Watchdog group recommends Rogue forest thinning

October 07, 2010 By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune

Uncle Sam needs to give priority to thinning more than a quarter million acres of federal forestland in the Rogue Basin.

That recommendation comes not from the timber industry but from "Restoring the Rogue," a 50-page report compiled by the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in addressing the 3.3 million acres of federal forestlands in the Rogue Basin, which includes the Rogue, Applegate and Illinois river drainages. The environmental watchdog group based in Ashland released the report Wednesday.

"We want this to be a starting point for widespread restoration in the Rogue Basin, which can produce jobs, clean water and healthy forests," said Joseph Vaile, the group's campaign director and primary author of the report.

The report calls for thinning managed tree stands between 40 and 80 years of age on roughly 166,000 acres of federal forestland in the basin. In addition, it recommends the federal government prioritize thinning on some 124,000 acres of high fire-hazard forests on its land in wildland urban interface in Jackson and Josephine counties.

However, it should protect forests that are 150 years or older on 719,235 acres in the basin, the report says.

Copies of the report will be given to decision-makers at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Medford District of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as well as others concerned about the long-term management of federal forestlands in the basin, Vaile said.

"They might come up with different ideas," he acknowledged.

Noting that KS Wild works closely with the Southern Oregon Small Diameter Collaborative and the Josephine County Stewardship Group, he hopes the report can be used as a basis for discussions among federal land managers and others involved in federal land issues.

It could also serve as a launching pad for a more comprehensive restoration report on the basin, he noted.

The thinning near communities would increase safety in the event of a wildfire as well as improve forest health, he said. Thinning in the "back country" would benefit forests overgrown because of poor logging practices or fire exclusion over the past century, he added.

A biologist by training, Vaile said he spent the better part of a year putting the report together. He consulted experts in various fields, used the geographic information system and spent a lot of time on the ground, he said.

"We tried to look at where we could get the biggest bang for our buck to restore forests and watersheds in the basin," he said. "Some of the thinnings would pay for themselves, especially if the timber market gets better.

"But the federal government does get money each year to do this kind of work," he added. "We need a strategy for restoring salmon, forest health and clean water."

The report, which contains 21 maps that describe restoration priorities, focuses on public lands in the basin which account for 62 percent of the basin's land base, Vaile said.

To view a copy of the report, check out www.kswild.org/restoretherogue.

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.co

Researchers: bioenergy market depends on state, federal policy

By Carlton Purvis

Until federal or state policy mandates that portions of energy be obtained from renewable resources, the market for bioenergy is likely to stay nonexistent, re-searchers at the S.C. BioEnergy Summit at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center said Thursday.

Until federal or state policy mandates that portions of energy be obtained from renewable resources, the market for bioenergy is likely to stay nonexistent, re-searchers at the S.C. BioEnergy Summit at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center said Thursday.

The summit brought together researchers from across the region along with representa-tives from energy companies and U.S. agencies to share the latest news and trends in bioenergy.

Many energy companies already are using renewable resources for portions of their en-ergy production, but large-scale use of bioenergy from crops like switchgrass and corn may not happen without a push from lawmakers.

“One of the things we desperately need in our state is clear governmental policies that encourage the use of renewable fuels,” CEO of Agri-Tech Producers LLC Joe James said. “In North Carolina they have a statute that requires the utilities to have a certain percent of energy come from renewable fuels. That has stimulated utilities to do things in North Carolina that South Carolina is currently not doing.“

Agri-Tech is the South Carolina-based company that developed a torrefaction system that converts wood and plant material to a dry, energy-dense fuel similar to coal, but cleaner burning. It is working toward financing the construction of its first plant, which could specialize in switchgrass torrefaction. Switchgrass is native to South Carolina and grows in areas that are often too harsh for planting other kinds of crops.

Many call it the “chicken and the egg” problem. Farmers are interested in growing crops for renewable energy, but they want to make sure there’s a market for it first. The utility companies want to wait to make sure there is enough being produced to provide a reliable source of energy and have concerns about the increased cost of burning fuels like torre-fied switchgrass.

Companies like Agri-Tech are looking for funding to help produce the systems that will help out both sides. A commercial torrefaction system would help farmers convert the material onsite. The material could be transported to the utility companies the same way they receive coal.

“Coal has been the mainstay of our energy here in South Carolina for producing electric-ity and for heating purposes. Biomass is going to have to be very similar to coal in price in order for the utility companies to switch over and use switch grass or wood,” said Dr. Jim Frederick, director of the switchgrass project at the research center. “That’s going to take the federal government to provide legislation saying they have to use biomass be-cause its renewable and can bring down carbon emissions, or its going to take some kind of financial incentive from the federal government so the utilities would voluntarily switch over to using biomass instead of coal.“

In his weekly address Saturday, President Barack Obama said the clean energy industry has the potential to create jobs and a stronger economy.

“We think we could create hundreds, maybe even thousands, of jobs in South Carolina focused on developing renewable fuels and other things that we bring from outside the state,” James said.

“In South Carolina we could have literally a half-dozen of these plants all across the state — the Pee Dee certainly being one of those areas,” he said.

Agri-Tech plans to look at old lumber yards and processing plants that have been closed down and areas with access to rail spurs because customers are likely to be utility com-panies that are used to having coal delivered to them by train.

Frederick said a mandate would certainly help move things along. He hopes to have a torrefaction system at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center by sometime next year.

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