I have followed the debate over the state’s biomass power plants. I want to provide some facts to connect the dots between healthy forests and biomass power.
First, according to U.S. Forest Service data, New Hampshire is the second-most forested state in the nation. Our forests are growing wood at double the rate that we are harvesting every year. In fact, the USFS has been taking an inventory of these forests every five to 10 years since 1950, and it may surprise you to learn that the inventory in the forests of New Hampshire shows that the amount of wood growing has been steadily increasing since 1950 – and it continues to increase. Add to this the fact that more than three-quarters of all the land in our state is privately owned and you can see that decisions made by these private landowners regarding their forests are critical to the health of our woodlands.
Second, according to USFS, more than two-thirds of all the timber growing in New Hampshire is low-grade: The trees are crooked or malformed and unable to produce quality lumber. As we see more alien pests and diseases arrive (the emerald ash borer, for example), we can expect the amount of low-grade wood in our forests to increase.
Third, to manage forests for sustainable growth, foresters and land managers conduct occasional timber harvests. These harvests in New Hampshire are mostly partial cuts, where typically just 40% to 50% of the forest is removed in order to leave growing space for the residual forest to thrive. The biomass market is an invaluable forestry tool to improve the quality of these residual trees in the forest, because it provides a market for those crooked, malformed or diseased trees. Think of the forest as a large vegetable garden: If you do not weed and thin the garden, the vegetables don’t grow very well.
Lastly, biomass markets enable land managers to do this thinning, and thinning concentrates growth on healthy trees that produce high-quality wood products and lumber. The result is in long-term sequestration of greater amounts of carbon and ultimately making forest ownership financially viable for the private landowner. Remember also that healthy forests provide clean water and clean air, and many private landowners invite us to enjoy their beautiful woodlands for recreation.
This is why we need to look at the big picture when it comes to biomass power and environment. And this is why the Legislature needs to override Gov. Chris Sununu’s veto of House Bill 183 (the biomass bill).
(Jamie Dammann lives in Hillsborough.)