Testimony
Statement of Dick Smith
Supervisor, Boise National Forest
USDA Forest Service
United States Senate Committee on Agriculture
Subcommittee on Forestry/Rural Development
March 16, 2004
Cascade, Idaho
Thank you, Senator Crapo for the opportunity to present this statement on behalf of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. At the outset, I want to let you know
that actions taking place back in Washington, D.C. are of great interest to us here in the
Intermountain West. The President’s Healthy Forests Initiative (HFI) and the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) will help us to improve the health and vitality of the National
Forests and may also provide economic benefits to many rural communities. We know that in
your role as Subcommittee Chairman, you played a major role in crafting many of the provisions
that are part of HFRA and we thank you and your staff for your efforts.
Here in Idaho, the Forest Service manages more than 20 million acres of National Forest
for a broad array of multiple uses.
For the past year, Chief Dale Bosworth has identified four threats that confront the
National Forests and Grasslands of America: fire and fuel build-up; invasive species; the loss of
open spaces; and unmanaged outdoor recreation. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act provides
the tools for the Forest Service to address the problems where our forests have become
overgrown and unhealthy and to address the threat of fire and fuel build-up in order to reduce the
risk of private property losses to wild fire in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI).
It will take active management and lots of hard work to treat lands that currently need
help. Mechanical treatment and prescribed burning are the two primary tools we have at our
disposal. In addition, the appropriate use of wildland fire use can lead to significant reductions
of hazardous fuels and the risks they pose to life and improved property.
Prescribed burning is a valuable tool but cannot be used in all situations. Factors such as
high fuel loadings, air quality restrictions, weather, and risk of fire near communities can limit its
use. Mechanical treatment, such as thinning crowded stands, is also a valuable tool. However,
like prescribed burning, this tool has limitations, including high costs and the need to develop
uses for much of the material removed from the land. In order to fully implement this tool we
need to overcome not only the higher costs associated with its use compared to prescribed burns
or wildland fire use but also the dilemma of how to utilize and/or dispose of significant quantities
of trees that are too small to be considered merchantable saw timber. In addition to the existing
authorities already available to the Forest Service, HFRA fortunately also addresses the
economic and community development implications and challenges of handling small diameter
trees.
Mr. Chairman, as you know, the focus of the Administration’s efforts in implementing HFRA
has been, to this point, on Title I of the legislation. Plans are being developed for other
authorities.
Importantly, the resources addressed by this legislation may provide a foundation for
rural community development opportunities. Most important is a sustainable reliable supply of
forest by-products. If we can make progress to add value to and find markets for this small
diameter material, we can off-set the high cost of mechanical treatments, dispose of small
diameter material and assist communities that are dependent on natural resources to become
sustainable.
Section 201 of HFRA amends the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 to provide
research focus on overcoming barriers to the use of small diameter biomass. Forest Service
Research and Development has a comprehensive research program in the major areas of forest
biomass assessment, management, harvesting, utilization, processing, and marketing.
The Forest Service’s utilization research efforts are focused at its Forest Products Laboratory in
Madison, Wisconsin, supported by a network of units across the United States. The Forest
Products Lab, a world leader in developing new technology and uses for wood products, is
actively exploring new opportunities to utilize small diameter material. These research programs
are exploring new opportunities for utilizing small diameter material and technologies to help
business operators become more efficient and friendly to the environment.
A local example of Forest Service research occurred with the demonstration on the Idaho City
Ranger District in July 2003 of technology currently used in Scandinavia to recover biomass for
energy production. A “slash bundler,” was brought to Idaho City through a partnership of the
Forest Service, John Deere/Timberjack, and the Southwest Idaho Resource Advisory
Committee. The slash bundler acts like a giant trash compactor for the tree limbs and tops
typically piled and burned during logging and fuels reduction. The bundler moves through the
forest, picks up this “slash,” compresses it and rolls it into “logs” bound with twine, which can
be fed into a chipper to make wood chips for heat or energy generation.
Section 202 of HFRA, Rural Revitalization through Forestry, will help communities and
businesses create economic opportunity through the sustainable use of the nation’s forest
resources. While the key to this will be the actions of the private sector, the likelihood of success
can be increased through the participation of State Foresters; Forest Service Technology
Marketing specialists, such as at the Forest Products Lab; and federal and state economic
development assistance agencies in collective efforts with local non-profit and for-profit
businesses to build community-based forest enterprises.
We have experienced initial work in this area on the Boise National Forest. You will hear today
from Mike Stewart with the Cascade Forest Resource Center, a business incubator that city
officials hope will develop a cluster of small businesses centered on the use of biomass and
small-diameter trees.
Through the Cascade Forest Resource Center we have been able to support in part the
utilization of small diameter wood. The Boise National Forest has purchased approximately
$50,000 of flowcheck erosion control divides for wildfire restoration and watershed
work. Thanks to the Southwest Idaho Resource Advisory Committee and the Cascade Forest
Resource Center, additional supplies were purchased to supplement erosion control work on the
South Fork Salmon River and for a mine land reclamation demonstration project near
Stibnite. We have utilized the product locally.
Another promising development for the use of biomass is the Fuels for Schools Program. The
Fuels for Schools Program is a cooperative effort involving the Forest Products Lab, Forest
Service State & Private Forestry, state foresters, and local communities. The aim of the Fuels for
Schools Program is to promote and encourage the use of wood biomass as a renewable, natural
resource to provide a clean, readily available energy source suitable for use in heating systems in
public and private buildings. Removing hazardous fuels from our forests by development of
viable commercial uses of this small diameter material is a necessary component to implement
HFRA. Using wood biomass as a renewable energy source for heating schools and/or other
public buildings makes good sense. The first Fuels for Schools project is in operation in Darby,
Montana.
Section 203 of HFRA authorizes grants to persons who own or operate a facility that uses
biomass as a raw material for specific processes and products. The Forest Service now has grant
authority for businesses, units of state and local government, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and other entities with legal status. This Title expands authority to “persons” or
“individuals” owning or operating facilities that use biomass as a raw material in producing
energy, sensible heat, transportation fuels, and biobased products. Grants are limited to costs
related to the purchase of biomass.
Conclusion
In closing let me say that we are working hard to address threats to the health of our
forests and rangelands. The President’s HFI and Congressional passage of the HFRA have
provided us with new and valuable tools to accomplish this work.
In Idaho we are making good progress on developing community-based County Hazard
Mitigation Plans across the entire state that will identify activities and treatment needs for
reducing wild land fire threats to homes and communities across all ownerships. The Idaho State
Fire Plan Working Group, under the direction of the Idaho Department of Lands, is bringing all
the federal, state, and local fire management agencies together to help prioritize and align fuel
treatments and fire suppression activities throughout the State.
While there is much that still needs to be done, we are working with Governor Kempthorne’s
Idaho Rural Partnership to find additional solutions that will benefit rural Idaho. We feel that the
treatment and use of this thinned material presents both a management challenge and a potential
economic opportunity for rural America.
This concludes my prepared remarks. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.