1 

Acknowledgement: I want to thank Dr. Bryce Stokes, Dr. Marcia Patton-Mallory, and Dr. Marilyn Buford 

with the USDA Forest Service for their contributions to this paper. 

Why Biomass is Important -- The Role of the USDA Forest Service in 

Managing and Using Biomass for Energy and Other Uses 

Dr. Ann Bartuska 

Deputy Chief, Research & Development 

USDA Forest Service 

Washington, DC 

Introduction 

Across the United States, major discussions are taking place regarding the relationships 

among energy, economic growth and security, the environment, and national security. A 

critically important part of these discussions is the intersection of energy security, 

environmental quality, and economic health (Fig. 1). Integrated production, 

management, harvesting, and conversion of woody biomass to efficiently produce energy 

and replace a significant portion of fossil fuels are fundamental to optimizing this 

balance. Our Nation’s forests are a strategic asset in this arena. 

As a Nation, we use science-based conservation and 

management to renew and restore our forests and sustainably 

enhance our economy and social well being. Forest Service, 

university, and industry researchers and other partners have led 

the way and have worked together to better restore, enhance, 

manage, use, and protect our forest resources. Our Nation’s 

forests provide clean water and air, critical habitat, and 

abundant recreation opportunities to the American people. Our 

nation has vast forest resources that reflect the American 

conservation ethic and our history of science-based 

management. 

Biomass is a complex issue that will need to be addressed through many disciplines and 

integrated programs involving wood science, silviculture, engineering, climate change, 

water and air quality, economics, and many more. 

Woody biomass is an integral component of 

forest management that offers both problems 

and opportunities for managers, landowners, 

and for the nation. The issues concerning 

biomass utilization involve challenging 

science questions and policies, and technical 

barriers. 

There are opportunities to use our forests as a 

cornerstone of the biobased revolution, a fundamental change in the way we produce and 

conserve energy and industrial products (Biomass Technical Advisory Committee 2002). 

Goals of Biomass for Energy 

• Enhance National security 

• Benefit the environment 

• Balance trade deficits 

• Bolster rural economics 

Taken from speech at 25x’25 Summit II, 

March, 2006, Washington, DC. 

Woody Biomass: 

trees, including limbs, 

tops, needles, and 

other woody parts, 

wood and wood 

wastes, residues, and 

municipal wood 

wastes. 
 2 

We can derive products as diverse as fuels, lubricants, heat and electricity, chemicals, 

food, feed, building materials, paper, clothing, and much more from biological resources. 

Biomass will have an important role in energy, the environment, and economy of the 

future. 

Energy, Environment, Economy and Forest Management 

Energy, Environment, and Economy – the three big E’s are so intertwined that it is 

almost impossible to discuss any one independent of the other two. Our dependence on 

oil brings with it concerns for long-term environmental impacts, energy security, and 

rising costs of living. 

Biomass for energy, especially biofuels, has positive attributes that contribute to a healthy 

environment and economy. Biomass utilization can reduce forest management costs, 

help mitigate climate change, reduce risks to life and property, and help provide a secure, 

competitive energy source. Shifting to a homegrown, renewable energy economy 

provides opportunities for growth and expansion, especially for rural communities as 

these renewable feedstocks are directly connected to the land, primarily agricultural and 

forestry lands. 

Our forests are a renewable strategic asset in meeting the Nation’s need for secure and 

affordable energy, environmental services, and economic health. Our ability to 

sustainably manage our resources without degradation to ensure secure and affordable 

access to goods and services is still the most critical priority for the future1

. Forestry has 

always had a crucial role in protecting the environment and securing the U.S. economy. 

Now forestry has a significant role and opportunity in providing renewable energy, and 

liquid biofuels that can support our large transportation system. 

Sustainability explicitly considers both present and future generations, and the triple 

bottom line of social, economic and environmental factors. Sustainability is place-based. 

