Small Wood Utilization Initiative

In the Mt. Adams Region, many forestlands are characterized by an overabundance of small diameter trees that are neither young nor healthy, while placing forest stands at risk for severe wildfire.  From an ecosystem and wildlife habitat perspective, characteristics of older, more mature forests which are lacking across our landscape are slower to develop due to excessive competition from too many trees for limited resources.  In fire dependent ecosystems that historically experienced frequent, low intensity fires, these conditions would not prevail.  Wildfire served to control densities in many western forests, killing many trees while seedlings or saplings, while larger thick barked trees were able to resist the effects of heat, effectively acting as a natural thinning agent in the forest.

Every year forest managers throughout the west intentionally set prescribed fires to mimic the positive effects that fire have on our forests.  But in many cases, prescribed burning is not a viable option.  Fuel loadings, which have built up due to the lack of fires over the years, make controlled burns more costly, and increase the chances that they'll unintentionally spread.  Smoke from fires may drift into populated areas, or into the Columbia River Gorge, where we value clear skies.  Mechanically reducing fuel loadings and the sheer number of overstocked, often small diameter trees becomes a requisite for restoring essential ecosystem processes.  Mechanical tree removals via logging, mulching, slashing and piling, etc., are all costly activities, especially when the value of any material that can be salvaged or captured from the activity is limited.

One of the primary objectives of the Small Wood Utilization Initiative has been to create local markets for low value forest materials, including small diameter logs and woody biomass, as close to the forest resource as possible.  This would reduce the treatment cost for public land managers seeking to remove small diameter timber as a part of a fuels reduction, thinning, or forest restoration project.  Private and industrial land managers would have the opportunity to reduce the amount of forest waste that is burned in slash piles on an annual basis, reducing slashing burning and permitting costs.  The creation of such a market also represents the emergence of new forest products industry for our region, with the potential of supporting economic development needs for distressed rural economies.

Promoting the development of local markets for small diameter logs and woody biomass starts at the forest level, with collaboratively planned comprehensive projects that focus on stewardship of our public resources, and ends with successful marketing of forest restoration byproducts to a broad array of consumers.  There are clearly many steps in between, including harvesting and transportation, primary and value-added manufacturing, and research and development of emerging technologies.

Much of our current focus is being placed on the development of an integrated wood utilization center in the Glenwood Valley.  We currently have a long term lease on ten acres of state land, on which we are developing infrastructure to support the establishment and growth of small wood products businesses.  We are currently working with two companies - a post and pole manufacturer and a commercial firewood business, and are actively seeking additional businesses and product lines that fit within our integrated model.  Please contact us if you are interested in exploring a potential project.