BBER PUBLICATIONS SEARCH RESULTS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station has launched a research initiative to improve and organize policy-relevant understanding of forest carbon accounting and fill knowledge gaps about forest carbon dynamics. There are several dimensions to forest carbon accounting, including tracking wood products flow from the forest to various destinations. More information is needed to improve the accounting of timber harvested within the Pacific coast region (PCR; British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington) but processed elsewhere. We examined PCR timber harvest volumes and the flow of sawlogs, pulplogs, and woodchips between the PCR and the rest of the world for the period 1990?2018.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) has collected log hauling costs in Montana and North Idaho since 2010. The early surveys were fairly complex. Following discussion with several individuals knowledgeable in the trucking and logging industry, BBER researchers developed a postcard approach to collect the basic information needed to estimate log hauling costs over a range of distances and cost of diesel fuel. We also collected information that helped describe their longevity in the industry, the size of operation and the number of loads hauled in 2021. A copy of the postcard is displayed in Appendix 1.

Alaska forest managers seek information on how timber harvesting practices change the creation of postharvest woody residues. To predict residue volumes, researchers investigated how residue ratios?growing-stock residue volume per mill-delivered volume?related to readily available data on logging site and tree attributes in Alaska. Residue ratios were not related to logging site-level variables but were related to individual tree variables with predictive models. Ratios varied widely by tree species and were predicted to increase with larger stump height and larger small-end used diameters and decline exponentially with increasing diameter breast height (dbh) to approximately 25 inches. Ratios were then predicted to increase progressively in larger dbh trees. Results from this study update previous findings in other US Northwest states and can be used to produce or improve residue prediction tools for Alaska land managers.

Montanans use more energy per capita than consumers in most other states and we spend more per person on energy overall.

The U.S. Forest Service hopes to improve forest health and reduce wildfires with increased timber harvests.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the pine forests of Montana began to experience the largest mountain pine beetle outbreak in recorded history.

Insect and disease outbreaks in the central Rocky Mountains reached epidemic levels in the last two decades resulting in vast stands of dead trees across parts of Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. Both the States and the Forest Service have increased investments in forest health, hazardous fuels mitigation and safety protection on private and public lands (Wyoming State Forestry Division 2017; State of Colorado 2017; USFS MBRNF 2017). These and other treatments designed to restore ecological condition and function and reduce fire hazard require the removal of a mix of timber valuable enough to offset some of the costs along with smaller trees with limited value and markets (Wagner et al. 2000). The loss of milling infrastructure throughout the West, combined with changing management objectives on federal lands, raise questions about the industry?s ability to purchase timber of varying sizes and quality at a rate that is adequate for the forest and sustainable for the industry (Keegan et al. 2005; Keegan et al. 2006).

Could meaningful reductions in carbon emissions in Montana be accomplished in ways that are less costly in terms of jobs, incomes and economic production? An option that is rarely included in carbon policy discussions is wildfire management.

In order for land management agencies to meet societal expectations for wood products, wildfire risk reduction, and other goods and services, managers need accurate and up-to-date information on the ability of markets to utilize timber of various sizes and variable quality. Timber harvesting also creates opportunities to offset the cost of treatments while producing value added products. This technical report looks at forest industry capacity for the RioGrande National Forest and surronding market area.

The University of Montana?s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) Forest Indus try Research Program participated in the NARA System Metrics Sustainable Production Team (a.k.a. the Sustainability Measurement Team), collecting and providing detailed measures of forest industry activity in the four-state NARA region. The primary data that BBER produced on the characteristics of timber harvest, logging residue, and mill residue were used by other NARA scientists to further analyze the financial and logistic availability of logging residue as a biojet feedstock and the potential viability of a biojet industry in the Pacific Northwest. These data have also been made broadly available to the public through the BBER?s website, the Forest Inventory and Analysis Timber Product Output (FIA-TPO) online database, and by request.