In discussing sustainability we recognize that places can be as small as homes or 

communities, and as large as the earth itself. We seek economic actions that fully 

consider society’s need and operate in a way that promotes and enhances the 

environment. Increased use of renewable biomass for fuels and biobased products as 

replacements for fossil fuel intensive commodities fits within this integrated context by 

providing substantial societal benefits. 

Energy

Dependence on oil is an environmental concern and dependence on foreign oil weakens 

our national security and our economy. Oil imports and costs have climbed to record 

highs (see Figs. 22 and 33). The U.S. cannot continue to rely on foreign wells and 

 

1

 Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Opportunities and Challenges for business and Industry. 

http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx 

2

 Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2004, Report No. DOE/EIA-0384(2004) 

Posted: August 15, 2005, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/perspectives.pdf 
 3 

facilities for petroleum, especially for our transportation fuels. About 59% of our current 

oil use is imported, with approximately 20% coming from the Persian Gulf. America is a 

mobile country – our economy is built on transportation systems; our quality of life is 

dependent on access to low-cost transportation. 

Currently, excluding hydropower, only about 4% of our energy is from renewable 

sources and primarily produces power and heat. About 10% of biomass energy is being 

used for transportation fuels and that is primarily corn ethanol. We have long used 

agricultural and forestry biomass, primarily forest and wood waste, to generate 

electricity, supply heat and steam power, and to heat homes. The critical opportunity 

before us is to displace petroleum consumption using biobased products and biofuels 

from biomass. Additionally, energy can be conserved by using more energy-efficient 

housing products and manufacturing processes. 

A question that has been asked is whether we have sufficient supplies of biomass to 

displace significant amounts of fossil energy. A recent joint Department of Energy 

(DOE)/U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study (Perlack and others 2005) showed 

that the U.S. can realistically displace 30% of our current petroleum consumption with 

biomass – an amount approximately equivalent to one billion dry tons of biomass (Fig. 

4). 

There are several aspects to energy and biomass that are important attributes to set the 

stage for discussions in this paper: 

• Creating transportation fuels from biomass is technically and politically possible; 

• Using fuels from biomass is the only feasible, renewable, mass transportation fuel 

alternative for the short- to mid-term; 

• Being “home grown from our lands” provides improved rural economic 

opportunities now and into the future; 

• Having our own conversion facilities in a “new industry” improves energy 

security, National security, and U.S. economic health; and 

• Having the needed feedstock supply is dependent on America’s working farms 

and forests. 

Brazil has already gone to an ethanol economy. They have the largest commercial 

application of biomass in the world, using sugar cane to produce ethanol. When the 

sugar markets plummeted and oil imports got too high, Brazil converted the sugar 

industry to ethanol production. The conversion was made possible by having a land base, 

an appropriate crop, good growing conditions, public and private capital, and government 

action.4,5 Like Brazil, the U.S. has a substantial land-base in agricultural and forestry 

uses. 

 3

 Energy Information Administration, This Week In Petroleum, page last modified on Wed Mar 8 12:59:54 

EST 2006. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip_crude.html 

4

 http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=5029 5

 http://brazilembassyinindia.com/proalcool.htm 
 4 

The focus in the U.S. has switched from grain ethanol to cellulosic ethanol production 

because of our capacity to provide additional feedstock for ethanol without displacing 

food and forage crops. 

Environment

The total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2003 were approximately 6,900 million 

metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 Eq). (US EPA 2005). The largest portion of 

this results from fossil fuel combustion (Fig 5). 

Forests and wood products in the U.S. sequester 753 million metric tons CO2 Eq, 

approximately 11 percent of total annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. More carbon 

can be sequestered by our forests through improved forest management including 

replanting, thinning, forest productivity improvements, low-impact harvesting, managing 

the forest products pool, species/genotype selection and optimizing rotation length. The 

use of the material in long-lived wood products and as energy offsets have been shown to 

be a low-cost carbon mitigation measure (Birdsey and others 2000). We have just 

completed working with the DOE on the revised 1605(b) Guidelines for Voluntary 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting6

 as a way to register carbon credits and to provide an 

incentive for owners to develop policy and plans for enhancing carbon sequestration. 

