Abstract:
Severe wildland fire has become one of the most significant resource management challenges that
the USDA Forest Service faces. National policy has focused on reducing uncharacteristic fuel loads
and wildfire risk. However, the cost of hazardous fuels reduction is high. Utilization of small diameter
trees and brush offers the potential to reduce treatment costs. But, we do not know how close sawmills and
biomass facilities need to be to treatments to have an impact. This research examined how the locations
of sawmills and biomass facilities influenced the amount of hazardous fuels reduction accomplished by the
Forest Service, associated biomass utilization, and contracting mechanisms used to implement hazardous
fuels treatments.