Forestry Workforce Training and Development
The ERI is working to provide continuing education for forestry professionals, such as state-of-the-art knowledge on new bioeconomy opportunities and business practices, including forest operations and logistics. The training program would provide much-needed forest operations workforce training, offering forest operations short courses to provide up-to-date information for forest practitioners. In collaboration with major equipment manufacturing companies, a training center would also offer a place to test and demonstrate new mechanized tools as well as implement forest operations and ecological research.
Forest Operations Training Program Development Project
With funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the ERI Forest Operations and Biomass Utilization program has been working to develop a Forest Operations Training Program (FOTP) in northern Arizona to provide career development opportunities that will expand Coconino County’s manufacturing base. To learn more about this project, read the project’s final technical report here.
A spreadsheet-based model called FOTP Analysis was developed to aid in the pre-feasibility and financial feasibility analysis of a forest operations training program (FOTP). This report was developed to aid in the use of the model, and the model is available for free.
Google Sheets FOTP model template
For a guide on how to use the model, please click here.
Modeling Financial Feasibility in a
Forest Operations Training Program
Modeling Financial Feasibility in a
Forest Operations Training Program
Working Paper: Opportunities for Application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Restoration of Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau
Despite being substantially altered by climate change and human activities, the culturally and ecologically vital pinyon-juniper ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau can be successfully restored through management actions that both recover ecological function and actively engage local Indigenous and traditional communities.
FireBox and CharBoss: An Alternative to Open Burning of Woody Biomass
The traditional practice of openly burning woody biomass (a common byproduct of southwestern US forest restoration) degrades soil and compromises air quality, driving researchers to evaluate alternative air curtain burners like the FireBox and CharBoss® for their efficiency in cleanly disposing of biomass and producing soil-restoring biochar.
Positive drought feedbacks increase tree mortality risk in dry woodlands of the US Southwest
Recurrent droughts in the US Southwest have severely compromised the natural resilience of pinyon–juniper woodlands, triggering widespread mortality and crown dieback between 1998 and 2023 that ultimately heightened the future mortality risk of surviving trees by 28.2%.