There are many direct and ancillary benefits associated with managing and utilizing 

excess forest biomass. Many of our forests are unnaturally dense, leading to increased 

likelihood of large-scale wildfires that endanger life and property, especially 

communities in the forest-urban interface. They are less resilient to pests and invasives, 

which can lead to epidemic-level mortality. Landscape-level forest health issues can 

result in poorly functioning watersheds, and declining and degraded habitats and 

functions. Removal of biomass can help restore forest vitality and reduce crown fires, 

and protect and improve habitat for certain species 

There are several aspects to biomass and the environment: 

• Removing excessive levels of forest biomass can reduce fire risk which results in 

improved air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions; 

• Managing biomass can improve productivity and improve forest health and 

habitat; 

• Using biomass in biobased products or for bioenergy can provide CO2 offsets and 

reduce greenhouse gases and air pollutants; 

• Ensuring sustainable production systems that protect and enhance the 

environment is a hurdle for transitioning the country to biobased, renewable fuels 

in sufficient quantities to significantly reduce fuel imports and benefit our 

economy; and 

• Maintaining critical ecosystem services is dependent on maintaining America’s 

working farms and forests. 

 

6

 http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/ 
 5 

Economy

The U.S. economy has made a dramatic shift from raw materials conversion and the mass 

production of commodities for world trade to a new paradigm of providing services and 

being an economy of distribution systems. The service sector accounted for a 42% of the 

US Gross Domestic Product in 2005 compared with 34% in 19857. The current list of 

Fortune 500 companies contains more service companies and fewer manufacturers than 

in previous decades.8

 These shifts, and the movement of people in the U.S. from rural to 

urban areas, are distancing the linkages to the land in both cultural and economic 

frameworks in America. The U.S. is increasingly importing lumber, paper, and pulp. The 

U.S. trade deficit increased from about $617 billion to $724 billion, as imports increased 

nearly twice as much as exports (Fig. 6).9

Developing options for creating value from biomass rather than consistently treating it as 

a disposal problem has significant economic and social values, including potentially 

improving air quality by reducing fire risks, reducing landfill costs, reducing 

reduction/removal costs, reducing fire suppression costs, and increasing public safety. 

There are several aspects to the role of managing biomass in our forests and creating a 

biobased economy: 

• The high costs of removing excessive biomass can be reduced or reversed 

through productive use of biomass; 

• Reducing biomass can provide tangible and intangible values to landowners and 

the general public; 

• Technical advances are still needed to reduce costs for feedstock production and 

conversion to biofuels and other products; 

• Creating jobs in rural American and keeping our forest-based infrastructure can 

be an outcome of the biobased revolution; and 

• Competing successfully in the global marketplace is an important aspect of a 

future green economy. 

In a report considering wood processing, forest, agriculture, and urban wood residues, the 

author determined that 4.9 fulltime jobs per megawatt of net plant generating capacity 

were created, associated with biomass power plants (Morris 1999). These jobs provide 

stability to local and regional economies and the power plants increase the community 

tax base. 

Currently, 22 states have adopted Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (RPS), and 29 

States have adopted Climate Action Plans (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8)10. A national Renewable 

Fuels Standard for transportation fuels was passed as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, 

 

7

 U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis. National Economic Accounts Table 1985, 

2005. http://www.bea.gov/bea/dn/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Popular=Y 8

 http://www.investordictionary.com/definition/service+economy.aspx 

9

 http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrelarchive/2006/trad0106annual_fax.pdf 

10 Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Learning from state action on climate change. March 2006 

update. http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/UpdatePewStatesBriefMarch2006%2Epdf 
 6 

and many states are adopting their own Renewable Fuels Standards. The presence of 

these rules and authorities create incentives and new markets for biobased products and 

bioenergy. 

