In response to growing interest in building agreement on cost-effective ways to improve forest health while supporting appropriate-scaled industry, a broad coalition of stakeholders called for a multi-jurisdictional study of wood supply, focusing on ponderosa pine, in northern Arizona. With guidance from a diverse five-member Steering Committee, the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Analysis (ForestERA) project at NAU designed and implemented a 7-month collaborator-driven analysis to:

• Mobilize the best-available science to quantify ponderosa pine wood supply by size-class across the analysis area (Figure 1).

• Fully engage a Working Group made up of agency representatives and community, industry, and other stakeholders, in a collaborative process to build agreement on the location and type of ecologically appropriate treatments to improve forest health.

• Estimate the volume of woody material which would be removed following collaboratively-developed treatment scenarios.

• Survey and recommend forest growth models to inform forecasted increases in wood volume.

• Develop a database of existing harvesters, processors and users in the area to estimate the wood resources they use and aid in efforts to support appropriately-sized businesses.

• Facilitate a dialog as part of the Working Group sessions about which follow-on economic analyses are
of highest priority to inform contracting decisions.

Figure 1. The analysis area includes ponderosa pine dominated areas (dark green) within Forest Service boundaries outlined in dark green. Areas of pine-oak are shown in orange. Land cover data derived from SWReGAP.

We have completed the collaborative process of the Wood Supply Analysis. Seven public meetings were held at several different locations in northern Arizona with Working Group members from June through November 2007. The meeting agendas and summaries are available.

An interim progress report was produced in October 2007 and the final Wood Supply Analysis report, including the collaboratively-developed treatment scenarios and the resulting wood supply by size-class, will be distributed January 31, 2008.

The Wood Supply Analysis project is supported through funding from the Southwestern Region of the USDA Forest Service.

For more information please contact:

Haydee M. Hampton
Research Associate
Center for Environmental Sciences and Education
Northern Arizona University
NAU Box 4071
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5694
Tel: 928-523-0872; FAX: 928-523-7423; email: Haydee.Hampton@nau.edu