Week of October 20th, 2014
Hal Salwasser – Sad News
I am very sad to let you know that longtime Dean of the College of Forestry and FES Professor Hal Salwasser passed away last week at home from apparent natural causes. Each of us not only grieves at the passing of a tremendous individual but also for the loss that Janine and Kaija are suffering, and our thoughts are with them. We will share additional information regarding a Celebration of Life in Hal’s honor as that information becomes available, and an announcement will go out to the University community later today. Hal’s family has requested that all condolences be sent in care of the Institute for Natural Resources (210 Strand) and that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in Hal’s memory to the Hal Salwasser Fellowship Fund through the OSU Foundation. Hal’s thoughtfulness and dedication to the College of Forestry, the Forest Service and the forestry profession will be greatly missed. –OregonStateUniversity
Idaho leases thousands more acres for oil and gas development
The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) auctioned oil and gas leases for 5,238.76 acres of State owned lands and minerals Wednesday in Boise. The auction generated $263,229 in bonus bids for the State endowment trusts that support Idaho’s public school system, Idaho State University, State Juvenile Corrections Center, State Hospital North, Idaho State Veterans Homes, and the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind. The leases were for 600 acres in Cassia County; 4,478.76 acres in Owyhee County; and 160 acres in GemCounty. Trendwell West, Inc., was awarded leases on eight tracts for $190,000 in bonus bids, and AM Idaho, LLC was awarded leases on three tracts for $73,229 in bonus bids. The average bid was approximately $46 per acre. The highest competitive bid was $105 per acre on approximately 638 acres located in Owyhee County. The lease sold for $67,871. With Wednesday’s auction, the total amount of State owned lands and minerals leased for oil and gas development is more than 97,900 acres. In 2014 alone, IDL held oil and gas lease auctions for more than 31,600 acres of State owned land and minerals, and generated more than $2.1 million in revenue for the State of Idaho. Increased leasing activity is an indication of greater interest in developing the resource. Thousands more acres of privately owned lands and minerals are leased for oil and gas development. All of the mineral rights auctioned for oil and gas leases are owned by the State endowment trust. Lands and minerals owned by the State endowment trust are managed under a constitutional mandate to generate maximum long-term income for public schools and other specific State beneficiaries. Click here for the tract list, lease template, and lease stipulations. Sixteen wells in Idaho are drilled and ready for development or already in development. The next auction for State oil and gas leases is scheduled for January 21, 2015. –IDL release
Simpson urges PILT funding
Representative Mike Simpson on October 15 joined a number of western colleagues in urging House leadership to secure full funding for Payment in Lieu of Taxes and SecureRuralSchools and Community Self-Determination Act programs for fiscal year 2015. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Simpson and others urged that the federal government fulfill its responsibility to counties with tax-exempt federal land by fully funding both programs. Legislation authorizing full funding of PILT expired at the end of September. The letter reads: “While it must be our ultimate goal to enact a long-term, sustainable solution to eliminate the ongoing uncertainty our counties face [while Congress authorizes these programs on a year-to-year basis], an extension and full-funding of these programs is essential to address immediate needs…Without congressional action, we risk severely crippling these counties’ ability to operate.” –Ridenbaugh Press
Lost in the woods: Did the U.S. Forest Service botch its biggest forest restoration project?