Renewable energy and biobased products from biomass have “green” value from 

reducing impacts to, adding value to, and protecting the environment while producing 

goods and services. “Green economics” is a co-evolution of ecological, environmental, 

and economic systems and could have an important role in forestry management, 

specifically for biomass. Green economics is 

about the world of work, human needs, the 

Earth’s materials, and how they mesh together 

most harmoniously. Biomass utilization can 

have a broader context of a “new economy” 

that addresses ecological and social concerns. 

An analysis of the economic contribution of 

such services was found to be approximately 

$33 trillion per year, greater than the activities 

in the entire global market economy, which 

totaled about $25 trillion (Costanza and others 

1997). 

 

Forests have an important role in carbon 

sequestration and climate change as 

previously mentioned. Forests, and how we manage our forests, have critical 

environmental implications beyond climate change. Biomass management is one of, if 

not the most, significant keys to healthy, productive, and sustainable forests for the 

future. Biomass utilization can be the key to energy security, environmental quality, and 

a strong domestic economy. In a changed world of petroleum displacement, woody 

biomass can become an interwoven thread supporting rural communities and ways of life. 

 

Roles of the Forest Service 

Our Agency has invested in biomass management, responding to fuel reduction needs on 

public and private lands to reduce fire risks and restore ecosystems. The problem is 

becoming an opportunity using biomass to reduce treatment costs and to provide 

economic and environmental benefits. 

We are integrating several programs across the FS, taking advantage of the full suite of 

authorities in our National Forest System, State & Private Forestry, and Research & 

Development programs. The FS also is collaborating with other federal agencies through 

a formal inter-agency woody biomass utilization working group. Since biomass 

opportunities exist in agriculture as well as forestry, USDA has a Biobased Products and 

Bioenergy Coordination Council to ensure that we call upon all our agencies to promote 

biomass utilization. 

U.S. Fuels Reduction and Biomass 

Policies 

• Biomass Research and 

Development Act 

• Energy Title of the Farm Bill 

• 10-year Comprehensive 

Strategy Implementation Plan 

• Healthy Forest Initiative 

• Healthy Forests Restoration 

Act 

• MOU on Woody Biomass 

Utilization 

• Energy Policy Act 
 7 

Forest Management 

The increased frequency of large-scale forest fires since 1994 has focused attention on 

forest health problems and heavy fuel loads on both public and private lands across the 

entire Nation. New laws, policy, and additional funding have sparked an effort to restore 

and better manage our nation’s treasured forests and rangelands. As many as 190 million 

acres of Federal land in the lower 48 states face high risk of significant insect, disease, 

and/or catastrophic fire episode.11 Many of these acres need to be treated to reduce the 

risks, and can provide biomass for an array of products. USDA has a formal 

Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Interior (DOI) and DOE to 

enhance woody biomass utilization12. It calls for: 

• Communicating to our employees and partners that the harvest and utilization of 

woody biomass by-products can be an effective restoration and hazardous fuel 

reduction tool that delivers economic and environmental benefits and efficiencies; 

• Promoting consideration of woody biomass utilization from restoration and fuels 

treatment instead of burning or other on-site disposal methods; and 

• Encouraging development of new mechanisms that increase the benefits and 

efficiencies of woody biomass utilization. 

A major issue for biomass utilization on federal lands is ensuring a reliable and consistent 

supply to justify developing infrastructure investments and markets. Many forests 

needing hazardous fuels treatments are in areas that no longer an industrial infrastructure, 

and market development is a challenge when investors have doubts about the future 

supply. New laws and policies are making it easier to make long-term contracts on 

federal lands (side box). Coordinating biomass supply across ownerships in a local area, 

such as the “Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol” (CROP)13 is an example of being 

able to levelize the flow of biomass from public lands and provide a reliable source of 

material to attract conversion facility investments. 

Another issue is the cost of conducting fuels and restoration treatments over such a large 

area. Utilizing biomass that must be removed can ultimately reduce treatment costs. 

