Small and Smaller: New challenges and solutions for moving smallwood Bob Rummer US Forest Service Auburn, AL

Outline  Anticipating smallwood challenges  Merchandizing  Smallwood harvesting  Smallest wood (biomass) harvesting

Smallwood  Reduction in available supply of larger trees  Fuel reduction  Adaptation Idaho City, ID

Significant Trends  Fire  I&D

Significant Trends  Security  Economic impacts  Environmental

Its all about the green … Photo: Barry Wynsma

Costs define …  What trees are cut (the perceived value of the treatment)  What biomass has value in the market  What product sorting, processing, merchandizing occurs

Example Stand ComponentPrescriptionProducts <3” 3-6” 6-12” topwood Cut & leave Cut & remove Selection Remove None Energywood Small sawlog Energywood

Assume: GreenGas $1.75/gal Renewable Oil Int’l Bio-oil

Example Stand ComponentPrescriptionProducts <3” 3-6” 6-9” 9-12” topwood Cut & leave Cut & remove Selection Remove Energywood Small sawlog Energywood

Expensive to work with smallwood  Driven by volume/piece  Underutilization of equipment

Solutions  Match equipment to task  Accumulate/pre-bunch

Felling, Processing, Piling Cost dbh (in) $/ton Manual Mechanized

Payload is key

Add the money

More efficient alternatives  Mulching  Piling Photo: Don Peterson Photo: Barry Wynsma

Integrated product recovery “The cheapest way to get the 4” stick is when it is attached to an 8” stick.” Steve Aulerich

Integrated recovery

Recovery of energy wood Conventional One-pass energywood Two-pass energywood 50%85%84% Rec. Vol $10/gt$7.50/gt$9/gt Harvest Cost

What about something new?

 Several designs  Reduced handling  Low-impact Valmet 801 Combi Improve efficiency: Harwarders

Performance CTL DualCombi Site Move Forward Harvest Min/m 3 1 st Thin CTLDualCombi 2nd Thin CTLDualCombi Final harvest

System Productivity  Removed ~9 CCF/acre, 3.8 PMH/acre  Elemental times ~16 min/CCF  Gross time ~25 min/CCF  Misc. elements nearly half of all operating time  Production rates similar to the Scandinavian studies

TimberPro TF 820-E  250 to 300 hp  23’ reach w/6’  10.5’ wide, 33’ long  lbs  $460K  Dual technology

Improve efficiency: cycle time  What if your skidder was never empty? Photo: MTDC

Increasing recovery of residues

Low density Forwarding residues, Flagstaff, AZ

Improve payload

 14 ton forwarder  9 ton payload  ~$90,000 Continental Biomass Industries BTS-1

Improve payload Photo: Dan Len

Photo: BLM, Alturas

Swath harvesters Nicholson-Koch Mobile Chipharvester, 1980

Merchandizing energy  Product is btu’s  Unique spec’s

Energy value includes …  Energy inputs  Emissions

Summary  Changing world for smallwood recovery  The smallest fraction will likely be merchandized for energywood  New technology to address barriers Improved handling efficiency Improved payload Processing for value  Its an exciting time to be working in the woods

The Future