Why Penn's Woods Needs Biomass

Traditionally, the only way to value a tree was to cut it down and saw it into eight-foot logs. The most valuable logs are large (over 12 inches in diameter), straight, and free of defects; these are sold to sawmills where they get turned into boards, cabinets, and furniture. Most logs do not fit those requirements. They are considered "low-quality," or pulp, and are traditionally sold to papers mills or to a firewood cutter. Most of the wood (generally 70% or more) in the forest is considered low-quality.

But over the last two decades, paper mills across Pennsylvania have closed. This has resulted in a collapse in the pulp market. By 2018, pulp prices across the state ranged from 0-$1 a ton in the Penn State Timber Report. In 2019, the pulp market was so small, pulp prices were eliminated from the report.

The loss of a low-quality wood market has had devastating impacts on the forest, loggers, and landowners. With no one buying low-quality wood, loggers are face with a tough choice: either only cut high-quality wood or go bankrupt. Cutting only high-quality wood is called high grading, and it has massive negative effects (see this article on the dangers of high grading). It can devastate the ecology and value of a forest. With no market for low-quality wood, it is not harvested, or it is cut and left to rot in the forest. A large influx of rotting wood can provide a reservoir for forest pests like fungi and bugs that can kill nearby trees.

Managing forests not only benefits humans, but also wildlife like the golden-winged warbler, an almost endangered small songbird, depends on young forests. Saving the bird requires the creation of a million acres of habitat. This habitat would have been created by clearcutting forests and growing a young forest. Prior to the collapse in low-quality wood market, this type of management usually produced a profit, that was used to fund additional conservation. But, with the loss of the low-quality market, loggers need to be paid $400 an acre to cut. This makes saving the golden-winged warbler incredibly difficult.

The forest, people who work in it, and the animals that rely on it need a low-quality wood market. This is where renewable energy like biomass or biofuel come in. Using these sources of energy could create a market for low-quality wood, keeping loggers in business, ensuring forest are managed sustainably, and creating habitat for dozens of wildlife species.