Jason Rosamond appears to have a grand vision. The way he frames it, his company’s project in northern Arizona will merely begin by saving the area’s sprawling ponderosa pine forest from a century of mismanagement and record-breaking wildfires. Then it will eradicate a leading cause of poverty on a troubled continent 10,000 miles away. “Our intention,” he told an eager audience packed into a conference room in the Navajo Nation’s Twin Arrows Casino near Flagstaff last October, “is to solve the energy crisis in Africa.” Dozens of environmentalists, local politicians, small-business owners, scientists and bureaucrats listened closely, with a mix of skepticism and hope. They were local stakeholders who had helped create the project that Rosamond was now linking to Africa: the largest, most ambitious forest restoration ever attempted in the U.S., targeting a dangerously overgrown swath of four national forests — a total of 2.4 million acres — stretching from the Grand Canyon to the New Mexico border. Their Four Forest Restoration Initiative, or 4FRI (pronounced “four-fry”), aims to remove half the trees in much of the area, while establishing an ecologically sustainable timber industry, processing small-diameter trees at no cost to the government — the dream of many Western forest restoration projects. CONTINUE READING –Forest Business Network
CFLRP Coalition Responses Requested
Starting early in the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program’s development, many people identified the need to articulate the national story about the impacts of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, both in terms of on the ground restoration impacts as well as socio-economic results. In response to that need, the National Forest Foundation facilitated a meeting in 2011 between partners and Forest Service representatives from the first 10 CFLR projects, the Forest Service’s Washington Office of Forest Management, and other interested stakeholders to develop a proposal for a national framework of outcomes and indicators. Meeting participants developed indicators in five areas, including fire costs, ecological change, jobs/economy, leveraged funds, and collaboration. The first four indicators were incorporated into the Forest Service’s reporting structures. The collaboration indicator, however, was not included due to restrictions on the use of federal funds for surveying. In 2012 we were able to work with the CFLR Coalition to gather data for the collaboration indicator. Because collaboration is an important part of the CFLR Program, the group that developed the indicator created a very short survey to provide feedback to Congress consistent with the requirements of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Act. Thirteen CFLR collaboratives responded to the 2012 survey. Responses are summarized in the attached report (and available at http://www.nationalforests.org/CFLRP/monitoringandreporting). Now, we are repeating the survey with hope of (1) comparing the collaboration indicator results from 2014 with 2012 results, and (2) including a larger number of CFLR collaboratives in the survey. Perhaps most important, the data gathered from the 2012 and 2014 surveys will be included in the 5-Year Report to Congress as a way to indicate how collaboration under CFLRP is working. So this is your chance to provide feedback about how collaboration is working at your CFLR site! We ask you assist us with reporting on the collaboration indicator by taking the following steps.
Instructions:
- Respond to the short survey by clicking here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CFLRP-Collaboration
- Forward this email to others in your collaborative (we want to make sure we are reaching as many people as possible, and know that members come and go…)
- Complete the above steps by: October 31, 2014.
Additionally, page two of the survey includes space to share stories from your experiences that you would want to share with Congress. The CFLR Coalition and others are also collecting stories, and together we hope to illustrate the program’s successes and challenges to Congress. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions about the survey, collaboration indicator, or reporting. Thank you in advance for the hard work you are putting in to restore the lands in your CFLR project. –National Forest Foundation
Andrus urges Idaho Boulder-White Clouds be named national monument
At a ceremony Monday awarding former Interior Secretary and Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus the Frank and Bethine Church Award for Public Service, Andrus and others said that while they appreciated U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s ongoing quest to pass his Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act, they believe it’s time for executive action to protect the area as a national monument. –Idaho Statesman via Mountain West News
National Forest Products Week: October 19-24
The third week in October has long been designated as National Forest Products Week, and Governor Otter has designated October 19 – 24 as Idaho Forest Products Week. Here are a couple of highlights we have planned: Web Page – Check out our updated web page at http://www.idahoforests.org/nfpw.htm. It contains information, links, activities and videos featuring architect Michael Green, the Danish Wood Initiative’s three animations, the process of making pulp, paperboard and tissue, State Forester David Groeschl’s new radio ad on jobs, and much, much more. Daily Facebook Posts are scheduled with fascinating information. Paper Product Drawing – During our involvement at fairs this summer we collected around 1,000 entries for a drawing of paper products. Clearwater Paper has graciously agreed to donate a variety their tissue products. We will announce the winners during Forest Products Week! Essay Contest for Idaho Students – deadline set for November 3. U of I Open House for Moscow Community – We are working with the U of I to host an open house for the community of Moscow at the Pitkin Nursery in honor of Idaho Forest Products Week. This event will take place on Friday, October 24 from 3 to 6 p.m. with activities for youth from 3 to 4:30 and tours of the building and nursery from 4 to 6 p.m. Attached is a press release on the event. I hope you are able to attend! –IFPC
Commission updates wind integration costs
State regulators have adopted updated rates to be charged wind developers who sell energy to Idaho Power Company to account for the utility’s expense of integrating the wind onto its distribution and transmission system. The commission also approved a new method for calculating the wind integration charge. “We find that the current mechanism for recovery of integration costs has resulted in under-collection of the actual costs required to integrate wind onto Idaho Power’s system,” the Idaho Public Utilities Commission said. That is not in the best interest of Idaho Power ratepayers because expense to integrate wind that is not paid by wind developers is borne by customers. In seeking the updated rates, Idaho Power said its ability to integrate wind into its system was nearing its limit. The utility has about 678 megawatts of wind capacity on its system now, 505 MW of that coming online since 2010. The integration rate has not been updated since 2007. The intermittency of wind forces Idaho Power to modify its system operations to ensure transmission grid reliability. The utility must provide reserves from other resources — such as hydro or natural gas — that can increase or decrease generation on short notice to offset changes in wind generation. The effect of having to use other resources as operating reserve restricts those same resources from being economically dispatched to their fullest capability, resulting in higher power supply costs passed on to customers. The federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) requires Idaho Power to buy the wind from qualifying renewable energy projects. –Ridenbaugh Press
Erecting 40-story high rises out of wood?