Early results from one year of improved woody biomass utilization in northern Arizona’s 

White Mountain Stewardship Contract area are demonstrating cost savings in the range of 

$200-$600/acre. This project has resulted in an example of new policy in action with the 

recently announced 20-megawatt biomass electrical generating plant in Arizona. The 

plant will use biomass thinning from fuels treatments around communities and contribute 

to the State’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. 

In response to stimulating markets and market accessibility, the Forest Service is 

providing over $4 million of grants each year to assist with woody biomass utilization 

projects for small businesses and communities. One goal is to help leverage capital costs 

of rebuilding infrastructure for woody biomass utilization. Under the Energy Policy Act 

 

11 The Healthy Forests Restoration Act – Interim Field Guide. USDA Forest Service. 2004. 

http://www.fs.fed.us/projects/hfi/field-guide/documents/haz-fuel-cvr.pdf 12 Policy Principles for Woody Biomass Utilization. 2003. http://www.fireplan.gov/reports/404-418-en.pdf 13 www.healthyforests.gov/initiative/ biomass_conference/presentations/mater.ppt 
 8 

of 2005, communities using waste material removed for forest health or fuels reduction 

for energy and other purposes can receive grants up to $20/dry ton to assist with 

transportation of woody biomass for energy, once appropriations are provided. 

We have also worked with State and local partners to demonstrate how providing 

biomass fuels in schools can not only reduce the fuels heating costs, but also provide 

local use of forest fuels treatments and provide the students with a platform for 

environmental education. The “Fuels for Schools” initiative is catching on across the 

country, and builds on successful woody biomass heating demonstrated in the Northeast 

for many years. 

Research and Development

 

Forest Service R&D addresses the issues of biomass management and utilization in a 

holistic approach (Fig 9). The goal is to ensure sustainable systems while providing 

goods and services. The portfolio includes: 

• Improving our forest management and wood utilization options by integrating the use 

of small-diameter material for biobased products and bioenergy to extend our natural 

resources, provide renewable energy, increase carbon sequestration, reduce fire and 

pest risks, and improve forest health. 

• Developing new or improved processes for ethanol conversion from wood, small 

scale wood to energy technology, biobased products from low-valued sources, 

separation technologies for high value products from wood, and applying new 

technologies such as nanotechnology and biorefining to product development. 

• Providing economical and environmentally acceptable woody cropping systems at 

multiple operational scales, and integrated management systems for feedstock 

production. 

• Developing and helping deploy integrated management, production, utilization, and 

conversion systems and technologies for biobased products and bioenergy. 

• Improving understanding of the ecological consequences for removing, chipping in 

place, piling and burning, and other disposal options for woody biomass. 

• Improving estimates of woody biomass supply under various fuels treatment, insect 

and disease outbreak and storm damage scenarios. 

We are working with science partners in universities, industry and other federal agencies, 

and forest landowners and managers to accomplish this work. Wood-based feedstocks 

include: forest residues (slash and integrated recovery) and wood wastes, material from 

thinnings and fuel and restoration treatments, short rotation woody crops, and preextraction and recovery from commercial wood in biorefineries and through new 

technologies and market development 

The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) has been 

partially supported by FS R&D in collaboration with the forest industry and universities. 

A new CORRIM report provided a life-cycle database for quantifying the environmental 

impacts and economic costs of wood building materials through the stages of planting, 
 9 

growing, manufacturing, construction, operational use, and demolition. The report shows 

that wood homes reduce both energy use and carbon emissions (Bowyer and others 

2001). CORRIM was heralded as one of the most significant contributions to wood use 

in wood science history (Youngs 2003). 

The Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance14 is an industry-led, research and development 

partnership with government and academia to advance innovation in processes, materials 

and markets. The collaborative, pre-competitive research, development, and deployment 

supported through Agenda 2020 provide the foundation for new technology-driven 

business models for the industry to meet competitive challenges and contribute to 

strategic national needs. FS R&D has been a supporter of the Sustainable Forestry and 

Biorefinery components of the program since 1999. Significant progress has been made 

in enhancing forest productivity, reducing environmental impacts, enhancing energy 

efficiency, and using woody biomass for energy including ethanol made from wood. 

The Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 calls for collaboration between 

USDA and DOE in research and in 

technology applications. Through funding 

in the 2002 Farm Bill, the program has 

supported research and technology transfer 

efforts through competitive research 

funding and in grants and loans for 

commercialization. The Federal Agencies 

with a role and goals related to bioenergy 

and biobased products are coordinating 

their efforts through an interagency 

Woody Biomass Utilization Working Group. 

Short rotation woody crops (SRWC) are an environmentally acceptable and potentially 

economically efficient method of producing wood for fiber and fuel. As demand 

increases for fiber, new readily available sources are needed to reduce demands on 

upland and bottomland forests. SRWC plantations can reduce demands on public lands, 

improve local rural economic development, and ensure future wood supplies. The 

environmental benefits of sustainable woody crops are also important. Woody crops can 

reduce the rate of atmospheric CO2 buildup by sequestering carbon and by substituting 

for fossil fuels. Substitution through the use of woody crops for energy can also reduce 

SO2 and NOx emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels. At the local environmental 

level, woody crops can reduce soil erosion, filter soil leachates from water entering 

streams and ground water, and promote greater wildlife habitat and biodiversity. With 

the existence of successfully developed genetically superior clones, and the potential for 

producing more specific woody feedstocks, interest has substantially increased in the 

entire scope of SRWC operations. Successful commercialization of SRWC as either a 

source of fiber or as an energy feedstock material depends on a diversity of practices, 

 

14 http://www.agenda2020.org/About/about.htm 

Agenda 2020 

• Public and private forestry 

partnership 

• Save energy 

• Enhance productivity 

o FS supports 

 Sustainable forestry 

 Biorefinery 
 10 

availability of genetic material, and equipment for handling and processing of these 

highly specialized crops.15 

Agroforestry practices are intentional combinations of trees with crops and/or livestock 

that involve intensive management of the interactions between the components as an 

integrated agroecosystem. Agroforestry technologies can be readily incorporated into 

most farm and ranch operations and are also useful to many communities. These 

practices provide cost-effective ways to diversify production and increase income, while 

simultaneously enhancing natural resource conservation. Maintaining healthy working 

forests requires an understanding of changing market conditions, rapidly evolving forest 

threats, and the socio-economic aspects associated with landowner decision making. 

Options, practices, and management systems for forest biomass are being developed to 

support keeping forest lands in working forests, thus preventing fragmentation and loss of 

habitat. 

Future Opportunities 

It is clear that the Forest Service has an important role in connecting with the forestry 

sector and sustainable practices on the land as we look at opportunities for energy from 

woody biomass. We also provide technical assistance, pilot and demonstrate new ideas 

in our facilities and with partners who are willing to try new paths to achieving mutual 

goals. Implementing a fully integrated vision and strategy for woody biomass utilization 

that includes bioenergy not only will contribute to national energy security, but also 

contribute to rural economies and environmental stewardship. 

What do we need to do? and How do we do it? 

• Need to level the playing field for biomass with other renewables

o After a very long effort, “open loop” systems were added to the Energy 

Act of 2005, which allows woody residues to be used for energy and 

receive a tax credit. The only problem is that open-loop systems get half 

the 1.9 cents per kilowatt-hour credit offered closed loop systems.

o Additional research funding for feedstock development is needed in 

USDA, a department with advantages in land management research. 

Although 60-80% of costs are in the feedstocks, little funding has been 

directed at the issue. A significant barrier is sustainable production 

systems that need additional and accelerated research programs.

o The biorefinery concept is important to forestry as it is to agriculture in 

maintaining and developing sector infrastructure and economic value. 

Funding is needed to overcome hurdles and demonstrate its value for both 

integrated pulping and stand-alone systems. 

• Science and Research 

o Improved productivity – role of genomics and biotech in energy. The 

basic tenant for the biobased revolution is that our land can provide all the 

goods and services needed to ensure a high quality of life in the future. 

