 The Plum Creek Conference on Forests and Energy brought experts in ecology and economics as well as individuals currently involved in the field of biomass utilization to give lectures and lead workshops. The goal of the conference was to identify the areas of agreement and gaps in knowledge with respect to the sustained use of energy from forests to supply energy needs for people while addressing the broad impacts of a changing global climate.
Presentations are now available on the University of Montana's website. They are available in two formats: PDF files, and video.
Elaine Oneil's presentation provides a useful life cycle inventory/life cycle assessment perspective on the role of forest biomass in a carbon as a sustainability metric. The presentation compares the relative contribution of forest in a carbon life cycle assessment in different roles: forest carbon pools, displacing carbon emissions by burning wood for energy, and substituting wood for more energy intensive materials. Acknowledging all three are worthwhile, product substitution offers the greatest impact per dry ton of forest biomass. The forecast of increase in large wildfires adds a factor to be addressed - displacement of large regional fires by fuel reduction.
To view the videos or download presentations, read more>>
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USFS releases new report: "The purpose of this paper is to use the ecosystem service conceptual framework as a basis for understanding the ecological effects of forest land conversion, and as a basis for understanding the economic issues that arise in designing policies to conserve forest ecosystems." 
What is the window of opportunity for a low carbon economy? A report funded by WWF concludes five years. Carbon emissions trading by itself will miss the target unless accompanied by: clean energy generation, energy efficiency, low carbon agriculture, and sustainable forestry. 
port on expenditures for threatened and endangered species includes 1250 species. Species are ranked in the summary by the total expenses incurred by federal and state agencies. Five of he top 10 are salmon, and the cumulative total for the top ten is $342.5 million. These totals do not include land acquisition costs. 