It’s rare to see Oregon environmentalists and the timber industry on the same page. But both camps are high on cross-laminated timber, an engineered wood product that visionaries say can be used to erect highrises up to 40 stories. If this “plywood on steroids” supplants concrete and steel in larger buildings, it could lower carbon emissions and construction costs while creating new jobs in rural Oregon. “Wood is inherently one of the best building products ever,” says Scot Horst, a senior vice president for LEED, the green building certification system run by the U.S. Green Building Council in WashingtonD.C. “From an environmental perspective,” Horst says, “how can you have anything better in many ways?” “We really have an opportunity in Oregon that we can lose if we don’t choose to take it,” says Thomas Maness, dean of the College of Forestry at OregonStateUniversity. “Oregon is the best place in the world to grow this material.” Oregon’s timber industry is subject to wild swings because it’s dependent on the cyclical homebuilding industry, Maness says, so finding new uses in commercial buildings could help weather future downturns and create more jobs here. Invented in Austria in the 1990s, cross-laminated timber or CLT is sparking a worldwide competition for bragging rights to the tallest wood building. Melbourne, Australia, now boasts the world’s highest CLT building, the 10-story Forté residential tower. A 14-story project is in the works in Norway. Oregon, despite being the nation’s top lumber producer, is late to the game. But the Oregon Zoo expects to install the state’s first building using CLT this month. And DR Johnson Co. is reportedly building one of the nation’s first CLT production facilities in Riddle, Ore. Cross-laminated timber is made of 2-by-6s glued together in huge sheets, then cross-hatched in three to nine layers. It can be up to 18 inches thick, 10 feet wide and 80 feet long. “You’re talking about taking care of a roof with two pieces of this stuff,” says Jim Mitchell, Oregon Zoo construction manager. Wood already is a popular choice for homes and small commercial buildings. CLT makes wood much stronger, so it can substitute for concrete and steel in bigger, taller structures. CLT can’t compete with stick framing in homes and small buildings, says Ethan Martin, Northwest regional director of WoodWorks, a nonprofit funded by the lumber industry. It’s niche is in larger buildings, where it becomes cheaper to build with than concrete and steel once a structure gets up to eight or more stories, Martin says. For now, that’s largely due to construction costs. It takes at least a dozen workers to install reinforced concrete, he says, but only four or five to frame with CLT. Because crews are working with large components custom-made in the plant, CLT buildings can go up much faster, Martin says — about a floor per week vs. 2.5 weeks for concrete. The eight-story Bridgport House went up in London in 10 weeks in 2011, Maness says. CLT performed well in seismic tests in Japan, though more research is needed, says Joe Mayo, an architectural designer with Mahlum Architects in Seattle. “From an environmental standpoint, we ought to be all over this, especially here in Oregon,” says Paul Barnum, executive director of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. “It’s a huge difference in greenhouse gas emissions,” Maness says. Wood promoters say it takes less energy to produce than steel and concrete, a prime factor in carbon emissions and air pollutants. Trees produce oxygen and create habitat for wildlife, and absorb carbon dioxide. Roughly half the weight of wood is carbon, and that remains in a building rather than being emitted into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. “There’s no other material that actually sequesters carbon from the environment,” Mayo says. “None of the other resources are naturally renewable.” CLT also can be made from lower-grade timber, especially the layers that won’t be visible. “Basically, you’re avoiding the whole old-growth debate,” Barnum says. Many environmentalists and timber industry leaders concur that thinning some forests can improve forest health and minimize fire dangers near cities. CLT promoters say it could be a perfect use for smaller trees cut in those efforts. Often that wood is only marketable as firewood, but the price of firewood doesn’t pay for the harvesting work. “We don’t have a market for that material right now,” Maness says. “This could be a real boon for forest restoration activities that we need to undertake.” Steve Pedery, conservation director for Portland-based Oregon Wild, says he’s intrigued by the idea of using thinned wood for CLT. “In general, we feel good about people developing markets for smaller-diameter wood that’s harvested sustainably,” Pedery says.
