Forest BioMass Follow-Up: a Full Plate of Opportunity, along with some Cautions

Blandin Foundation staff and partners have been busy following up on the energy and good ideas shared by the 40 plus folks who came together in Eveleth on April 29th to talk about harvesting woody biomass for energy. A summary of the event and links to the research reports written to inform the meeting, including “Woody Biomass for Energy in Minnesota: Consumption and Availability” are available on the Blandin Foundation website.

Based on existing evidence, report authors Jim Bowyer and Steve Bratkovitch of Dovetail Partners, Inc., conclude there appears to be room for significant expansion of biomass consumption for energy production in Minnesota. Forum participants received this news with some skepticism, however, cautioning that the data on availability need to be filtered through economic and environmental costs and sustainability implications.

Third generation logger Peter Wood asserted that his industry was ready to do the harvesting, as long as end users were ready to pay what it costs to get the job done. “Let the market work,” he said.

MCEA’s Matt Norton reminded the group that the higher end of the state’s maximum allowable cut established by the GEIS was based on the assumption that the recommended mitigations would be in place, which is not the case.

A small working group has met since the meeting to begin charting next steps. They are likely to include:

• A phone survey of land managers to compile a more detailed picture of what forest biomass harvesting efforts are planned for the near term.

• Development of a Scope of Work to invite a proposal to build a database to support information sharing and monitoring of biomass harvesting efforts

• Design and delivery of a minimum of two biomass harvest guideline implementation demonstrations, under the leadership of MLEP with assistance from University of Minnesota Extension staff.

MNPost reporter Ron Way has written a nice overview of the issue, Once seen as waste, forest materials find a market, referencing several participants from the April 29th forum.

The Foundation welcomes your comments and ideas. As we move ahead, we want to be sure that our efforts to embrace this opportunity for forests, forest industry and forest-reliant communities benefit from lessons learned in other renewable energy market development efforts and avoid unintended consequences.

 

Clarification about Forest Biomass Harvesting Stakeholder Forum

Dear Friends of Vital Forests/ Vital Communities:

A number of you have contacted us to inquire about the possibility of attending the Forest Biomass Harvesting Stakeholder Forum Blandin Foundation is convening on April 29th (see my March 19 post, Do No Harm: Renewable energy mandates and forest biomass harvesting). Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in this project.

The goal of the meeting is to explore how to help guide, shape and inform the development of a sustainable forest bioenergy industry in Minnesota by expanding the number, improving the quality and sharing information about small scale and voluntary, on-the-ground biomass harvesting demonstration projects in northeastern Minnesota. With this goal in mind, and hoping to facilitate a highly participatory and focused discussion, we have purposely kept relatively small the number of invited agencies and organizations.

We have worked hard to ensure that a broad range of perspectives and organizations will be represented at the table. We do intend to share the outcomes of our “what next” discussion through the VFVC blog. If you’re interested in following the progress of this work, check back the first week in May for a summary of the meeting.

 

MyMinnesotaWoods.org turns one!

This morning we’re sending a big “Congratulations” to Eli Sagor and the folks at the University of Minnesota Extension on the one year anniversary of MyMinnesotaWoods.org. Listening to Eli this morning on the KAXE morning show brought back memories of when we all first started talking about developing an innovative Internet resource to encourage sustainable management of Minnesota’s family forest lands.

From concept to reality, today MyMinnesotaWoods.org is resource-rich, and according to Eli, the site will soon be offering more opportunities Minnesota family forest owners to share what they’re learning in the Minnesota woods.

 

Property tax reduced for some forest owners

Dear VF/VC readers:

I’m happy to report some good progress at the State Capitol related to recommendations that emerged from last September’s Family Forest Conference in pursuit of our “Next Million Acre” goal. A unique coalition has formed to speak with one voice on a variety of policy proposals related to forest lands, including the MN Forestry Association, the MN Deer Hunters Association, MN Forest Industries and the MN Seasonal and Recreational Property Owners Coalition among others. Their good efforts are paying off!