 

15 http://www.woodycrops.org/charter.html 
 11 

With energy becoming a major output and land use challenges in the 

future, science is needed to direct the policy as well as to provide the 

pathways needed to ensure adequate supplies of energy, fiber, water, and 

other benefits.

o Reliable and defendable science on forest practices for sustainability, 

inventories and assessments, and financial analyses – needed at regional 

levels. 

o Overcome problems of harvest, transport, and conversion costs.

o Embrace multiple product vision in biorefineries while optimizing systems 

that are currently marginal cost-effective for single products such as 

biopower in co-firing facilities.

o Evaluate implications of different policies, practices, and technologies; 

refine or develop federal approach.

o Energy conservation and efficiency. 

o Green buildings and building products.

o Life cycle analysis and decision tools.

• Embrace the biobased revolution and economy 

o Globalization and ensuring U.S. forest industry infrastructure and 

competitiveness in the future. 

 The first step is to provide the science above to support both the 

right policy and the innovative technology.

 Work together to advance the opportunities that biomass provides 

and to communicate and educate the public.

 Provide the in depth analyses and management models conducive 

to making investments at home.

 Work to ensure standards and codes are internationally acceptable 

and that U.S. products have both domestic and international 

competitive advantages.

 Provide leadership in developing a common goal, vision, and 

pathway to respond collectively to globalization issues.

o Place priorities in aligning our science and research in support of the use 

of biomass by resolving issues and overcoming the barriers.

• Develop stronger collaboration

o Continue the commitment and leverage potential of working with our 

university collaborators through periods of tight budgets and emerging 

opportunities. Renew and strengthen our formal and informal cooperation 

agreements. Work together to build opportunities within and outside our 

agency and department.

o Only about half of scientific expenditures come from the government; the 

other half is from industry. The Forest Service is working with industry to 

resolve energy issues. Two examples are Agenda 2020 and CORRIM. 

Additional opportunities need to be explored. 

o In the larger sense, we have opportunities for cooperative conservation. 

President Bush has said “Stewardship is the daily work of America’s 

farmers and those who own the land.” USDA Secretary Johanns added 

that “It’s a vision of cooperative conservation – of working with our 
 12 

farmers, ranchers, and our timber producers and forest landowners instead 

of against them.” He further added “Government has a responsibility to 

be a facilitator of community-based collaborative approaches ... (because 

it) both improves the environment and strengthens the economy by 

helping people help the land.” (USDA Press Release 0335.05) 

Biomass utilization is a prime example of cooperative conservation with a 

role for the Forest Service and for all its collaborators. 

Conclusion 

This is a critical and important time for moving science and policy forward to expand 

woody biomass utilization for biobased products and bioenergy as part of the emerging 

biobased revolution and biomass economy. Success will require accelerated science and 

technology development and deployment; increased public-private partnerships; and 

more integrated consideration of energy, the environment, and the economy. 

References

Biomass Technical Advisory Committee. Vision for Bioenergy and Biobased Products in 

the Future of the United States. October 2002. http://www.bioproductsbioenergy.gov/pdfs/BioVision_03_Web.pdf 

Birdsey, R., R. Alig, and D. Adams. 2000. Mitigation activities in the forest sector to 

reduce emissions and enhance sinks of greenhouse gases. Chapter 8, pp 112-131, 

In: Joyce, L. A. and R. Birdsey, tech eds. The impact of climate change on 

America’s forests: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest 

Service RPA Assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-59. Fort Collins, CO: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station. 133p. 

Bowyer, J. D., D. Briggs, L. Johnson, B. Kasal, B. Lippke, J. Meil, M. Milota, W. Trusty, 

C. West, J. Wilson, and P. Winistorfer. 2001. CORRIM: A report of progress and 

a glimpse of the future. Forest Prod. J. 51(1):10-22. 

Costanza, R., R. d'Arge, R. de Groot, S. Farberk, M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. 

Naeem, R. V. O'Neill, J. Paruelo, R. G. Raskin, P. Sutton, and M. van den Belt. 