High-Rises Continued: Comparisons Not So Simple
Independent analysts caution that comparing the green merits of wood, steel and concrete isn’t as simple as wood promoters make it seem. Much depends on the type of materials used, where they come from, and how they are produced, says Jordan Palmeri, science and policy analyst for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The nation’s steel now largely comes from recycled steel. Concrete can last far longer in the environment than wood. U.S. steel and concrete manufacturers have made impressive gains in energy efficiency in the last decade, lowering their carbon footprint, says Angus Duncan, chairman of the Oregon Global Warming Commission. And there are raging debates about forestry techniques and how to account for carbon emissions from cutting trees. Some studies show half the carbon stored in trees is released in the first two years after it’s cut, via leaves, branches and bark, Palmeri says. Environmentalists stress that wood loses its advantages when foresters use massive clear-cutting and herbicides, potentially harming water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. Those are standard practices in most Oregon fir forests. “It has potentially gigantic impacts if we don’t focus on sustainable forestry practices,” says Horst of the U.S. Green Building Council. British Columbia passed a Wood First policy in 2009 that encouraged developers to build with wood. That helped spawned dozens of CLT construction projects. Structurlam opened one of Canada’s two CLT production plants in 2011, in the B.C. community of OkanaganFalls. CLT has been slow to gain a foothold in the United States, which many blame on antiquated building codes that limit wood buildings to five or six stories. Those building codes were adopted when fire was an utmost concern, before the advent of modern sprinkler systems that make any building much safer. But the United States’ new building code should end those height limits, and that likely will get adopted by Oregon next year, Martin says. Seattle was an early adopter of the new building code, Mayo says, and a handful of CLT projects have been built in Washington. SmartLAM LLC recently opened what it says is the nation’s first CLT plant in Columbia Falls, Mont., and promises to open more. There also are plans to site a plant in Idaho. Emily Dawson, an architect with SRG Partnership in Portland, proposed Oregon’s first use of CLT at the zoo’s ElephantPlazaBuilding, a modest facility that includes restrooms and a prep kitchen. Dawson’s design deploys CLT as a cantilevered roof. The material is so strong it didn’t need steel beams to support it, Dawson says. Other potential projects using CLT are being discussed or designed for WesternOregonUniversity, PortlandStateUniversity and OregonStateUniversity. Having a production plant in Southern Oregon also should boost the Northwest’s supply of CLT, Martin says. “It’s a small start, but it’s a good start.” –Portland Tribune
Seeking common ground on water issues
COEUR d’ALENE – The three-day Spokane River Forum has been set for November and will cover several potentially contentious bi-state water issues. “We are trying to encourage the dialogue between Washington and Idaho,” said Andy Dunau, executive director of the forum. Dunau said the timing of the forum is appropriate because Washington is trying to establish instream water flows for the Spokane River (which could affect Idaho) and Idaho is going through adjudication (which could affect Washington). “We have this twin issue going on,” he said. “The big question is, ‘are we going to figure this out together, or is this going to court?’” Dunau said there are a number of issues the two states are facing concerning water resources and water quality. He said the state regulators also have issues with local water providers that need to be worked out. “Purveyors are looking for ways to provide water into the future, and regulators want to make sure the purveyors are permitted for the amount of water they are providing,” Dunau said. He said the forum will cover Washington versus Idaho and local purveyors versus state regulators. The Spokane River Forum, which was formed in 2008, is a nonprofit, non-partisan clearinghouse for water-related issues. It is not an advocacy group, Dunau said. “We are not about setting policy,” he said. “Our role is to keep the discussion going because we all know what the alternative is.” –CdA Press
Potlatch to buy $384 million in land
