Enhance Forest and Wood Product Carbon Sinks

• Plant more trees
• Increase sequestration and growth in forests by increasing health
• Increase standing carbon densities and stores in forests
• Harvest trees at culmination of mean annual increment to capture more carbon
• Build with more wood to store carbon in long lived wood products

Reduce Biogenetic Emission from Forests

• Harvest trees before they begin to have sequestration rates slowed
• Harvest large trees that are respiring or decomposing
• Thin forests to remove fuel build up
• Focus on landscape resiliency on all forest lands to reduce emissions from wildfires

Reduce Fossil Fuel Emissions

• Use biomass and low value timber for energy production
• Use biomass and low value timber to produce renewable diesel
• Use wood products in place of more carbon intensive building materials like steel and concrete

Oregonians have the option to consume locally. Producing regional fiber to meet the demands of today and the future limits the carbon footprint from overseas transportation and creates domestic jobs in a growing sector. With innovations in tall wood buildings and new markets for biomass such as renewable energy, renewable natural gas, renewable diesel and biochar, America is vying to be at the forefront of climate solutions in the world. When domestic wood supplies are fully appreciated for their opportunity in this global market, Oregon and the nation will have healthier forests, less smoke in the air and new solutions leading to carbon neutrality. 

Active Forest Management is KEY for Optimizing Climate Mitigation

Oregon is working to develop possible climate change solutions.  While the political mechanism is up for debate, Republicans and Democrats can agree forests are a part of the solution.  Managing forests, sustainably harvesting timber, and using more wood will maximize Oregon’s ability to sequester and store carbon for generations.

Leaving forests alone may seem beneficial to optimize carbon storage, but new research suggests sustainably managing and harvesting forests substantially improves carbon mitigation outcomes.  The best uses of wood provide a “carbon negative technology” with the ability to displace fossil emissions. In short, simply planting more trees, then walking away is not enough.  We must also harvest and use the wood to optimize the climate change benefits.

In this day and age the value of maximizing carbon benefits should be prioritized through sustainable management rather than antiquated reserve systems (wilderness, late-successional reserves, etc.).  To get net negative carbon outputs from forests, trees must be harvested.

Because the federal government manages roughly 60% of Oregon’s forestland, federal land management decisions significantly affect Oregon’s ability to achieve climate solutions.  Managing Oregon’s federal timber resource is vitally important for the future of our state and the health of its people.

From a carbon perspective, private timberlands (big and small) are doing their part, harvesting approximately 77% of total growth each year to provide wood products and carbon substitution benefits.  Where we fall short is on federal lands.  Only about 8% of annual growth is harvested on Oregon’s federal lands, leaving dense unhealthy forests accumulating more fuel for wildfires every year. 

The US Forest Service (FS) recently conducted a national study to analyze their efficiency to treat National Forest System (NFS) lands.  From 2010-2017, the FS conducted harvests on 1.6 million acres in total, less than 1% of all NFS lands even though there are 80 million acres of FS lands that are at immediate risk of catastrophic wildfire and other threats.  

With wildfires unlikely to slow, forest management is needed more than ever.  Wildfires turn forests into huge carbon emitters.  California’s 2018 Camp and Woolsey fires produced emissions equivalent to roughly 5.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, about half of the total industrial emissions in Oregon for an entire year.  

When forests are properly managed, the carbon negative utility of wood products is realized.  The wood products industry is improving this potential through innovation.  Engineered wood has been around for half of a century but has been getting a lot of attention lately.  Products such as cross laminated timber (CLT), I-joists, and glulam beams help reduce the need for non-renewable building materials like steel and concrete.

As demand for these products increases, policy makers should empower Oregon’s forest sector in its roll to help reduce carbon from our atmosphere.  Increased demand creates economic incentives to better manage our public lands and continue developing innovative technologies.  The more restrictions and red tape we put on forest managers and operators, the harder it will be to see any positive change on Oregon’s climate challenges.