Assessment of a Biomass Utilization Alternative for Colorado State Parks

Date of Award

3-15-2007

Document Type

Undergraduate Capstone Project

Degree Name

Master of Env Policy Mgmt

Organizational Unit

University College, Environmental Policy and Management

Disciplines

Environmental Policy & Mgmt

First Advisor

William Robinson

Keywords

Biomass, Biomass volume estimation, Colorado State Parks, Forest biomass, Utilization, Colorado, Forest products, Forest thinning, Mastication, Mechanical fuel treatments, Mechanical thinning, Parks

Abstract

Colorado State Parks is currently managing overstocked wildland fuels on critical Parklands through mechanical mastication projects, but wants to determine the feasibility of alternatively turning thinned materials into marketable biomass fuel. Accurate estimates of potential volume and associated production costs are critical to determining this feasibility. In this study, forest inventory data were used to estimate potential volume and combined with data from previous studies to estimate potential harvest and haul costs and revenues. This study reveals that a biomass utilization alternative may be an economically feasible option for State Parks to pursue and in many cases may be more economically favorable than current mechanical treatments.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

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