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Still Time To Give To
MFA's Annual Fund!
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As you know, MFA relies on contributions to the Annual Fund to help support our critically important advocacy and educational work, as our membership dues cannot fund the full scope of our efforts. We know that this past year has been challenging for everyone. But we're hoping we can still count on you to join with us and lend your support to MFA or our 501(c)(3) affiliate, the Massachusetts Forest Trust (MFT).
While Annual Fund letters were sent at the beginning of last month, we still welcome donations in the months ahead, so it's not too late to give! Thanks to those of you who gave already - you should receive a thank-you in the mail shortly.
If you've misplaced your donation form, would prefer an invoice for your business, or have questions, please contact Chris Egan at cegan@massforestalliance.org or 617-645-1191. Thank you for your support!
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This month's issue of the Forest Update is brought to you by:
North Country Procurement (NCP) provides wood fuel procurement services to large industrial and commercial customers, working with hundreds of suppliers to purchase more than 1 million tons of wood annually.
Thanks to NCP for their generous support!
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The recent COVID-19 relief bill, which was passed into law before the New Year, contains two items of particular interest to our members.
 First, the Logger Relief Package, which we previously asked you to contact your legislators to support, was incorporated into the bill! This package designates $200 million for loggers and log trucking companies who lost 10% or more revenue from January 1 - December 1, 2020 compared to the previous year. The USDA will be responsible for setting up an application process and distributing the money, which will take a little time - so keep an eye out. But this is very good news for loggers and truckers impacted by the pandemic, and we were proud to work with the American Loggers Council on this effort. Read more about the Relief Package here.
Second, the residential portion of the Biomass Thermal Utilization (BTU) Act was included in the bill along with other tax extenders. This legislation gives some residential wood heat equipment the same investment tax credit - currently 26% - that other renewable energy investments such as wind or solar receive. This tax credit would apply to new pellet boilers and pellet or cordwood stoves that are 75% or more efficient. The Alliance for Green Heat has a useful in-depth article (focused on stoves) here.
Thanks to all of you who contacted your legislators when we asked - your hard work made a difference!
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State Releases Climate Change Documents
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 The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) released the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap and the draft Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP) for 2030 on December 30. These documents lay out the state's strategy for reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the nearer-term target of 45% below 1990 carbon emissions by 2030. The plans laid out are ambitious and include banning the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, converting 1 million households to air- or ground-source heat pumps by 2030, reducing miles driven by commuters 15% by 2030, and much more.
The Roadmap recognizes that there is not enough forestland in Massachusetts to offset all the needed carbon emissions, which will likely lead Massachusetts to purchase carbon credits from forest landowners elsewhere in New England, such as Maine. It affirms that careful forest management can lead to increased carbon sequestration from new growth. It also notes that by removing diseased or dying trees and creating a more diverse mix of tree species and ages, a landowner can see a more resilient forest that can better sequester carbon and resist carbon losses from fire, disease or other causes. The Roadmap also recognizes that modern wood heat (and even biomass power) can aid in decarbonization by displacing fossil fuels.
The CECP has a section on the use of mass timber technology in new buildings, citing the carbon savings compared to building with concrete and steel. There is a call to further commercialize Dr. Peggi Clouston's research at UMass Amherst showing that cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels can be made from local tree species, including incentivizing the local manufacture of CLT panels and their use in buildings.
The CECP endorses a forthcoming landowner program overseen by DCR and various groups that will incentivize forest landowners to take carbon-friendly forest management actions, potentially similar to the Family Forest Carbon Program from The Nature Conservancy and the American Forest Foundation. It also calls for more research into forest carbon sequestration, including research into how short-term strategies today will affect forest carbon in the future well beyond 2050.
In terms of modern wood heat, the CECP calls for the creation of a Commission on Clean Heat to examine the APS program. We believe the science is robustly in support of modern wood heat, and will work to ensure this commission understands precisely what wood is being used for this program and the decarbonization benefits.
EEA will be holding a webinar on the Roadmap this Friday, January 15 from noon - 1:30 pm. You must register for the webinar by clicking here, and you can also submit questions in advance by using this form.
