wood – but the Act excludes 60 to 70 percent of biomass sources in the U.S. simply because the biomass lies in federal and certain private forests.
"Woody biomass is not the cutting down of old-growth trees," said ALC Executive Vice President Danny Dructor. "A sustainable biomass industry will keep our forests healthy and provide clean energy and green jobs."
While it commends Congress' commitment to renewable energy, the ALC is committed to educating Congress about the true benefits of woody biomass harvesting:
- Reviving small-town economies
- Creating a viable, proven source of renewable energy
- Reducing the risk of catastrophic forest fires by removing dead and dying trees and the waste that provides fires much of their fuel
- Fighting insects that destroy forests by thinning dense stands and removing the waste in which pests breed.
"Here in Minnesota, counting loggers and spin-off jobs from mills, unemployment in our industry's probably 60 percent," said logger Jerry Birchem, of Virginia, Minnesota.
But Birchem has found his own solution through harvesting woody biomass. Not only does he own a wood pellet plant, providing a clean energy solution for his area, but he also gathers and sells woody biomass to a power plant.
"I saw some of the economic trends for logging a few years ago," Birchem said. "And if it weren't for biomass, I'd only have half the work I have now. The popular position used to be that there should be no harvesting of anything, and it seemed like they'd rather have forest fires, but I don’t think that’s the mainstream view anymore."
Like Birchem, third-generation logger Scott Melcher of Sweet Home, Oregon, saw an opportunity to diversify his business when he decided to collaborate with another local businessman to collect and haul the biomass to a utilization center instead of piling it up trailside and burning it.
"I looked at it as a challenge and a way to position Melcher Logging at the forefront of biomass utilization," he said.
So logging does have a future and there's a big economic stimulus waiting to be had for rural economies and everyone else — in creating renewable energy through woody biomass.
The ALC urges Congress to change the fine print in The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 to include all biomass sources. By harvesting biomass in compliance with federal, state and local laws, the nation's federal and private forestlands will experience huge benefits in the prevention of catastrophic forest fires, the preservation of wildlife habitats and the protection of critical water resources.
"Logging communities have been economically devastated," said Jim Petersen, co-founder of the non-profit Evergreen Foundation, and publisher of Evergreen, the Foundation's periodic journal.
Whether things can turn around for the logging communities depends on the government. "They have to get serious about biomass," said Petersen.
"One thing that's important for people to understand is that forests grow; that's what they do," he said. "There will always be biomass, and collection of biomass could keep loggers going forever."
As a professional forester and once woodland management consultant I can but back the statements as to the need to return to clean forests and even the British Forestry Commission has woken up to that fact and is telling the misinformed that demand “habitat piles” to go and take a hike.
Leaving debris in the form of branch wood, lengths of timber, and tops, as “wildlife habitat” is extremely counterproductive and also dangerous.
Counterproductive in that is does not do much for the wildlife, even fungi and invertebrates, at all and dangerous as it (1) is a forest sire hazard by creating so-called “fire ladder” and (2) in that is it a breading ground for tree and forest diseases.
It is high time that we abandoned this false idea of environment management and got back to the old ways of proper silviculture.
I grew up in forestry work and there was a “clean forests” policy and still there was more wildlife of all kinds, including fungi and invertebrates, in our woods and forests than there is now with all the “habitat piles”. In addition to that out woods and forests were healthy and tress had far fewer problems than today.
Back to the future is the route that we must take, in woodland and forest management as much as in many other aspects.
© 2009
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