This report traces the flow of Oregon?s 2013 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides detailed description of the structure, timber use, operations, and condition of Oregon?s forest products sector. It is the third in a series of reports that update the status of the industry every 5 years, and is based on a census of timber-using facilities conducted during 2014. Historical forest products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, mill residue, and sales. Also examined are employment and worker earnings in the state?s primary and secondary forest products industry.

To update regional timber harvesting and logging residue information, a study of logging sites across Oregon and Washington was conducted from 2011 through 2015. This study was designed to quantify the creation of logging residue from commercial timber harvesting at the state level, and characterize harvested trees and harvesting activities within each state.

Presently there is a lack of information describing US southwestern energy consumption and emissions generated from the sawmilling industry. This article uses a mail survey of softwood sawmills in the states of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico to develop a profile of on-site energy consumption and selected emissions for the industry. Energy consumption is categorized by fuel type on a production basis for both renewable and nonrenewable sources for production year 2012. Selected emissions from on-site energy consumption were also estimated for respondent sawmills. Survey respondents represented 35 percent of total softwood lumber production of 169.2 million board feet. Total annual on-site sawmill energy required was 64.8 billion British thermal units. Sixty-one percent was derived from diesel fuel, primarily for on-site rolling stock; 35 percent was from electricity; 3 percent was from gasoline used for on-site rolling stock; and the remainder was from propane and wood. Energy produced from nonrenewable sources accounted for 94 percent of total on-site energy consumption. Off-site electricity generation for consumption at sawmills comprise the majority of all emissions in this analysis: 62 percent of CO2, 99 percent of CH4, 94 percent of NOX, 99 percent of SOX, and 99 percent of particulate matter <= 10 um (PM10). Diesel fuel, which supplies the majority of on-site energy, comprises 36 percent CO2, 0 percent CH4, 5 percent NOX, 0.4 percent SOX, and 1.1 percent of PM10.

Total on-site energy requirements for wood product manufacturing are generally not well understood or publicly available, particularly at subregional scales, such as the state level. This article uses a mail survey of softwood sawmills in Montana to develop a profile of all on-site energy consumption. Energy use is delineated by fuel type on a production basis for both renewable and nonrenewable sources for production year 2009. Survey respondents represented 92 percent of total Montana softwood lumber production of 449 million board feet, which is 4 percent of western US production and 2 percent of national production. Total annual on-site sawmill energy required was 1.6 trillion British thermal units. Seventy-seven percent was derived from wood and bark, primarily for process heat and steam for lumber drying; 16 percent was from electricity; 5 percent was from diesel used for on-site rolling stock; and the remainder was from gasoline, propane, and natural gas. Energy produced from renewable sources accounted for 86 percent of total on-site energy consumption. In addition to providing an energy profile of Montana sawmills for policymakers, aggregated results may be useful to individual firms in characterizing their energy requirements relative to the state average and in identifying potential opportunities for bioenergy expansion.

Pacific Northwest forest managers seek estimates of post-timber-harvest woody residue volumes and biomass that can be related to readily available site- and tree-level attributes. To better predict residue production, researchers investigated variability in residue ratios, growing-stock residue volume per mill-delivered volume, across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. This project presented unique sample design challenges, and the authors adopted model-based sampling to calculate the growing-stock logging residue ratio for the four-state region and produced models that relate the residue ratio to individual tree- and stand-level variables meaningful to land managers. The regionwide residue ratio was 0.0269, i.e., 26.9 ft3 of growing-stock logging residue per 1,000 ft3 (26.9 m3 per 1,000 m3) of mill-delivered volume. Residue ratios were related to tree- and site-level variables with predictive models. Residue ratios were predicted to increase with larger small-end used diameter and decline exponentially with increasing dbh. Ratios were predicted to drop when pulp logs were removed and when timber was mechanically felled. Results from this study could be used to produce or improve residue prediction tools for land managers.

