Training
Natural resource agencies are being called upon to provide solutions to increasingly complex challenges at the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Communities are growing rapidly, landowners’ management goals often conflict, residents may not understand the benefits of resource management, and the resulting risks to environmental quality and human quality of life are becoming more apparent. To help meet these needs, the Southern Group of State Foresters led a partnership with the USDA Forest Service, InterfaceSouth, the University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop this WUI professional development program. This program provides state and federal natural resource agencies with a set of flexible resources to conduct their own training programs, aimed toward building skills and tools to successfully tackle WUI issues.
This project aims to increase community understanding and discussion about the possibility of using wood for energy in the South. We are generating outreach materials for Biomass Ambassadors to use in communities across the region. The materials are currently in draft form and we are seeking input and suggestions for improving them.
Population growth in forested areas across the South could generate potential interest and a ready supply of woody biomass for energy. People often have a variety of question about using wood for energy, many of which are answered in our Fact Sheets. It often helps to see how others are using wood; our Case Studies illustrate 14 examples of utilities, industries, and facilities that use wood for energy. A number of communities in the South have a reasonable potential to sustainably harvest enough wood to power a municipal building, hospital, industry, or several thousand homes.
