Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group Conference
Prologue

There is increasing interest in short rotation woody crops (SRWC), growing trees under intensive management as an agricultural crop. SRWC can provide high volumes of wood for fiber and/or energy in a relative short time period. Well managed plantations are an environmentally acceptable and potentially economically efficient method of producing wood. Such plantations can help meet the increased demand for hardwood fiber, reduce harvesting of natural forests, improve local rural economic development and ensure sustainable future wood supplies.

Even with a long history in developing genetically superior clones of woody crops and successfully developing intensive-managed plantations across the U.S. and around the world, there is still a need to increase efficiency and improve the management of these plantations. An area that would provide great benefits from substantial enhancements is the entire scope of SRWC operations. The successful commercialization of SRWC depends on a diversity of economical and environmentally- acceptable practices and machines. Since there was no formal organization addressing these needs and much interest, a grass-roots effort was initiated by several interested parties to develop a mechanism for bringing people together to improve operations in SRWC plantations. This effort is being called the SRWC Operations Working Group and is the group that sponsored this conference.

In a mutually beneficial and collaborative fashion, the USDA Forest Service, DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) established the SRWC Operations Working Group (SRWC-OWG) to consider the efficient development of practices and equipment to culture, harvest and handle large-scale woody biomass plantations. These organizers established an initial steering committee in 1995 that represented a cross-section of potential interested parties. This committee developed a proposed charter and planned this conference. At the 1996 conference, the Working Group was formally established and a SRWC-OWG Steering Committee was formed to finalize the charter and manage the general business of the Working Group. The final charter, current Steering Committee members, and business meeting information is enclosed in the Appendices. The Steering Committee members as well as specific functions of the Working Group will be re-assessed at annual meetings of the Working Group. The SRWC-OWG is opened to all interested persons and has no restrictions on membership.

The mission of the Working Group is to promote collaborative efforts in developing needed operations for SRWC plantations that comply with the principles of economic viability, ecological soundness, and social acceptance. This goal will be met primarily by improving communication and sharing of information among interested parties, and by sponsoring conference and workshops. As a working group, there will not be a formal infrastructure to provide membership services. Success of the Working Group will depend on each member and supporting organization contributing time and effort in fulfilling the group’s goals.

The First Conference of the Short-Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group was a true success in terms of attendance, participation, support, and in terms of technical sessions and tour content. Hopefully, this precedent-setting meeting will continue into the future and become a fine tradition of offering the best and latest information concerning operating in SRWC plantations.

Many people and organizations were responsible for making this conference successful. Foremost, we must thank all of the speakers for their informative presentations and papers. We appreciate the fine job by the able moderators for the sessions. A special recognition goes to the sponsoring organizations and those who worked so hard to have a great conference, especially Lynn Wright, Bob Perlack, Kathy Ballew, and Wilma McNabb of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Tim McDonald and Janice Jordan of the Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service. We certainly appreciate the International Energy Agency, Short Rotation Forestry Activity, for supporting the printing and distribution of the proceedings, and to Netafim, CH2M-Hill, and Morbark Industries who provided funding support for the conference. Most of all, we want to express our greatest appreciation to Westvaco Corporation, especially Jim Baer, for co-sponsoring the conference and for providing a most excellent tour.

I want to personally express my appreciation to Lynn Wright, Bob Perlack, and Tim McDonald, who have shouldered the load of turning ideas into reality, and to all the members of the original and current Steering Committees for their support and efforts from the inception of the Working Group, through this conference, and beyond. Lastly, but most importantly, I want to thank each of you for your interest and support of working together to advance operations for short-rotation woody crops.

Finally, if you are not currently a member of SRWC-OWG, please see our homepage for more information. The SRWC-OWG Homepage is http://www.esd.ornl.gov/bfdp/srwcwgrp/index.html

Bryce J. Stokes, Proceedings Compiler and Chair, SWRC-OWG

File posted on February 7, 1996; Date Modified: February 21, 1999