Montana''s forest industry is comprised of more than 80 active facilities that manufacture a variety of wood products. The industry receives its raw material - timber - from forests both inside and outside the state, relying on landowners, foresters, loggers and truck drivers to provide that timber year after year. Montana mills sell their forest products into local, national and international markets. Throughout this supply chain, from forest to mill to final consumer, there are numerous uncertainties and constant changes in both timber supply and wood products demand.

Pacific Northwest forest land managers seek estimates of timber harvest woody residue volumes and biomass without the use of detailed inventory data. The logging utilization residue ratio, growing stock residue volume/mill delivered volume, can be applied to projected timber harvest volumes to estimate residue volumes without the use of tree list inventories at stand, landscape, and state levels. Research results characterize felled tree attributes such as residue and utilized volumes by tree section- from stump to tree tip. Bole, branch, and foliar biomass (i.e., non-growing stock portions of logging) residues can then be estimated with allometric equations.

Logging utilization studies provide valuable insights on the efficiency of timber harvesting at the state level. They provide removals factors that quantify the proportions of logging residue relative to mill-delivered volume for a commercial timber harvest. These studies quantify the relationship between logging residue creation and tree diameter. They also characterize logging methods and systems employed. This poster summarizes results from studies in Idaho (2008-11), California (2004), and Montana (2002).

For the past five years, we?ve witnessed something of an economic miracle in the eastern third of our state. Even more so in the western third of North Dakota. Towns and communities that were once depopulating and shrinking to the point where their schools and basic institutions were threatened have come roaring back, thanks to the Bakken oil boom. And for the first time in living memory, the rural portions of Montana ? particularly in the east ? were growing faster collectively than any of the urban areas.

Butte-Anaconda serves as a regional center for Southwestern Montana. Almost a quarter of its economic base is derived from trade center activities. They include people coming to town for retail shopping and obtaining health care services. There are also several professional service and management firms serving clients in surrounding rural areas.

If Rip Van Winkle were an economist, he would marvel at the changes in the Custer County economy since he went to sleep for 20 years. What was once a regional center for state and federal agencies and businesses serving area farms and ranches has now evolved into a trade and finance center and, most recently, home to firms serving the Bakken oil fields.

The most recent federal data report accelerating growth in the Flathead economy. After a crippling decline during the Great Recession, the Flathead County economy posted an increase of 2.4 percent in 2011, about 3 percent in 2012, and a stunning 4.2 percent in 2013. The most recent figures suggest this rapid growth may have moderated in 2014.

Until about 10 years ago, Richland County has enjoyed a relatively stable and prosperous economy based on agriculture, food processing, and a utility company. Then technological advances enabled the extraction of crude oil, which was previously uneconomic. It has been dubbed the ?unconventional energy revolution.?

A wide-ranging discussion covering economic topics of interest. The discussions include: the Economy, Healthcare, Tourism and Recreation, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Forest Products, Housing, and Energy. A panel of industry experts and economists provide their responses to important questions regarding Montana?s economy.

Cascade County is a classic example of why historic data, however accurate, may not be a reliable indicator of what is happening now. Specifically, the latest annual data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis do not reflect the new indirect energy-related manufacturing activity that only started to show up late in 2013.

The Gallatin County economy has been on an economic roller coaster since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008. The Bozeman-area economy experienced a significant contraction early in the recession. But the economy began to turn around in 2010 and has continued upward ever since. In fact, Gallatin County is one of only two major urban areas in the state (the other being Yellowstone County) to significantly exceed the statewide growth rates during the recovery phase of this business cycle.

The Helena economy has traditionally been non-cyclic because of its dependence of state and federal government. The data corresponding to the Great Recession certainly confirm this notion. Lewis and Clark County was one of the very few urban areas in Montana which did not have at least one year of decline during the last decade.

