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Title: |
Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council � Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol
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Type: |
Biomass utilization
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
Oregon
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Program Description: |
Background
The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC) is an organization that helps businesses, residents, and communities in the central Oregon area. Since 1972, COIC has provided programs and services to the community such as employment and training, youth and adult education, business loans, and community and economic development.
One of COIC�s projects, which were initially funded by the USDA Forest Service Economic Action Program in support of the National Fire Plan, is the Central Oregon Partnerships for Wildfire Risk Reduction (COPWRR). This is a multi-stakeholder partnership with the ultimate goals of reducing forest wildfire risk, enhancing forest health, and providing community jobs in Central Oregon.
COPWRR Objectives
According to Scott Aycock, coordinator of the project, COPWRR was initiated to address the removal of dangerous build-up of woody biomass material in Central Oregon forests. Specific goals of the initiative are to:
- determine the long-term feasibility of using small diameter logs and woody material to create wood products and produce energy;
- determine the best way to mechanically remove woody biomass from targeted forests; and
- develop a market-driven approach to hazardous fuel reduction that could maintain and create local jobs and bring differing stakeholders together in a common, sustainable resource direction.
In pursuing these goals, the COPWRR team found that the wood supply on private and public forest lands has dramatically fluctuated for the past few years and that these fluctuations have contributed to a stall in investments in technology and employment in the region. According to Aycock, for planning purposes it is critical to stabilize or �levelize� the supply of small-diameter material. Forest products businesses need to be able to forecast a sufficient wood supply at least 5 to 10 years out. He said an obstacle to planning is that small-diameter material is usually not managed as a resource, and it is very difficult to gather accurate data on its future supply.
Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol (CROP)
These findings led the COPWRR team to work with numerous partners to implement a Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol (CROP) initiative. Developed by Catherine Mater of Mater Engineering, the CROP model coordinates small-diameter timber sales from multiple forests across large areas for 5, 10, and 15 years. Catherine suggests that this will create a levelized supply of small trees, making logging them a more economically attractive proposition, especially for small companies that must rely on bank loans to finance their operations.
Aycock explains that each year CROP partners are creating detailed small-diameter supply projections from public and private lands within community supply landscapes, tailoring projections to the needs of individual users. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis and other tools, conservative estimates of supply are created based on harvest costs, proximity to communities, and environmental and social factors. Partners also develop new data on harvesting and transportation costs and other local economic factors crucial to business investment decisions.
This information is communicated to local businesses, community groups, entrepreneurs, and the general public through forums, one-on-one meetings, and the internet. CROP partners gather feedback and make ongoing improvements. At the same time, COIC will continue to expand small-diameter utilization in the region by researching and developing small-diameter market opportunities and providing technical assistance to new businesses.
According to Scott, �We anticipate that the levelization of small-diameter timber supply through the CROP project will have long-term (20+ years) positive impacts in terms of costs per acre, increases in acres treated, and community jobs. It is part of a long-term program to develop a new forest-based economy in rural Central Oregon based in part on forest restoration activities, and is expected to hatch as a self-sustaining local initiative at the conclusion of the 2-year pilot project term.
In 2005, COIC was awarded a grant for $220,000 from the USDA Forest Service National Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program to expand the CROP initiative. It is anticipated that by using CROP, businesses will able to more accurately predict, achieve, and stabilize the wood supply, thus enabling them to invest in new technology and product development. The CROP initiative is now being looked at for possible implementation at the national level.
The CROP initiative is currently being applied across the following public lands in Central Oregon: the Deschutes, Ochoco, and Mount Hood National Forests; the Prineville Bureau of Land Management; and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, an enterprise located on the Confederated Tribes reservation is using CROP in establishing a 15- MW biomass power facility and a small-diameter timber processing line.
Contact information:
Contact via email, Scott Aycock, or by phone: 541-548-9525.
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