Over the past 20 years, the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) has caused considerable tree mortality across the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States. Although the operational and cost impacts of dead timber are generally well known in the sawmill industry, there remains a need to better understand the impact of large-scale outbreaks on the industry at local and regional scales. Using an expert opinion survey of sawmill managers and procurement staff, this study quantified the relative importance of various cost and operations factors related to harvesting and processing beetle-killed timber in Montana. Respondents reported an average log supply of trees in the red or gray stage of mortality as 24.5 percent of log supply from 2010 to 2014, but this dropped to 5.8 percent by 2015. Cracking and checking were perceived as having the highest negative impact on log value, while waste in milling and breakage of logs in handling were ranked highest for milling operations. For a typical lodgepole pine stand, the volume estimated as sawlogs showed a 15 percent decrease between green and red stages and a 50 percent decrease between red and gray stages, with most of the volume change moving into the pulpwood category. Total average cost increases from green to gray for logging, loading and hauling, and sawmilling were 43, 46, and 46 percent, respectively. Results generally support known relationships between defects, costs, recovery, and value, with some interesting departures with regard to blue stain and equipment maintenance.

Timber harvesting operations generate brush and other vegetative debris, which often has no marketable value. In many western U.S. forests, these materials represent a fire hazard and a potential threat to forest health and must be removed or burned for disposal. Currently, there is no established, consistent method to estimate brush disposal production rates in the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region, which spans Montana and parts of Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Production rates developed specifically for one Northern Region national forest over a decade ago are the basis for many brush disposal production and cost estimates. Evidence suggests that these rates are applied incorrectly in many circumstances. Through a survey of experienced fuels specialists we have developed a Northern Region brush disposal production guide to serve as a baseline from which the required components of brush disposal plans, fuels treatment contracts, and force account planning can be further refined and tailored for individual burn units. Results capture variability in productivity across 10 districts on 5 national forests for hand and machine preparation work, and burning activity fuels and natural fuels. Average production rates are presented with the range and the number of respondents in each category. Results consistently demonstrate that the productivity of Northern Region specialists implementing brush disposal operations is far more efficient than the production estimates contained in other Northern Region guides. This new guide can be used to improve brush disposal planning for the region, and may serve as a model for other regions to collect and provide updated information that reflects current forest conditions, practices, and productivity.

The primary theme of this study is the cost-effectiveness of fuel treatments at multiple scales of investment. We focused on the nexus of fuel management and suppression response planning, designing spatial fuel treatment strategies to incorporate landscape features that provide control opportunities that are relevant to fire operations. Our analysis explored the frequency and magnitude of fire-treatment encounters, which are critical determinants of treatment efficacy. Additionally, we examined avoided area burned, avoided suppression costs, and avoided damages, and combined all three under the umbrella of leverage to explore multiple dimensions with which to characterize return on investment. We chose the Sierra National Forest, California, USA, as our study site, due to previous work providing relevant data and analytical products, and because it has the potential for large, long-duration fires and corresponding potential for high suppression expenditures. Modeling results generally confirmed that fire-treatment encounters are rare, such that median suppression cost savings are zero, but in extreme years, savings can more than offset upfront investments. Further, reductions in risk can expand areas where moderated suppression response would be appropriate, and these areas can be mapped in relation to fire control opportunities.

Abstract Presently there is a lack of information describing US southwestern energy consumption and emissions generated from the sawmilling industry. This article uses a mail survey of softwood sawmills in the states of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico to develop a profile of on-site energy consumption and selected emissions for the industry. Energy consumption is categorized by fuel type on a production basis for both renewable and nonrenewable sources for production year 2012. Selected emissions from on-site energy consumption were also estimated for respondent sawmills. Survey respondents represented 35 percent of total softwood lumber production of 169.2 million board feet. Total annual on-site sawmill energy required was 64.8 billion British thermal units. Sixty-one percent was derived from diesel fuel, primarily for on-site rolling stock; 35 percent was from electricity; 3 percent was from gasoline used for on-site rolling stock; and the remainder was from propane and wood. Energy produced from non...