EEA is now accepting comments on the draft CECP, and you can submit your written comments using this form. EEA will hold two webinars on the CECP. The first will be Thursday, January 28 from 9:30 - 11:00 am (click here to register) and the second on Saturday, February 6 from 10:30 am - noon (click here to register). We encourage MFA members to submit comments on the CECP, as they will likely be overwhelmed with comments from those opposed to forest management. Comments are due by February 22.
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W.D. Cowls Conserves Forestland
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 Nine years ago, MFA member W.D. Cowls, under the leadership of Cinda Jones and her brother Evan, permanently conserved the largest contiguous block of privately-owned forestland in Massachusetts history in the nearly 3,500-acre Paul C. Jones Working Forest. Late last month, they expanded on this effort by permanently conserving more than 2,000 additional nearby acres in the Walter Cowls Jones Working Forest, in Shutesbury, Pelham, and Leverett.
The conservation restriction on the property will be held by MassWildlife, and funding came from the US Forest Service's Forest Legacy program (funded through the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund), from MassWildlife, and from private donations secured by Kestrel Land Trust. Like the Paul C, Jones Working Forest, the Walter Cowls Jones Working Forest will continue to be sustainably managed to produce forest products and will be open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor recreation. Click here to learn more.
The Cowls family has been sustainably producing forest products for an incredible 280 years - truly remarkable longevity. With the sale of this restriction, they further secure their tremendous legacy. Congratulations to Cinda and Evan Jones on this mammoth conservation effort!
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Massachusetts Climate Bill Passes
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In legislative news, the state legislature passed the climate change bill after it remained in conference committee for some time. One of the more contentious sections was a line item making it easier for municipal light plants (town-owned power companies) to purchase biomass power. The final bill contains a five-year moratorium on municipal light plants signing power purchase agreements with the proposed Springfield biomass power plant, and calls for additional research into biomass power.
The bill comes as the Department of Energy Resources released new Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) regulations in December. There were a number of changes from the initial revisions, which were released in 2019. The new regulations continue to waive efficiency requirements for biomass power plants that use 95% or more non-forest derived residues, such as wood from tree service companies, utility line-clearing work, cutbacks along roadways, and municipal removal of street trees and trees in parks. Forest-derived wood, including forest-derived thinnings, forest-derived residues, and forest salvage, still requires the 60% efficiency requirement, which means no utility-scale biomass power plants can be built that use more than 5% forest-derived fuel. The initial regulations allowed forest salvage wood (which landowners typically need a grant to remove, since it has no value) to be used as well as non-forest-derived wood, but that was changed in the recent revision.
The proposed $150 million Springfield plant cannot use ANY forest-derived wood under its permits - not even the 5% permitted in the regulations. As a result, it would be of little help to landowners looking for increasingly scarce markets for their low-grade wood. Without such markets, it's difficult for landowners to engage in sustainable forest management that improves the long-term resilience of their forest.
It remains unclear whether the Springfield plant will be built.
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Jay Pulp Mill Will Not Be Rebuilt
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 Pixelle Specialty Solutions, the paper company that owns the paper and pulp mill in Jay, Maine, announced that they would not rebuild the pulp digester that was destroyed in a massive explosion last April. The explosion was captured on the dashboard camera of a log truck (warning - large amounts of profanity!).
Pixelle announced that they would continue to manufacture paper at the mill using pulp sourced from elsewhere, but laid off half their workforce. The Professional Logging Contractors in Maine noted that the pulp mill purchased 23% of all the pulpwood in the state, so its loss is a major blow. Some Massachusetts wood was trucked to the mill, so it has had an effect on low-grade wood markets here as well.
Read more here.
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New Tree Farm Standards
Go Into Effect This Year
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 Every five years the American Forest Foundation has an independent panel review the current Standards for Sustainability for the American Tree Farm System and make recommendations for modification or improvement of the standards based on feedback collected during two public comment periods. The independent panel reviewed the 2015-2020 Tree Farm standards during 2020 and the AFF Board of Trustees approved the revised standards for use in 2021 – 2026 on November 11th, 2020.
The new Tree Farm standards begin to go into effect this month, but complete implementation won’t be effective until foresters are trained in the revised standards this spring and a new certification form is released.
The new standards require Tree Farmers to keep records of any pesticides used in managing their land. The revisions also allow for Christmas tree plantings or orchards to be included in Tree Farms provided they are part of the property’s overall management plan.
