| Title: | Colorado Biomass Education Programs |
| Type: |
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| State: | Colorado |
| Program Description: | Colorado Biomass Utilization Education Programs
Background One of the goals of the Biomass Utilization program in Colorado was to increase public awareness through education, training and outreach. Two course curricula were developed and offered to train students and professionals in forest sourced biomass utilization. Graduate Level Biomass Utilization Class In 2006, using a grant from the Department of Energy, funded through the Western Governors' Association, a graduate level class in Biomass Utilization was developed at Colorado State University in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship. The course topics include forest conditions as they relate to biomass production, and evaluation and characterization of biomass resources. Processes involved with utilizing forest biomass are addressed along with potential end uses. Issues relating to small diameter material and underutilized species found in Colorado and the Intermountain West region are included. The objective of the class is to provide skills to future forest managers that can be used to utilize forest biomass generated from treatment work necessary to improve forest health and the ecological condition of Colorado and Intermountain West forests. The class was offered in Fall 2006, and again in Spring of 2008. A short course, called Wood to Energy and Biomass Utilization, was developed out of the graduate level class, and it has been presented at CSU in a two week format in 2007 and 2008. The first week emphasizes forestry and forest management, and the second week emphasizes energy technology applications. The short course is co-sponsored by the Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State Forest Service, CSU's Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Program, United States Forest Service and the Governor's Energy Office. Conferences for Professionals Another education project undertaken in 2005 was developing and presenting biomass utilization conferences throughout the state of Colorado. Biomass utilization conferences were presented in five locations throughout the state in 2006 to raise public awareness of the opportunities presented by burning wood for heat and energy. This education effort was developed as a one day workshop emphasizing the availability of woody biomass and the economic feasibility of its use. Workshops were presented at: Golden, by the Jefferson County Biomass Working Group; in Walsenburg, by the Culebra Biomass Coalition; at Crestonstone, at the San Luis Valley Energy Fair; at Fairplay by the Park County Biomass Group and at Gunnison, at Western State College. These workshops were facilitated by iCAST, International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology and funded by the Department of Energy through the Western Governor's Association. Contact Information For more information on the biomass utilization class, contact Dr. Kurt Mackes by phone at 970-491-4066 or by email at: kurt.mackes@colostate.edu For more information on the one day conferences, contact Ravi Malhotra by phone at 866-590-4377 *801 or by email at: ravim@icastusa.org , see the icast website at www.icastusa.org . |
The Woody Biomass Utilization Database is a project of the Western Governors' Association
designed to increase awareness of the use of biomass resources for economic development and
environmental sustainability. Program objectives highlighted include biomass energy and
heating activities, education programs, and projects and technologies involving biomass
residue resulting from forest health treatments to reduce wildfire hazard risk.