Oregons Forest Cluster Economic Initiatives

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Oregons Forest Cluster Economic Initiatives
Presented by
Allyn Ford
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Why a Cluster Approach?
A cluster approach enables a business sector to
enhance its competitive advantages and
contributions to Oregons economy through its
linkages to customers, suppliers and other
interconnected economic activities.
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Basis for Initiative Recommendations

• Final recommendations for five forest cluster
• economic initiatives will be based on
• Input from forest sector leaders and partners
• Findings and recommendations of OFRIs
• assessment of Oregons forest cluster
• Feedback from October 17 workshop

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2006 Priorities

• Forest Health/Woody Biomass Energy
• Wood Innovation Use
• Federal Lands
• Forestry Research
• State Lands

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Forest Health Woody Biomass Energy

• Use woody biomass for electric energy,
  bio-fuels and bio-products
• Full recognition for woody biomass in
  Renewable Energy Action Plans
• Purchase of biomass energy
• at market rates
• Federal legislation to
• ensure wood supply

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Wood Innovation and Use

• Improve market opportunities for wood products
• Fully fund Wood Innovation Center
• Educate public on environmental
  advantages of wood as a building
  material
• Explore recognition of OFPA
  by SFI, FSC, etc.
• Promote recognition of Oregon-certified
  wood in green building standards
  (LEEDS, Green
  Building Initiative)
• Help connect Oregon forest
  landowners with
  markets and new technologies

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Federal Lands

• Promote unified Oregon vision
  for management of federal
  forestlands consistent with FPFO
• Identify address issues through BofF
• Promote active fuels management and
  post-fire reforestation
• Fully fund Healthy Forest Restoration Act
• Advocate land exchanges to achieve vision

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Forestry Research

• Fund research to enhance
  competitiveness, forest
  productivity
  cost-effective regulations
• Fund OSU paired watersheds research (Hinkle Creek
  others) to demonstrate modern forest practices
  are achieving environmental results
• Increase funding for OSU research in forest
  productivity (e.g., planted forest productivity,
  value enhancement programs, etc.)

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Forestry Research (continued)

• Investigate regulatory and
  economic tipping points
  leading to conversion to
  non-forest use
• Include forest products processes in ONAMI
  nanotechnology research
• Fund OSU Wood Science and Engineering research
  in nanotechnology

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State Lands

• Address concerns of counties, legislature
• and forest cluster regarding unnecessary
• restrictions on state harvest levels
• Short Term Advocate annual ODF Operations Plans
  to sustain or increase harvest volumes
• Long Term Advocate for BofF to complete Harvest
  and Habitat modeling and review current policies,
  strategies and practices for consistency with
  legal obligations created when lands transferred
  to state

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Oregon Business Plan Core Initiatives

• The forest cluster also supports these
  proposed core initiatives (i.e., affecting all
  business sectors) of the 2006 OBP
• Energy
• Finding solutions to the states need for clean,
  affordable energy
• Workforce
• Promoting development of skilled, drug-free
  workers

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Where do we go from here?

• Submit forest cluster initiatives to OBP
• Call to action for forest cluster
• Develop implementation plans for each
  initiative
• Identify commitment and accountability of
  the cluster partners for the initiatives