Most of the revisions in the new standards are to provide additional guidance to Tree Farmers about different aspects of managing their woodland. They clarify how planting or replanting woodlands meets the standard’s requirements, and that native or naturalized species can be used to do so. They also clarify what sources might be used to determine the presence of threatened or endangered species and to determine if special sites exist on a Tree Farm that should be protected. They also encourage Tree Farmers to take part in educational opportunities to learn more about different ways to care for their woods.
AFF expects to begin training foresters in applying the revised standards with the new certification form in late February or March allowing them to be fully implemented after March 15th. Current Tree Farm inspectors can certify or recertify Tree Farms with the old forms prior to March 15th.
The revised 2021- 2026 standards and guidance are available on the ATFS website at https://www.treefarmsystem.org/view-standards.
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Tune In For NEFF's Local Wood Webinars
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 Our friends at the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) are teaming up with the Massachusetts Woodland Institute and Northern Woodlands magazine to host three webinars focused on local wood issues over the next three months. Called Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live, the series focuses on three different aspects of local wood products.
The first webinar is Tree To Table on January 20 from 2 - 3:30 pm. Students at MassArt built a custom, multi-piece conference table for NEFF using local wood that was sustainably harvested. Besides exploring the fine craft of woodworking, the webinar will examine the climate change benefits from building with local wood.
The second webinar is Woods to Home on February 24 from 2 - 3:30 pm. This webinar explores building a timber-framed house from local wood and the associated benefits to the climate and the forests.
Finally, the Forest to Cities webinar on March 17 from 2 - 3:30 pm will discuss NEFF's Forest to Cities Challenge, which focuses on the carbon benefits of building using mass timber technology such as cross-laminated timber (CLT). Dr. Peggi Clouston from UMass Amherst will discuss her research into using local tree species for CLT panels. The webinar will discuss the substantial research supporting the use of timber in place of concrete and steel as a climate change mitigation strategy.
The webinars are free, but registration is required. For more information and registration links to the webinars, click here.
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Minimum Wage/Family Leave Changes
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There are changes to both the minimum wage and family leave in 2021 in Massachusetts. As part of its gradual increase to $15 in 2023, the Massachusetts minimum wage is $13.50/hour as of January 1. To learn more and read about tipped wages and exceptions, click here.
 Massachusetts established Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) in 2019. That October, taxes for the program began to be deducted from employers and employees, but the actual leave did not take effect until this year, in order to allow funds to build up in the program. It functions in a similar way to unemployment - you apply for the particular type of leave and receive a portion of your salary under a set formula.
The program offers different types of leave. You can take up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave to deal with your own serious health condition. You can also take up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to bond with a newborn child, up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to manage family affairs when a family member is on active duty overseas, and up to 26 weeks of paid leave to care for a family member who is active member of the military and was injured, became ill, or aggravated an existing health condition while on duty overseas. All these types of paid leave are currently available - you've already paid into the system to earn them.
An additional type of paid family leave - up to 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition - will take effect on July 1.
This is complicated, with many conditions and qualifying standards, so visit the state PFML website to learn more.
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Artificial Intelligence Comes To Sawmills
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 Northern Logger has a new article and podcast focused on artificial intelligence in sawmills. New software uses AI to team with scanning equipment to grade and sort logs and works to maximize yield from each log, creating the highest-quality and most valuable lumber products.
Estimates are that this AI software can increase sawmill efficiency by 10-20%. In what is a very tight margin business, that's a big deal. You can read the article by clicking here. Then, tune in to the Northern Logger podcast here to learn more. Make sure to check out all the previous episodes of this excellent podcast.
A reminder that MFA members can receive discounted subscriptions to Northern Logger as part of their membership.
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 Stand Up For Forests is a new advocacy campaign from the North East Forest Network, which consists of land trusts and other environmental organizations in New England. The campaign seeks to inform and educate the public about protecting forests from development and managing them well.
 There will be four main components to the program - healthy people, livable climate, strong economies, and clean air and water. Each will have a toolkit with fact sheets, infographics, social media messaging, email templates, images, and more. These are free to download. The Healthy People toolkit is now available, and the others will be coming soon.
To learn more and download the toolkit, visit standupforforests.org.
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