A tax bill has been passed and signed that will give many forest owners with stewardship plans the chance to receive a marked reduction in their property taxes. To qualify, forest owners must have at least 10 acres and no more than 1920 acres. The law allows these forest owners to apply to their County Assessor to have their land assessed at 0.65% rather than 1%. They must not be enrolled in the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act, but have a forest management plan that meets SFIA standards. There is also good news for those who ARE enrolled in the SFIA, as the minimum annual payment has been raised to $7.00 per acre, an increase from the previous floor of $1.50 per acre. These are positive steps forward and evidence that the momentum built during last session was indeed a harbinger of change to come.

But wait, there’s more! Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to make additional improvements on the forest property tax laws. They seek to remove the requirement for landowners to apply annually, to lower the class rate a step further to 0.55 %, as well as a variety of other things. If you would like more information about legislative developments, please contact Bruce ZumBahlen of the MN Forestry Association at zoomerbruce@aol.com.

Congratulations to everyone concerned about these issues, and thanks to those of you who have advocated change. You can be sure that we’ll update you again as we receive word of further developments from the Capitol.

In the meantime, may you embrace the muddy spring in Minnesota’s woods.

 

Koochiching Forest Legacy Project gets $3.5M Boost

Good news!

Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey was in Minnesota today to announce along with DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten that the Koochiching Forest Legacy Project will receive nearly $3.5 million in federal dollars. This Phase II funding will be used towards adding roughly 38,000 acres to the initial 51,000 Forest Capital Partners easement closed in October 2007. A third phase is planned for 2009, bringing total acres of the Koochiching Forest Legacy Project to just under 128,000 acres - that’s close to 200 square miles!

Today’s Duluth News Tribune did a great job explaining the project and the concept of a working forest conservation easement:

Federal dollars will buy conservation easements in Koochiching, Itasca counties
BYDuluth News Tribune
March 31, 2008

Federal officials this morning will celebrate their installment of a public-private conservation effort to protect part of Minnesot’s north woods from development. Top U.S. Forest Service officials will be in St. Paul to herald a $3.5 million appropriation to buy conservation easements on undeveloped, privately-owned forest land in southern Koochiching and northern Itasca Counties.

It’s the second of three phases of the Koochiching Forest Legacy Program backed by state and federal agencies and private conservation groups in an effort to keep large tracts of contiguous forest from being sold, divided and developed.

The program has been praised for preserving the environmental benefits of undeveloped land, providing trees for local loggers and keeping land open to the public for hunting and hiking.

In December the News Tribune reported that the $3.5 million was included in Congress omnibus spending bill.

Last year the state sealed a deal to buy conservation easements on 51,163 acres in the area.

This year’s federal aid will add another 38,331 acres. The third phase is set for 2009 and will add another 38,300 acres.

When completed, some 127,794 acres ” nearly 200 square miles ” will be included in the project. Much of the land is in and near the Koochiching and George Washington state forests. It’s the largest such forest land conservation effort state history.

The forest parcels once were owned by Boise Cascade Corp. and were managed for decades as wild land to provide trees for the company’s mills. It now is owned by Forest Capital Partners which makes money by holding and selling land as a real estate investment to be developed.

Under the forest legacy program, Forest Capital Partners will be paid for the conservation easements. The company will continue to own the land and pay property taxes, but the state will hold the legally binding easements that prevent the land from being sold or developed.

The company will continue to manage the land for forestry and sell trees to be cut by loggers, providing continued wood for the region’s mills.

In addition, the land will remain open to public access like deer hunting, berry picking and hiking.

While northern Minnesota has large tracts of federal, state and county-managed public lands, half of the state’s forests are privately owned. That land is rapidly rising in value and is being sold for recreation and retirement homes at a breakneck pace.

Keeping large tracts of private forest undeveloped is considered a critical issue for many of the region’s wildlife, including birds, which tend to leave areas where new roads, homes and cabins are built. The private parcels in the program often help form connections or corridors to large public tracts.

