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FUELS FOR SCHOOLS is a program whereby underutilized
small diameter wood is converted to chips and used to heat schools, and other
public buildings. The Fuels for Schools program operates
in the
states of North
Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Nevada with grant monies through USDA-Forest
Service Northern Region. In North Dakota the program is administered through
the North Dakota Forest Service.
This program originated after the extensive devastating forest fires of 2000
that either threatened or destroyed properties in the dry Western States. These
fires were fueled by the hazardous fuel on the forest floors and aging, diseased
trees. Thereafter, the federal government initiated the National Fire Plan,
to minimize future costly disasters by developing programs to:1) remove hazardous
fuel from the forest, 2) promote innovative ideas on how to use the small diameter
wood, 3) promote the reduction of wildland fires to communities and 4) promote
a community-based approach to wildland fire management. This National Fire
Plan was the impetus to establish the Fuels for Schools program as a means
to utilize hazardous fuel that is removed.
Our opportunity is when we look at the utilization of not only wood but using
all of North Dakota’s rich biomass. This is a time when increasing fossil
fuel costs and their threatened shortage, provides us with the need to explore
alternate fuels. Besides harvesting fuels from the wooded areas, we have a
renewable supply from city tree waste, agricultural residue, wood waste (non-painted),
and agricultural industrial waste. There is growing interest in keeping wood
waste out of our landfills and reducing the need for more landfill space. We
are working with the USDA Forest Service and other agencies, to broaden
the range of things used as fuel.
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