I saw this on X today, even thought the story is from March. It’s a longer story of collaborative efforts after the Rim Fire. We’ve talked about the SERAL project before. I wonder what it is about this part of the country that encourages people to get along and get things done?
The Community and Watershed Resilience Program and its three-tiered goals aim to change all that. Through extensive forest health and forest-restoration efforts, the landscape in and around Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park will now be more resilient to disasters, while the jobs provided and the products produced will help boost the local economy.
Here’s the biomass section:
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Final program goal – two biomass facilities
Under the Biomass Utilization Fund portion of the program, the RCAC partnered with the SNC to distribute $17 million in available funding to support projects that create local jobs through the utilization of biomass from forest-restoration activities. Biomass facilities not only bring employment opportunities but also remove and process woody material that would otherwise be left to degrade in place, be masticated, or piled and burned in the forest.
“This Biomass Utilization Fund is not just about biomass utilization, but a more holistic approach to forest resilience and wildfire-risk reduction,” said Cyndi Spencer, chief operating officer with the RCAC. “In addition, the economic development and creation of living wage jobs support local families and strengthen regional economies. This not only improves forest health but also fosters long-term economic resilience and community prosperity.”
The Biomass Utilization Fund invested in two facilities, Tuolumne Biomass in Jamestown and Tuolumne BioEnergy in Sonora. Being a recoverable grant fund also means that funding for both facilities will be paid back in time to then be reinvested in similar projects across the state. This revolving loan fund strategy aims to create additional biomass projects across California in the future.
The first $9.7 million from the Biomass Utilization Fund, along with other grants and loans, created Tuolumne Biomass, which opened in October 2024.
“We were invited here many years ago after Tuolumne County was first approached with some federal funding around response to the Rim Fire and looking to establish a business here,” said David Schmidt, CEO of Tuolumne Biomass, which is owned by Heartwood Biomass out of Oregon. “We took that invitation, spent time in the community, and really came to a place where we knew the infrastructure was here, support from the local government was here, and the U.S. Forest Service was supportive. It really has the right ecosystem for doing a business like ours.”
The facility utilizes material from forest-restoration projects, such as small-diameter trees, brush, branches, and non-merchantable logs and turns it into usable, profitable products – mostly bundled firewood for residential use and peeled poles for agricultural use. In operation for over a year, it currently processes roughly 30,000 tons of biomass annually and employs up to 16 full-time staff.
Basically, Schmidt added, “if you can put it on a truck and get it to our facility, we will utilize it.”
To complement the critical forest-restoration activities taking place in nearby forests, the remaining funds in the Biomass Utilization Fund went toward creating Tuolumne BioEnergy, which started operating in January of this year.
This facility removes non-sawmill material out of the forests, brings it to its Sonora location, and turns it into wood-burning pellets to be sold directly to homeowners and commercial outlets, like Lowe’s and Tractor Supply. When in full operation, the facility is expected to produce roughly 30,000 tons of bagged pellets per year and employ up to 25 full-time staff.
“This has been done a hundred times before, but not at a scale we are doing here, and specifically not with using forest residues as the source,” said Etienne Patenaude, CEO of Force Energy Systems, Inc., owner of Tuolumne BioEnergy. “The problem on the waste side was it was just all getting pile burned in the forest. So, that means 100 percent emissions and no value to anyone. Not to mention it costs the Forest Service or loggers to have to go out and pile burn it. So, this operation completely alleviates all that burden.”
Tuolumne BioEnergy is also powered and heated through the energy generated through its pellet-making process, making it energy independent. In fact, Patenaude added the facility may sell power back to the local utility company in times of surplus production.
With the opening of the two facilities, both the communities of Tuolumne County and the surrounding natural landscape will benefit.
“These facilities create a sustainable outlet for hazardous forest fuels, enabling large-scale reduction efforts in the Stanislaus National Forest and improving the overall landscape health,” Spencer added. “The conversion of excess biomass into usable products helps to reduce wildfire risk and supports ecological resilience.”
I don’t think it is about this area being special and people getting along, I believe a lot of places have looked into doing something similar but couldn’t make the numbers pencil out. We looked deeply into removing and utilizing biomass, but it cost more than the revenue it would generate. I would think it would be especially challenging right now with the high cost of fuel. I hope this works out and is sustainable over the long run.
Well, to be fair, biomass is only one part of “getting along” ; they have very large projects that seem to go through with little resistance; they have “zones of agreement”, and the Tahoans are building new trails..
Perhaps this one won’t be self-sustaining after the grants run out. OTOH, some of my Denver Mtn. friends tell me that the one public slash disposal site is only open for two months and may have to close due to a zoning problem.
I think I’ll see if I can hunt down Mr. Schmidt and maybe do an interview. You would probably be better at that, though, if you’re interested?
I would think it would be pretty unpopular to challenge projects designed to create fire-resilient landscapes in that area considering the fires they have had over the last decade. My wife and I drove through one of those fires a couple years ago.
I would take you up on doing the interview, but I’m between out of state trips and my days are packed right now while also managing PR for the local conservation organization of which I am a board member. We are about to announce initiation of a $3 million stream restoration project right above town.
Congratulations on the $3 mill and restoration effort! And enjoy your out-of-state trips. I’ll give it a shot. As I used to say at work sometimes “I don’t have to be good, if no one else will do it, there’s no competition!”
The Groveland RD has had major fires since 1985, burning up most of their timber in high intensity wildfires. That means lots of future (sub-merchantable) biomass projects. However, the terrain isn’t so good for “active management”, on a large scale. There is a big log mill, along with a small log mill, well-located as a regional hub for making wood products.