WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation alongside U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) to increase technology transfer at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), allowing for small-diameter trees to be turned into wood products for timber companies to purchase and put to commercial use, generating revenue for the USFS, instead of being disposed of as waste.
“To protect our communities from increasingly catastrophic wildfires, we need to make forest management more effective and scalable,” said Heinrich. “By expanding technology transfer at the Forest Service and turning small-diameter trees into marketable wood products, we can create new revenue streams, scale up fuels reduction, and accelerate the work needed to reduce wildfire risk.”
“Georgia’s forestry industry is vital to our state’s economy and I’m proud to work with my colleagues to find a bipartisan solution to invest in the future success of this sector,” said Senator Warnock.
“In West Virginia, we know the value of our forests and the importance of managing them wisely—not just for the beauty and recreation they offer, but also for the jobs and strengthening our economy. This bipartisan bill supports our rural economies, protects our communities from wildfires, and make the most of what our land gives us. It’s a win for the economy, environment and for our people,”Senator Jim Justice said.
“70 percent of Montana’s forests are federally owned, and we need to be doing all we can to ensure we’re good stewards of these lands. I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill that will support proper forest management and create new markets for low value woody biomass,” said Senator Daines.
Currently, the removal of brush and small trees usually costs the USFS money when these trees are cut as part of forest treatments and wildfire resilience treatments. This woody material is disposed of as waste. The majority of trees in New Mexico are small-diameter and are simply used as firewood when cut, rather than being used for lumber or turned into other innovative products.
The Forest Service has operated the Forest Products Laboratory since 1932 to develop new ways to use wood, including small diameter timber from forest health projects, but these technologies have struggled to find commercial adoption. This legislation would create a dedicated office to introduce this research to private companies, which could use it to create new commercial products. If this technology transfer results in a successful business, the USFS will gain revenue from the licensing of that patent as well as from the increased value of small-diameter timber, all while protecting the environment and making communities safer from wildfire.
The USFS has a lack of patents that have been licensed out to private entities. Currently, the agency has only 42 patents in total, of which eight have active licenses. For comparison, the Department of Energy, though a larger research program, owns more than 40,000 patents had has over 1,400 active licenses for those patents. Despite a statutory mandate to maintain technology transfer activities, USFS has only a single employee who works on this topic.
This legislation would...
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Read the full text of the bill here.
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