Three California counties have launched a pair of free online tools designed to connect private landowners with qualified forestry professionals, supporting wildfire risk reduction and improving the regional woody biomass supply chain.
Placer, Nevada, and El Dorado counties have been working together under the California Forest Residual Aggregation Market Enhancement (Cal FRAME) initiative, which aims to address barriers to biomass removal across the state.
The counties have engaged with water districts, cities, fire safe councils, tribes, utilities and NGOs to develop coordinated solutions to biomass removal challenges in the tri-county region.
The two tools — the California Working Forest Planner (WFP) and the California Forest Industry Directory (FID) — are available to Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs) and landowners seeking to reduce wildfire risk and improve woody biomass utilisation on their properties.
The Working Forest Planner bridges the gap between early landowner interest and professional forestry planning by guiding landowners through a basic property and goal assessment before connecting them with local RPFs.
The Forest Industry Directory is a searchable online map of service providers across the forest sector, including contractors, small mills and haulers operating throughout California — described by its developers as a forest-specific equivalent of Google Maps.
Both tools form part of a wider Digital Marketplace platform developed for Cal FRAME by the State Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the Watershed Research and Training Center.
Placer County was selected to pilot the Digital Marketplace on the basis of its wildfire mitigation activity, biomass utilisation interest and leadership in forest health planning.
Lessons from the pilot will inform future improvements and potential expansion to other regions of California.
The broader Cal FRAME framework also positions the three-county region for joint marketing of its Biofuel Development Opportunity Zone ratings to attract bioeconomy investment, coordinated pursuit of funding opportunities and promotion of biomass utilisation infrastructure to stabilise markets and support compliance with SB 1282, which requires a reduction in organic waste sent to landfill.
California counties launch digital tools to boost biomass utilisation
