1. FIA & Economic Development
Gary Lettman

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

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

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

5. 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

6. Today

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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