Considering the weather our meeting on 07-feb-2017 at Turtle Rock Park was well attended with 17 members of the public and agencies present in person and two more attending by phone. Thanks are due to Irene Davidson and the Carson Ranger District for the use of their conference line, and also to Chuck Leonard (the County’s IT specialist) who set up the VoIP phone for the meeting.
Dr. Amy Horne gave a presentation on Saving the West. Saving the West has been conducting research on the Sagehen Experimental Forest north of Truckee, with the purpose of trying to solve the problem of how to pay for the much needed improvement in forest health, and maximize carbon sequestration. Their blog on the Sagehen Experimental Forest is available here. A great description of what Saving the West is available on this news report. A lively discussion on cross-laminated timber and other possible higher value wood products that could be produced from our forests ensued.
A six member working group has been formed to work with the Carson Ranger District on their West Carson Project. Members include Annabelle Monti, Don Hittenmiller, Michael Barton, Irvin Jim, Gavin Feiger and Mary Rawson. In addition to participating in the initial planning of the project they will be looking at what alternatives there may be for utilizing any excess biomass produced from the project.
The next meeting is set for Tuesday March 7th at 6:00 pm at Turtle Rock Park and will feature a mini-symposium on biomass-to-bioenergy arranged by the US Forest Service. Larry Swan, regional wood utilization and biomass specialist with the Forest Service is expected to be one of the presenters. With the proposed restarting of the biomass-to-bioenergy facility at the prison in Carson City this should be interesting. The Tuesday April 4th meeting will feature a presentation by the Alpine Watershed Group on the Markleevillage Fuels Project.
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The Alpine Biomass Committee is supported by a grant from the National Forest Foundation with funds coming from Region 5 of the U.S. Forest Service. This organization is an equal opportunity provider.
Alpine Biomass Collaborative 