Economic growth in Missoula?s economy has been frustratingly slow. After three straight years of decline during the Great Recession, the Missoula economy turned upward in 2011. But the growth rates have been have been anemic. The Missoula economy expanded about 1.5 percent per year in 2012 and 2013, as compared to 3 percent to 4 percent annual growth before the recession.

Recent economic statistics demonstrate Ravalli County?s economy is slowly emerging from the downturn experienced in the Great Recession.

The Yellowstone County economy continues to benefit from the indirect impacts of the Bakken oil field developments on the Montana- North Dakota line. Even though Billings is more than 300 miles and five hours driving time from the epicenter of the drilling activity in Williston, North Dakota, it is an attractive location for the indirect and service activities associated with the oil boom. A number of North Dakota cities are closer to Williston, but at best they have roughly half of the population of Yellowstone County. This means that industries such as finance, wholesale trade, and professional services are probably much larger and have more depth and resources in Billings than in the North Dakota cities.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureau''s Survey of California forest products mill operations for 2012. It graphically presents the location/types of mills, California timber harvest by species, disposition, timber processing capacity and sales value. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureau''s Survey of Idaho forest products mill operations for 2011. It graphically presents the location/types of mills, Idaho timber harvest by species, product type, timber processing capacity and sales value. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey

This poster summarizes the results from the Bureau''s study of the 2013 Oregon Forest Products Industry. Information about Plant production, capacity, and employment; Volume of raw material received, by county and ownership; Species of timber received and live/dead proportions; Finished product volumes, types, sales value, and market locations; and Utilization and marketing of manufacturing residue is presented was collected during the survey and much of it summarized in this poster.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureaus''s Survey of Alaska forest products mill operations for 2011. I graphical presents the location/types of mills, Alaska timber harvest by species, ownership, timber processing capacity and use, primary wood products and mill residues, and log and pulpwood exports by destination. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey.

A study of commercial timber-harvesting activities in Idaho was conducted during 2008 and 2011 to characterize current tree utilization, logging operations, and changes from previous Idaho logging utilization studies. A two-stage simple random sampling design was used to select sites and felled trees for measurement within active logging sites. Thirty-three logging sites and 815 felled trees were measured. Results of the 2008/2011 study indicated that harvesting efforts removed 1,011 cubic feet (cf) of timber volume from growing stock for every 1,000 cubic feet (mcf) delivered to the mill, created 24 cf of growing-stock logging residue, and that 13 cf of non-growing-stock (stump wood and tops above 4 inches diameter outside bark (dob)) were delivered to the mill. This compared to 1,086 cf of growing-stock removals that created 95 cf of growing-stock logging residue and utilized 9 cf of non-growing-stock per mill-delivered mcf in a 1990 study. This study confirmed two long-term timber harvesting trends in Idaho: declining diameter at breast height (dbh) of harvested timber, and declining amounts of logging residue generated per unit of mill-delivered volume.

Will what happened in British Columbia with the mountain pine beetle happen in Montana? No. However, forests are changing and will affect Montana's economy through impacts on the wood products industry and tourism.

Forest managers need to know how much timber residue remains on site after a logging operation to predict feedstock potential for woody biomass energy uses and to gauge the efficiency of their operations. Logging utilization studies quantify the amount of growing stock volume cut and either delivered to the mill or left in the forest as logging residue at the state level. However, managers lack site-specific residue information that could be used to inform their prescription efforts. The authors used logging utilization data to develop predictive models that provide the residue information needs of land managers.

Logging utilization studies yield bole volumes of commercially harvested trees delivered to the mill versus bole volumes left in the forest as logging residue. When combined with data from other sources, these volumes can be used to estimate total tree (bole residues, tops and limbs) residue biomass.

The Joint Fire Sciences Program funded a study to enhance the ability of federal land managers to address the economic and financial aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction treatments.

With the closure of Smurfit-Stone Container in Frenchtown and the dismal economic conditions in Montana's forest products industry, developing a biomass energy industry is becoming increasingly important for the state's forests and forest-dependent communities and industry.