Cofiring forest biomass residues with coal to generate electricity is often cited for its potential to offset fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the extent to which cofiring achieves these objectives is highly dependent on case specific variables. This paper uses facility and forest specific data to examine emissions from cofiring forest biomass with coal ranging up to 20% substitution by heat value in southwest Colorado, USA. Calculations for net system emissions include five emissions sources: coal mining, power plant processes, forest biomass processes, boiler emissions, and forest biomass disposal. At the maximum displacement of 20% of heat demand using 120,717 t of forest biomass per year, total system emissions are projected to decrease by 15% for CO2, 95% for CH4, 18% for NOX, 82% for PM10, and 27% for SOX. PM10 and CH4 emissions benefits are closely tied to reducing open burning for residue disposal. At maximum displacement, 189,240 t of CO2 emissions equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from 36,200 passenger vehicles, 440,000 barrels of oil, or nearly 990 railcars of coal are avoided. When forest biomass is not cofired, emissions equivalent to 144,200 t of CO2 are emitted from open burning. In addition to exploring the details of this case, we provide a methodology for assessing the emissions tradeoffs related to using forest biomass for cogeneration that incorporates the operational aspects of managing forest treatment residues, which are frequently omitted from similar analyses. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract Forest operations generate large quantities of forest biomass residues that can be used for production of bioenergy and bioproducts. However, a significant portion of recoverable residues are inaccessible to large chip vans, making use financially infeasible. New production systems must be developed to increase productivity and reduce costs to facilitate use of these materials. We present a comparison of two alternative systems to produce biomass fuel (i.e., “hog fuel”) from forest residues that are inaccessible to chip vans: (1) forwarding residues in fifth-wheel end-dump trailers to a concentration yard, where they can be stored and then ground directly into chip vans, and (2) grinding residues on the treatment unit and forwarding the hog fuel in high-sided dump trucks to a concentration yard, where it can be stored and then reloaded into chip vans using a front-end loader. To quantify the productivity and costs of these systems, work study data were collected for both systems on the same treat...

Forest restoration and fuel reduction treatments have been widely applied in the western United States with the purpose of reducing the size and intensity of wildfires. However, the low value of small-diameter trees produced from such treatments has partly constrained the ability to treat all the areas identified as being in need of treatments. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential for log sort yards to increase the residual value of forest restoration treatments relative to a standard sort at landing in Ravalli County, Montana. We simulated log handing and transportation under two log sorting scenarios in Ravalli County: sort at landing resulting in two log products and sort at sort yard resulting in seven potential log products. Costs and value recovery in each scenario were estimated, and the residual values were compared. We found that establishment of a log sort yard in Ravalli County could increase the residual value of forest restoration treatments by 5%. However, the benefit of the sort yard varies substantially by the forest type from which logs are harvested and the available volume of and markets for high value products, such as house logs.

Forest treatments have the potential to produce significant quantities of forest residue biomass, which includes the tops and limbs from merchantable trees and smaller trees removed to meet management objectives. We spatially analyzed the sensitivity of financially feasible biomass volumes for delivery to a bioenergy facility across 16 combinations of delivered biomass and diesel prices for a 515,900 ha area in western Montana. At the lowest delivered biomass price analyzed, $31.52 per oven dried tonne (ODT), 28% of the potential volume was financially feasible at the lowest diesel price, $0.053 L-1, dropping off to 6% of the volume at the highest diesel price analyzed, $1.32 L-1. With a 50% increase in delivered biomass price to $47.28 ODT-1, feasibility increased to 88% at the $0.53 L-1 diesel price, dropping to 36% of the volume at the $1.32 L-1 diesel price. Another 50% increase in delivered biomass price to $63.05 ODT-1 resulted in the feasible volume converging on the total potential volume at the lower diesel prices, and at the highest delivered price, $78.81 ODT-1, nearly all potentially available biomass is financially feasible even at the highest diesel fuel price analyzed. Haul was almost entirely restricted to paved roads closest to the bioenergy facility at the lowest delivered biomass price. As delivered price increased, feasible volume expanded further into areas accessed by unpaved roads as well as paved roads further from the bioenergy facility. Results show that financial feasibility is much more sensitive to changes in delivered biomass prices than diesel prices. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Background Global forests capture and store significant amounts of CO 2 through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood products (HWP) to meet greenhouse gas monitoring commitments and climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives. This paper uses the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) production accounting approach and the California Forest Project Protocol (CFPP) to estimate HWP carbon storage from 1906 to 2010 for the USFS Northern Region, which includes forests in northern Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and eastern Washington. Results Based on the IPCC approach, carbon stocks in the HWP pool were increasing at one million megagrams of carbon (MgC) per year in the mid 1960s, with peak cumulative storage of 28 million MgC occurring in 1995. Net positive flux into the HWP pool over this period is primarily attributable to high harvest levels in the mid twentieth century. Harvest levels declined after 1970, resulting in less carbon entering the HWP pool. Since 1995, emissions from HWP at solid waste disposal sites have exceeded additions from harvesting, resulting in a decline in the total amount of carbon stored in the HWP pool. The CFPP approach shows a similar trend, with 100-year average carbon storage for each annual Northern Region harvest peaking in 1969 at 937,900 MgC, and fluctuating between 84,000 and 150,000 MgC over the last decade. Conclusions The Northern Region HWP pool is now in a period of negative net annual stock change because the decay of products harvested between 1906 and 2010 exceeds additions of carbon to the HWP pool through harvest. However, total forest carbon includes both HWP and ecosystem carbon, which may have increased over the study period. Though our emphasis is on the Northern Region, we provide a framework by which the IPCC and CFPP methods can be applied broadly at sub-national scales to other regions, land management units, or firms.