In addition to the U.S. Forest Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Blandin Foundation, Conservation Fund and Trust for Public Land are involved in the effort with Forest Capital Partners.

Similar efforts to use conservation easements to keep forested private land undeveloped have been struck in Lake County, southern Itasca County near Grand Rapids and in Crow Wing County near Brainerd.

 

Do No Harm: Renewable energy mandates and forest biomass harvesting

Goal One for Blandin Foundation’s Public Policy & Engagement program is “Do No Harm” (a.k.a. watch out for unintended consequences!). That may seem like a low bar, but actually, it’s not. Especially when you’re talking about forest biomass harvesting.

Thanks to Minnesota’s new site-level harvest guidelines for forest biomass , Minnesota is well positioned to explore the contributions that forest resources can make to achieving Governor Pawlenty’s ambitious “25×25” strategic goal – 25% of all types of Minnesota’s energy will come from renewable sources by 2025. What can be done to help ensure a Do No Harm outcome – and maybe even better than that! – for our forest-dependent communities, forest-based businesses and the forest resource itself?

To help create the best possible shot at optimizing benefits to our forested region from the Governor’s 25×25 vision, Blandin Foundation has agreed to convene a Forest Biomass Harvesting Stakeholder Forum. The first meeting will be held April 29. The purpose of the forum is to hear from on-the-ground practitioners who are actually doing forest biomass harvesting about what’s working (and what’s not). Forum participants also will explore what should or could be done to ensure a win-win-win outcome for utilities, forests, communities and forest-based businesses, all of which share an interest in implementation of sustainable forest management practices and a more energy independent future for our state.

For more information about the forum, email Mary Magnuson, memagnuson@blandinfoundation.org or call 218.327.8738.

 

Generation Xers lost to the forest.. or vice versa?

In her article about the community forum to launch the new Itasca County Area Forest Legacy Fund, Grand Rapids Herald Review reporter Britta Arendt captured some of the sparky discussion that followed U of M Professor Mike Kilgore’s presentation on the threat of forest parcelization in the Itasca area. Do GenXers’ green consumer habits translate into a land conservation ethic? Britta quotes one community member as saying he thought his twenty-something daughters would be more likely to want to sell the family forest land to buy a Prius and solar panels than to inherit the land itself.

These hunches are empirically supported by new research conducted by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and the US Forest Service on what offspring of family forestland owners think about maintaining their family forestlands. The results, presented last fall to a VFVC audience by research author Catherine Mater, are alarming: many of these next-gen owners have had little involvement to date in the management of their family forest and express little interest in becoming more involved.

Clearly, figuring out Minnesota’s forestry hedgehog has to start with ensuring we’ve still got working forest landscapes left for GenXers and their children’s children to work, live, and play in.

 

Tackling Parcelization in Itasca County: New Options for Family Woodlot Owners

Minnesota Forest Resources Council Executive Director Dave Zumeta told participants at a recent MFRC-landscape committee summit here in Grand Rapids that parcelization remains at the top of the list of forest policy challenges facing Minnesota.

VFVC blog readers surely are aware of the Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership, created to address this challenge. To date the Partnership has concluded two major easements, Sugar Hills and the Koochiching-Washington Forest Project.

Community celebrations of the new Kooch-Washington conservation easement in Grand Rapids on Feb 1-2 included a dinner to thank Forest Capital Partners, the landowner, and a 60 mile snowmobile ride through the industrial forestlands now in conservation easement under this agreement.

Meanwhile, across town from Dave and the MFRC meeting, community members braved the bitter cold and dark of an early January morning to learn about an innovative new family-scale opportunity to address the parcelization threat to forests in Itasca County. On behalf of her visionary Board of Directors, Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation (GRACF) Executive Director Wendy Roy described GRACF’s new Itasca County Area Forest Legacy Fund.

