Minnesota’s statewide forest resources: Strategies for integrating management with new economic development opportunities

With recent large declines in Minnesota's timber markets, new forest-based economic development opportunities are of great interest. An integrated statewide systems approach is desired to help better understand opportunities to fit new wood-using technologies with existing forest industry and forest conditions across all Minnesota forest ownerships. Minnesotan's want a vibrant forest economy and a healthy, sustainable resilient forest, adaptable to climate change.Forests and lakes dominate the northern Minnesota landscape with much of the forest in public ownership. Minnesota state government agencies manage more forest land than any state other than Alaska. Minnesota takes great pride in its natural resources and wants to manage them effectively for a wide range of objectives.Technology associated with biofuels is developing rapidly. Worldwide, forest industry is striving to integrate biofuels production with production of traditional forest products. New wood-based cellulosic ethanol technologies could increase the demand for wood substantially. It is imperative to understand ways of effectively integrating biofuels production with existing forest industry, while also mitigating potential impacts on the environment.This project emphasizes analyses of a range of detailed site-specific, scenarios describing plausible forest-based economic development opportunities in Minnesota. It will engage forestry leaders, economic development groups, and a major public land ownership to help define, analyze and compare scenarios describing plausible new opportunities. Minnesota has a well-developed network of forestry leaders connected through the Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MFRC). The MFRC is instrumental in its help to lead forest management in Minnesota, from broad statewide forest policy to specific forest management guidelines. Emphasis will be on engaging the MFRC, developing analyses to help add insight on forest management and policies related to forest-based economic development and forest productivity. Intent is to provide key information to all interested parties.The project fits well with the current McIntire-Stennis Strategic Plan, emphasizing integrating emerging knowledge. New technologies for cellulosic energy have the potential to change the timber resource situation substantially worldwide. Emphasis is on detailed decision-support systems that can address interactions involving multiple products and multiple market locations in Minnesota. Timely statewide analyses will be linked to detailed site-specific conditions so that statewide impacts can be recognized directly in site-specific analyses for individual ownerships. Currently, large public ownerships struggle to understand how to integrate their forest plan activities with statewide objectives and concerns. A systems approach is especially important for better understanding environmental management issues and potential policies that involve broad landscapes and a mosaic of ownerships.