This study was sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program to understand and enhance the ability of federal land managers to address financial and economic (F&E) aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction. Focus groups were conducted with nearly 100 federal land managers throughout the western United States. Several issues and information disconnects were identified in two major areas: the RE analysis process and the tools and information used for F&E analyses. The most prevalent disconnects appeared to be between managers' knowledge versus acceptance and use of F&E tools developed by research entities. Most managers also tended to focus on financial rather than economic analysis. Findings suggest needs for continually updated local timber and biomass market information; training with F&E tools and methods currently used; ongoing technical support for tools currently used; and closer communication among forest management, research, and administrative personnel as new F&E tools or administrative processes are developed and implemented.

The value and use of the trees removed in fuel reduction thinning and restoration treatments could be enhanced if the wood were effectively evaluated and sorted for quality and highest value before delivery to the next manufacturing destination. This article summarizes a preliminary financial feasibility analysis of a log sort yard that would serve as a log market to buy and sell small-diameter logs in western Montana. We based our evaluations on equipment for a medium-sized log sort yard that would preprocess and sort 33 million board feet of small-diameter logs per year to seven different products. The delivered log input costs represent 78.1% of the total sales revenue, whereas the yard’s operating costs account for 17.7% of the revenue. The log sort yard’s operating cost would be $3.74/piece or $79.53/thousand board feet. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) would make the biggest contribution to the yard’s gross margin because this species both represents the largest volume (45% of the input log volume) into the yard and produces high-value products (house and veneer logs). Improved knowledge regarding wood market conditions and local log supplies is a prerequisite to understanding a log sort yard’s financial feasibility.

Concern over increased wildland fire threats on public lands throughout the western United States makes fuel reduction activities the primary driver of many management projects. This single-issue focus recalls a management planning process practiced frequently in recent decades – a least-harm approach where the primary objective is first addressed and then plans are modified to mitigate adverse effects to other resources. In contrast, we propose a multiple-criteria process for planning fuel-treatment projects in the context of ecosystem management. This approach is consistent with policies that require land management activities be designed to meet multiple-use and environmental objectives, while addressing administrative and budget constraints, and reconciling performance measures from multiple policy directives. We present the process borrowing from the Trapper Bunkhouse Land Stewardship Project example to show the logic for conducting an integrated assessment of ecological and natural resource issues related to multiple management scenarios. The effects and trade-offs of the no-action scenario and proposed action alternatives are evaluated relative to silviculture, disturbance processes (including fire behaviour), wildlife habitat, noxious weeds, water quality, recreation and aesthetics, and economic contributions. Advantages and challenges of this project planning approach are also discussed.

We describe a portable pyrolysis system for bioenergy production from forest biomass that minimizes long-distance transport costs and provides for nutrient return and long-term soil carbon storage. The cost for transporting biomass to conversion facilities is a major impediment to utilizing forest biomass. If forest biomass could be converted into bio-oil in the field, it may be more profitable to utilize forest biomass for bioenergy. Bio-oil can substitute for fuel oil, or be used as a crude oil and further refined into additional products. Transporting energy-dense bio-oil is more cost effec- tive than transporting bulky, low-value biomass. In-woods pyrolysis can also address concerns over removing nutrients and carbon from forest sites through reapplication of bio-char, a pyrolysis byproduct, which is equivalent to the charcoal found in all fire ecosystems. Bio-char is 70-80 percent carbon and retains most nutrients contained in biomass. It can be used as a soil amendment to enhance soil productivity through a liming effect, which improves cation exchange capacity and base saturation, increas- ing anion availability, improving water holding capacity and decreasing bulk density. Charcoal is known to remain stable in soils for hundreds to thousands of years. Long charcoal residence times provide a way to quickly sequester atmospheric carbon by assimilating it into a recalcitrant form that can be applied to soils. In total the portable pyrolysis approach has the potential to improve the economic efficiency of biomass removal from overstocked forests through the in-woods conversion of biomass to bio-oil that avoids the costs and emissions of transportation to central facilities. Bio- char can be returned to the forest economically if pyrolysis occurs at or near the site of biomass removal. Reapplication of bio-char will sequester carbon in soil and may enhance site productivity.