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Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

Pacific Northwest: Study touts jobs growth tied to cross-laminated timber

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The next few years will be pivotal for SmartLam and other CLT producers. Photo courtesy of SmartLam.

The production of cross-laminated timber, or CLT, has the potential to create significant job growth in the Pacific Northwest, according to a study published in July 2017 by Oregon BEST, a Portland-based nonprofit.

CLT is made of layers of glued 2-inch-thick dimensional wood crossing over each other at a 90-degree angle, creating a strong panel that can be used in tall buildings.

The 110-page study, “Advanced Wood Product Manufacturing Study for Cross-Laminated Timber Acceleration in Oregon and SW Washington,” was funded by $120,000 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. [Read more…]

EPA science advisers can’t agree: Is biomass a carbon-neutral fuel?

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Wood yard, Schiller Station, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One boiler at the four-unit plant was converted to wood in 2006 and has consumed more than five million tons of wood fuel. Photo: PSNH/Flickr, CC BY-ND

Is biomass a carbon-neutral fuel if its source trees and crops are replanted?

That’s the question at the heart of a years-long debate among members of an Environmental Protection Agency science advisory board.

Reporter Brittany Patterson of E&E News covered last month’s meeting of the science advisers, who again failed to find consensus.

In fact, the group is so far from agreement that some members suggested the report be scrapped. [Read more…]

Biochar offers promise for commercial products, climate change mitigation

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U.S. Forest Service scientist Nate Anderson pours samples of biomass in the Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire Sciences Lab. Photo: Katy Spence

Nate Anderson surveys the samples of biochar on his lab table.

Some look like charred wood chips. Others have been transformed into pellets. Still others are shiny, like crystals. These samples have been “activated” and are similar to what you’d find in a water filter. One jar holds bio-oil, which smells like the condiment Liquid Smoke.

Seven years ago, Anderson knew little, or nothing, about biochar. Today, it is just one of many forest products he studies as a research forester at the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana. [Read more…]

From raindrop to faucet: Thank a tree for your clean, cool water

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Before rain makes it to the forest floor, it has to pass through this. Photo: Jim Stanton via American Forests

Do you know where your water comes from? Well, you’re about to. There is a long process every drop of water endures before it reaches our faucets, and we can thank forests for much of that process. Trees work as water filtration systems, intercepting, absorbing and purifying the water that we eventually drink.

The important thing to keep in mind is that all water comes from somewhere, it doesn’t just fall from a cloud into your glass. Most of your water is stored in reservoirs or aquifers, and the water in these containers has to come from somewhere too — much of the water in a typical reservoir does not come from rain that fell directly onto the reservoir. The water on its journey to your reservoir will frequently pick up unwanted molecules, much like fuzzy socks and grass burrs. [Read more…]

Resilience rising: The restoration economy brings new hope to rural Oregon

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It took firefighters nearly three months to quell the Canyon Creek Complex fire, working from the ground and air. Photo: Dave Hannibal/Grayback Forestry

JOHN DAY, Ore. – Highway 395 from John Day (population 1,744) winds through the community of Canyon City and up into the path of the Canyon Creek Complex fire.

Fanned by gale-force winds, tinder-dry fuel and extreme temperatures, flames roared down this narrow canyon on Aug. 14, 2015, destroying 43 homes and nearly 100 barns and outbuildings, devastating the communities of Canyon City and John Day.

The fire charred 110,000 acres before being contained in early November. The most destructive fire in Oregon’s history cost $31.4 million to suppress.

Today, signs of recovery and rebuilding are visible. Several homeowners in the fire’s path have rebuilt, new foundations sprouting amid stands of blackened trees. Residents are moving on with their lives. [Read more…]