Inspired by the Minnesota Forest Legacy Partnership, this new fund is designed as a tool to help family woodlot owners keep their private forestlands intact and build their own forest legacies for the future. The fund also will be used to raise awareness about the importance of forest stewardship. The GRACF will use the services of the Minnesota Land Trust to craft, monitor, and hold the easements in perpetuity. For more information, contact the fund at: info@gracf.org or 218/327-8855.

 

Seeing the forest and the tress

Among the lively responses to my last post, “Minnesota’s forestry hedgehog” was a comment from Terry Weber. Terry wonders why the Foundation even asks about the meaning of forest productivity, reminding us that the Minnesota Forest Resources Partnership (MFRP) has developed a clear definition: “Improving the quality, quantity and availability of wood fiber in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Clearwater County Land Commissioner Bruce Cox chimed in to clarify that MFRP’s definition concerns timber productivity. Indeed, the Vital Forests/Vital Communities Seeing the Forest AND the Trees project is intent on looking at productivity through the lens of all three forest “benefit baskets” - social, ecological and economic.

Based on lots of good input, including from blog readers, we have revised the Scandinavian tour’s key learning objective. Instead of “maximizing growth/yield” we will focus on “increasing the quality and value of forests and the products that come from the land in Minnesota and other Lake States.”

Do you think that, as Harvey Tjader suggested in his blog comment, the secret formula to getting to this Holy Grail might be managing for diversity, in the forest and the industry itself?

Do you think it’s possible to do both in Minnesota? And why or why not?

 

Finding Minnesota’s hedgehog in the forest

When Jim Hoolihan stepped in as Blandin Foundation President in 2004, he brought with him Jim Collin’s book “Good to Great” and engaged the foundation staff and board in a discussion of “What is the foundation’s hedgehog?” Collins got the term from Isaiah Berlin’s famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” which Berlin had in turn developed from an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”

According to Collins, the Hedgehog Concept is the secret of taking any organization or enterprise from Good to Great. It is found at the intersection of three circles:

As global competition continues to challenge Minnesota’s forest products industry, policy makers and practitioners have a timely opportunity to ask: what is the hedgehog for Minnesota’s forests?

This conversation has already started. The October meeting of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Forestry Affairs Committee included a discussion of outcomes of the Minnesota Forest Resource Partnership’s October 16-17 Productivity Conference. Allison Rajala asked, “But do we have a shared common understanding of what we mean by “productivity?” Is it boards and cords and volume of fiber? Or is it something else?”

This question got raised again a week or so later at an initial gathering of a group of folks who have signed on to participate in a study tour project with the foundation that we’re calling: “Seeing the Forest AND the Trees: How to Make the Most of Minnesota’s Woods.” The year long effort will involve study tours in the Great Lakes region and in Scandinavia. The project was originally framed around “improving forest productivity,” and as such we hope it can provide additional arms and legs and hearts and minds for the important work the Minnesota Forest Resources Partnership (MFRP) has undertaken with its productivity conference series. The Forest AND the Trees group is just getting started, and we’re at the stage of refining our learning objectives.

Project staff asked tour participants for feedback on several draft key learning objectives, including this one:

• We want to learn (from what we see in Scandinavia) how to maximize growth/yield while ensuring biologically diverse and sustainable forests.

Carlton Owen, one of the study tour participants, spoke up right away to say that he thought we were barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.

Carlton, who had joined us from Greenville South Carolina, is President and CEO of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities. The Endowment was created in late 2006 with a commitment of $200 million arising from a softwood lumber trade agreement between Canada and the U.S.

Reminding us that the forest products industry is now a globalized sector, Carlton pointed out that given Minnesota’s soils and climate, our state will never be able to compete globally on yield, or on any quantitative measure of productivity.

Minnesota’s forestry hedgehog, he proposed, was not in quantity of wood or fiber harvested, but in the quality of the trees grown and the quality of the products made from those trees.

What do you think?

Please leave a reply below and share with us YOUR definition of “forest productivity.” Or any other thoughts you may have about Minnesota’s forestry hedgehog.