1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 

387:253-260. 

Morris, G. 1999. The Value of the Benefits of U.S. Biomass Power. National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory, Report NREL/SR-570-27541, Golden Colorado. 

32 p. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy00osti/27541.pdf. 

Perlack, R. D., L. L. Wright, A. F. Turhollow, R. L. Graham, B. J. Stokes. And D. C. 

Erbach. April, 2005. Biomass as feedstock for a bioenergy and bioproducts 

industry: the technical feasibility of a biollion-ton annual supply. Oak Ridge 

National Laboratory, DOE/GO-102005-2135, 59p. 

(http://feedstockreview.ornl.gov/pdf/billion_ton_vision.pdf) 

US EPA. 2005. Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks: 1990-2003. Final 

Version, April 2005. EPA 430-R-05-003. 
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http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ResourceCenterPublicatio

nsGHGEmissionsUSEmissionsInventory2005.html

Youngs, Robert L. 2003. Wood Science and Technology in North America. Forest Prod. 

J. 53(11/12): 12-21. 
 14 

Figures

Figure 2. The United States was self-sufficient in energy 

until the late 1950’s. 

Figure 1. Building the balance of 

energy security, environmental 

quality and economic health. 

Figure 1. Crude oil estimated contract prices, May 2004 

through April 30, 2006. Figure 4. Annual biomass resource potential from forest wastes and 

residues and agricultural resources 

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Electric Power

Transportation

Industry

Agriculture

Commercial

Residential

Ag Soils

Landfilled UrbanWaste

Urban Trees

Forests and Wood Products

Sectors

Percent CO2 Eq

Figure 5. Percent total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions for 2003. 

Figure 6. Annual U.S. balance of trade on goods and services. 

Environment 

Energy

Economy
 15 

Renewables Portfolio Standards

Goal

*PA: 18%1 by 2020

*NJ : 6.5% by 2008

CT: 10% by 2010

MA: 4% by 2009 + 

1% annual increase WI: 2.2% by 2011

IA: 105 MW

MN: 1,125 MW wind by 2010

TX: 5,880 MW by 2015

*NM: 10% by 2011

*AZ: 1.1% by 2007 

CA: 20% by 2010

*NV: 20% by 2015

ME: 30% by 2000

State RPS

*MD: 7.5% by 2019

*Minimum requirement and/or increased credit for solar

1 PA: 8% Tier I, 10% Tier II (includes non-renewable sources)

HI: 20% by 2020

RI: 15% by 2020

*CO: 10% by 2015

*DC: 11% by 2022

DSIRE: www.dsireusa.org January 2006

NY: 25% by 2013 MT: 15% by 2015

*DE: 10% by 2019

Renewables Portfolio Standards

Goal

*PA: 18%1 by 2020

*NJ : 6.5% by 2008

CT: 10% by 2010

MA: 4% by 2009 + 

1% annual increase WI: 2.2% by 2011

IA: 105 MW

MN: 1,125 MW wind by 2010

TX: 5,880 MW by 2015

*NM: 10% by 2011

*AZ: 1.1% by 2007 

CA: 20% by 2010

*NV: 20% by 2015

ME: 30% by 2000

State RPS

*MD: 7.5% by 2019

*Minimum requirement and/or increased credit for solar

1 PA: 8% Tier I, 10% Tier II (includes non-renewable sources)

HI: 20% by 2020

RI: 15% by 2020

*CO: 10% by 2015

*DC: 11% by 2022

DSIRE: www.dsireusa.org January 2006

NY: 25% by 2013 MT: 15% by 2015

*DE: 10% by 2019

Figure 7. States with Renewable Portfolio Standards. 

Figure 8. States with Climate Action Plans (Pew Center on Global 

Climate Change 2006). 
 16 

Feedstock 

Production

&

Management

Harvest

&

Delivery

Utilization

&

Products

Disposal

Biobased 

Products

&

Bioenergy

Figure 9. Forest Service R&D integrated biobased products 

and bioenergy research program