OTHER RESOURCES
Ecological Implications of Biomass Policies for Private Forests in the United States
Dr. Alan Lucier. National Council for Air and Stream Improvement. April 2010.
- Owners of working forests in the U.S. meet high standards of environmental performance through compliance with environmental laws and voluntary programs. Ecological risks associated with increased biomass utilization are mitigated by existing legal and socioeconomic frameworks that encourage sustainable forest management.
- Economic returns for wood production and forest-based manufacturing provide important means and incentives for investments in private forest stewardship and promote maintaining land in a forested condition.
- Recently adopted biomass policy discourages use of biomass from naturally-regenerated forests, the establishment of new forest plantations, and utilizing traditional uses of biomass. Such policy imposes high operating and opportunity costs on forest owners and encourages the conversion of private forests to other more economically competitive land uses.
