Page 12 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 2 - Spring 2023

Fueling Biomass
Growth in Georgia
Biomass Questions?
We’ve Got Answers
“We work with new industry — which includes people looking to put biomass facilities in Georgia,” said GFC SUM Forester Dru Preston. “State and local economic development agencies and municipal leaders, as well as interested companies, come to us, and we provide the data resources. Those facts can be used to prove whether sustainable biomass supplies can support a startup business.”
By Stasia Kelly
How GFC Calculations Impact Industry Attention
Georgia’s emerging biomass industry is dependent on numerous support mechanisms. While some are visible in the public spotlight, others provide essential develop-
ment resources behind the scenes. One of these critical players is the Georgia Forestry Commission’s (GFC) Services, Utilization, and Marketing (SUM) Department.
The GFC’s SUM group is widely considered the “go-to” team for a current read on Georgia’s forest resources. A number of pro- grams are conducted annually that quantify information about the amount of timber growth and removals, mill activities, and other factors that impact forest supplies and usage. A tremen- dous amount of corresponding data is gathered and collated as needed for prospective forest businesses considering Georgia in their future plans.
As a state agency, the GFC equally supports all forest products sectors, with a goal of maintaining and increasing value for Geor- gia timberland, mills and forest products. Biomass facilities are just one part of the equation as the GFC and its partners continue their mission to “Keep working forests as forests.”
The backbone of resource information supplied to interested parties is Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) data. In conjunction with the US Forest Service, GFC foresters routinely survey a series of permanent sample plots in order to assess current forest resource status and trends. Data is gathered from randomly placed research plots that statistically represent about 6,000 acres.
FIA measurements quantify a num- ber of important factors, including spe- cies composition and condition, wood growth and removals, live wood and biomass volumes, forest health, and land use changes. The collected data is electronically collated at the US Forest Service’s FIA center in Knoxville, TN. Based on a five-year rolling average, the information is compiled into county, regional and state summaries, which are made publicly available and are highly valued by the state’s private sector forest industry, forestry consultants and aca- demic researchers.
A geographic wood-basket study area typically includes at least a 50-mile radius up to a 100-mile radius of a given point. “From the data we pro- vide, including historical data, forestry
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