What Drives the Potential Supply of Timber Residues from Private Lands?

Timber residues, a wood production byproduct, are a low cost source of biomass that avoids the environmental and food market consequences of other energy feedstocks. We studied the effect that price, acreage owned, bio-energy attitudes, environmental amenities, and environmental disamenities have on the decision to harvest for non-commercial private forest owners in northern Michigan and Wisconsin. Over 60% of landowners were willing to provide timber residues at timber harvest or stand improvement (tree thinning) at prices starting at just $15 per acre. Important drivers of willingness to supply timber residues include the price offered for timber residue, single-species forest acreage owned, duration on land, and the aversion to environmental disamenities. The propensity to supply timber residues was highest among educated owners of larger scale, single-species forest who made less than $133,000/year.