About
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About BANR
Infestations of pine and spruce bark beetles have led to widespread tree death in coniferous forests across the Rocky Mountains over the past decade, with ~42 million acres of U.S. forests impacted since 1996. This trend is only likely to intensify with future global climate change. The resulting beetle-killed wood represents a vast bioenergy resource that requires no cultivation, circumvents food-versus-fuel concerns, and may have a highly favorable carbon balance compared other forestry feedstocks. However, beetle-killed biomass is typically located far from urban industrial centers in relatively inaccessible areas with challenging topography, and transportation costs have been a key barrier to more widespread productive utilization of this vast resource. Read More...
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Collaborators
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BANR Funding
USDA-NIFA currently funds 7 bioenergy Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAPs) through Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Grants. A good overview of the program can be found at the website of the National Extension Energy Summit, hosted by Colorado State University Extension. Read More...