Resources for San Juan County Forest Owners

Northwest Natural Resource Group and our partners have hosted ecological forestry workshops in the San Juan Islands since 2012. These resources are specifically for San Juan County forest owners who are interested in learning techniques to reduce fire risk, increase forest value, manage timber sales, market forest products, and improve the ecological and economic health of island forests. 

Woody Biomass & Biochar

Analysis

• Biochar Market Analysis for San Juan County and the Pacific Northwest – This study examines the state of the biochar industry in San Juan County and the greater Pacific Northwest to understand if biochar is a growing market, and what potential exists for expansion.
• SJC Woody Biomass Assessment – A supply and demand assessment of woody biomass in the San Juan Islands.

How-to Tools & Methods

• Video: Biochar Production – This is a recording of a lecture led by Kai Hoffman-Krull at an NNRG workshop. Kai discusses the basics of biochar’s properties, and demonstrates how to set up a conservation burn pile. 
• Woody Biomass Production Methods – An overview of different ways forest landowners can use and manufacture woody biomass in their woodlands.
• How to Measure Woody Biomass in Your Forest – This guidebook provides landowners with a practical inventory system for estimating the volume of timber and woody biomass in their forest. By using these guidelines, landowners can more easily collect information to inform their forest management decisions. 
• Woody Biomass Calculator – This calculator tool allows forest owners to convert basic tree measurements and forest data into estimates of timber and biomass volumes. 

Forest Health, Fuels Reduction, & Woody Biomass Solutions

• How Fire History and Stand Development Can Guide Management Decisions in SJC – Carson Sprenger
• Forest Health and Biochar Research – Kai Hoffman-Krull 

Using & Selling Woody Biomass

Biochar

• Biochar Production for Forestry, Farms, and Community – An overview of biochar as solution for agricultural soil fertility and greenhouse gas accumulation with case studies from San Juan County.
• Biochar Guidebook: Basics of Biochar and Applications for the Farm
• Biochar Production White Paper – Kai Hoffman-Krull
• Biochar Presentation from June 30, 2018 Workshop
• Biochar Study Results – Kai Hoffman-Krull
• Producing Biochar – Steve Bensel
• Restore Char – a website dedicated to the manufacture and sale of biochar
• Pictures from the forest tour and biochar demonstration
• Biochar Production

• Charcoal: the Intersection of Sustainable Farming and Forestry

Fuel & Energy

• Introduction to Woody Biomass in the San Juans – Kirk Hanson
• Biomass for the San Juans – Presentation by Wisewood Energy
• Energy from Woody Biomass – Meagan Nuss
• Woody Biomass Fuel Options for the San Juans
• Marketing of low-grade timber products in the San Juans 

Managing a Timber Sale

• Sample Contract to Remove and Deliver Forest Products
• Timber Sale Checklist
• Timber Sale Valuation Worksheet
• San Juan County Timber Tax Rules
• Sample Purchase Sheets for San Juan County Log Buyers – (These log prices are from summer 2016 and are shared as reference. Log prices are subject to change without notice. Contact the log buyers for current prices.)
• Silvicultural & Harvesting Strategies
• History of Logging in the Islands
• Thinning in the San Juans 

Get Connected

• 2018 San Juan Islands Forestry Products and Business Directory – collaborate with loggers, equipment operators, arborists, tree workers, woodworkers, builders, architects, and consultants.

Previous Workshops

Through these workshops participants learned ways they could decrease fire risk, improve forest health, increase habitat value, and generate income through emerging methods like biochar and biomass energy.

• Timber Harvesting on Waldron: What You Need To Know
• Shaw Island Forests: Management Options for Health & Fire Resilience
• How to Manufacture Biochar from Woody Biomass
• Measuring Timber and Woody Biomass in San Juan Forests
• Forest Tour: Thinning Overstocked Stands for Health and Productivity
• Utilizing Woody Biomass to Reduce Fire Risk
• Biochar 101: Making Biochar from Woody Biomass
• Energy Opportunities for Woody Biomass
• Hands-On Forestry for San Juans Woodlands
• Emerging Biofuel Options for San Juan Forests
• Small-scale logging & yarding for the DIY woodland owner
• How to Manage a Timber Sale

For more details about NNRG’s work in the San Juans visit www.nnrg.org/sanjuans 

Header photo: Matt Freeman-Gleason