AB 706 is about forest management, not energy policy
OPINION
By: Matt Dias, President and CEO
OPINION — Shaye Wolf opens her recent Capitol Weekly op-ed by comparing biomass to junk food. So, borrowing from another famous food advertisement, I have a simple question: Where’s the beef?
The problem with Wolf’s argument is that it focuses on energy, but largely ignores any real consideration of forest health and resiliency. Assembly Bill 706 is not an energy policy bill masquerading as forest policy. It is a forest management bill addressing a very practical question: After all the private and public investment in wildfire prevention and wildfire recovery, what do we do with millions of tons of forest derived low-value woody residue that litters forests across California?
Federal, state, private and tribal forestland managers, working collectively, have committed to treating one million acres annually, producing enormous volumes of brush, small trees, branches, tops and dead material that often have little or no conventional commercial value.
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