Potlatch Corp., of Spokane, reported this week that it has agreed to buy 201,000 acres of timberlands in Alabama and Mississippi for $384 million. For more on the land acquisition and for Potlatch’s third-quarter earnings, go here. –Spokane Journal of Business
Quote of the day:
“Abundant natural gas alone will not rescue us from climate change. … In economics if you have low-cost, abundant anything you consume more.” –Haewon McJeon, an economist with the U.S. Energy Department and lead author of a report in the journal Nature, that said an independent analysis of the natural gas boom done by scientists in the U.S., Germany, Austria, Italy and Australia found that the switch to natural gas will do little to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. – Calgary Herald (Postmedia News)
Forest proposes Johnson Bar fire salvage
The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests are proposing a salvage operation that is being designed to strategically remove dead and dying trees within the Johnson Bar Fire’s perimeter and reduce the likelihood of sediment reaching area streams. The proposal is being released even while the fire continues to burn, though at much lower intensity due to the cooler temperatures and shorter daylight hours. The fire is likely to continue burning until a significant rainstorm moves through the area. According to District Ranger Joe Hudson, time is of the essence. “We have a very tight timeframe for analyzing and completing the work for both economic and ecological reasons.” The Johnson Bar Fire was ignited by lightning August 3 across the SelwayRiver from the Johnson Bar Campground approximately 20 miles southeast of Kooskia. It escaped initial attack firefighting efforts and spread quickly through dense vegetation and rugged terrain. The fire resulted in evacuations and weeks of poor air quality within the ClearwaterBasin. Hudson said the timing of the fire was extremely unfortunate. “We had a good plan for reducing fuel and restoring vegetation on this landscape. Unfortunately, one well-placed lightning strike changed the situation.” The 13,000-acre Johnson Bar Fire perimeter is within the 1.4-million-acre Selway-Middle Fork area. That area was selected to receive funding through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). Established by Congress in 2009, CFLRP provides up to four million dollars annually for up to ten years to implement restoration work in selected areas which have science-based restoration strategies that have been developed collaboratively. –Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests
Another Ysursa on Secretary of State Race
Secretary of State Ben Ysursa has withheld his endorsement of a successor in the race for that office, but his wife Penny, who worked for many years in the elections office, offered a pointed opinion in a letter to the editor of the Idaho Statesman. Responding to remarks by Republican nominee Lawerence Denney, she wrote, “Where is Lloyd Bentsen when you need him? I keep reading or hearing Lawerence Denney comparing himself to former Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa. I worked for Pete Cenarrusa, I knew Pete Cenarrusa, he was a friend of mine. Lawerence Denney, you’re no Pete Cenarrusa.” —Lewiston Tribune
Fake News from The Onion: New Election Ruling Allows Candidates To Remain Completely Anonymous Throughout Campaign
WASHINGTON—Explaining that the measure is intended to protect politicians’ right to free expression against undue scrutiny from the general population, a new ruling implemented this week by the Federal Election Commission allows candidates running for public office to remain completely anonymous throughout the campaign process. “Candidates should be able to make themselves heard without having their identities, personal associations, and records on the issues exposed in the public eye,” said agency spokesperson Wayne Branson, adding that the new policy means congressional hopefuls can avoid being personally challenged on their agendas by opting to withhold their names and likenesses from all campaign material, television commercials, FEC filings, and public appearances. “The fact that political candidates are no longer under any obligation to disclose who they are will ensure a freer, more open electoral process. It is our belief that elections should be about ideas and plans for the country, not about who is saying them, what that person looks like, what their background might be, if they’re qualified, or what motives they might have.” Branson confirmed that elected candidates would then have the option to remain anonymous for the duration of their term.