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A $250,000 grant to the Nevada Division of Forestry could help remove up to 6,000 tons of biomass from fuels treatments in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park, Bureau of Land Management, state, tribal and private lands.
The $250,000 grant would cover purchasing a truck, four roll-off containers and a trailer. This investment could make it easier for small-scale forestry operations to remove biomass that might otherwise be deposited back into the forest, said Jason Perock, the biomass utilization coordinator who wrote the grant application.
Biomass, or "waste wood," lacks the higher traditional wood product value of dimensional lumber. This waste wood will be chipped directly into the roll-off containers and transported via trailer.
Perock said the benefit comes from giving small operations the means to transport the biomass out of the area.
"Some forest agencies can't afford to do all the treatment and then include transportation," Perock said. "The idea of this grant is to eliminate the need for the forest managers to cover the cost of transportation."
The biomass will be transported to the Northern Nevada Correction Center's power plant in Carson City.
Using a commercial company to transport the biomass could cost a small-scale forestry operation $350 per use of a roll-off container (essentially a large Dumpster).
"The foresters might have an increase in getting the material to a central location, but they're not going to be paying $350," Perock said.
Biomass collection could begin as soon as September at selected fuels reduction project sites.
"We, the Forest Service, fully understand the challenges of delivering affordable biomass due to the rising fuels costs incurred to collect and haul the biomass," Ed Monnig, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor, said in a statement.
NDF matched this grant with $79,500 in the form of forest treatments, driver transportation time and fuel costs. The Nevada Department of Corrections will also provide drivers. NDF's proposal was one of 17 grants totaling $4.1 million awarded by the Forest Service's Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program this year. Nearly $19 million has been awarded to small businesses and community groups throughout the U.S. since the program's inception.
The $250,000 grant would cover purchasing a truck, four roll-off containers and a trailer. This investment could make it easier for small-scale forestry operations to remove biomass that might otherwise be deposited back into the forest, said Jason Perock, the biomass utilization coordinator who wrote the grant application.
Biomass, or "waste wood," lacks the higher traditional wood product value of dimensional lumber. This waste wood will be chipped directly into the roll-off containers and transported via trailer.
Perock said the benefit comes from giving small operations the means to transport the biomass out of the area.
"Some forest agencies can't afford to do all the treatment and then include transportation," Perock said. "The idea of this grant is to eliminate the need for the forest managers to cover the cost of transportation."
The biomass will be transported to the Northern Nevada Correction Center's power plant in Carson City.
Using a commercial company to transport the biomass could cost a small-scale forestry operation $350 per use of a roll-off container (essentially a large Dumpster).
"The foresters might have an increase in getting the material to a central location, but they're not going to be paying $350," Perock said.
Biomass collection could begin as soon as September at selected fuels reduction project sites.
"We, the Forest Service, fully understand the challenges of delivering affordable biomass due to the rising fuels costs incurred to collect and haul the biomass," Ed Monnig, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor, said in a statement.
NDF matched this grant with $79,500 in the form of forest treatments, driver transportation time and fuel costs. The Nevada Department of Corrections will also provide drivers. NDF's proposal was one of 17 grants totaling $4.1 million awarded by the Forest Service's Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program this year. Nearly $19 million has been awarded to small businesses and community groups throughout the U.S. since the program's inception.
