FIA & Economic Development Gary Lettman

An economist is someone who didn’t have enough personality to become an accountant

Oregon State Forester Marvin Brown “No big deal.....just get this economy turned around.”

Bottom Line Clients having a rough time financially Need accurate and timely information more than ever Needs for knowledge sharing and technology transfer growing

FIA Relatively Low Profile Immediate revenue problems severe Limits to solving immediate problems Institutional Political Legal Not lack of inventory information FIA information critical for intermediate and long-term solutions

Today

Biomass: Examples of Needed Legislative Fixes National – Address Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to allow biomass from federal lands to count towards renewable fuels standard Oregon – Make biomass plants constructed before 1996 eligible for incentives

Still Need FIA to Continue Helping Us Better Understand Biomass Energy Potential For example, to help focus infrastructure investment Western Governor’s Association Areas where biomass power expansion would likely contribute to the need for new electrical transmission capacity Major areas missed by this analysis where states are aware of new biomass facilities that may require additional transmission capacity

Keep working on resource availability Traditional timber supply studies but using supply/demand relationships Better utilizing underutilized timber resources Biomass to energy opportunities Tie to existing and potential primary and secondary manufacturers

More Examples Work to make BIOSUM and other tools more reality-based (model imperfect; assumptions legion) Keep working to produce credible carbon baseline and change estimates Increase economic development work Secondary mill survey E.g., Immediate industry need & impact work in Montana

Where to go from here Continue providing the best and most timely forest information possible (particularly about change--NOT NOISE) Better systems for data, knowledge and technology transfer States losing capacity to understand and utilize FIA data, so help us out Work with states on stimulus funding