Larimer County presents woody-biomass study; proposes satellite yards and processing network to scale wildfire mitigation

Larimer County officials on Jan. 22 presented preliminary results from a Woody Biomass Study and Strategy Project and outlined a conceptual Biomass Processing Network intended to increase the pace and scale of wildfire mitigation and forest-health treatments.

The project team, led by Josh Roberts, mitigation coordinator with the county Office of Emergency Management, told the Board of County Commissioners the study combines remote-sensing estimates with land-manager treatment data to produce a planning dashboard and a range of estimates for removable woody biomass across the county.

Why it matters: county staff said the current barrier to expanding forest treatments is what happens to the residual woody material ("slash") after thinning and other mitigation work. The study team described a supply-chain approach — satellite yards for local aggregation and downstream biomass processing sites — intended to reduce haul costs, aggregate feedstock and increase opportunities for utilization such as compost, biochar, heat, mass timber and other markets.

"One of the challenges to that pace and scale increase is the biomass that's generated from those treatments," said Josh Roberts. "A lot of times, we end up piling them on the landscape." Roberts said the team did not find a single "silver bullet" but instead identified themes and a suite of solutions that would need to be enabled together.

The study team, including Cambium Carbon consultants Alicia Blake and Marissa Repka and Larimer County Solid Waste Director Dwayne Penny, described the methods used to bound the problem. "We used a top-down approach through remote sensing and GIS with a bottom-up approach of how land managers are doing treatments," Blake said, adding that the analysis is a snapshot based on existing data layers.

Their estimates produced a range of removable biomass for planning scenarios. The team reported a range of 1.3 million to 7.0 million bone-dry tons of treatable woody biomass in Larimer County under different scenarios, with the scenario most representative of current conditions at about 2.6 million bone-dry tons. Roberts cautioned the figure reflects assumptions about accessibility, slope, distance to roads and the portion of material land managers would remove.

Current annual removal and management across public and community programs was described as roughly 100,000 bone-dry tons per year. Roberts and other staff said the limiting factor for increasing removed biomass is partner capacity to treat and haul material, not simply how much exists on the landscape.

The Biomass Processing Network concept presented has two primary nodes: smaller-scale satellite yards located near treatment areas for aggregation, sorting and initial processing (chipping/grinding) and larger downstream biomass processing sites closer to utilization markets. "Satellite yards are transfer sites — material in, material out — to reduce hauling of air and make feedstock more attractive to investors," Roberts said.

Dwayne Penny said Larimer County's solid-waste plans and new landfill project create an opportunity to site processing capacity and capture cost savings. "There are different systems and technologies — gasification, biochar, composting — and solid waste is already heading in this direction," Penny said.

Board members asked about funding, partnerships and climate impacts. Commissioner Kefalas asked whether the team considered the economic value of avoided catastrophic wildfire when evaluating profitability; Roberts said those co-benefits are part of the evaluation framework. Commissioner Kvallis asked about the county's advocacy role and funding sources; staff cited federal and state grant programs (including U.S. Forest Service and DOLA-supported planning funds) and said a mix of grants, fees and partnerships would likely be needed.

Staff described engagement with advisory partners — foresters, economic-development specialists, fire managers and others — and a recent solutions workshop the team said drew strong participation. The project received partial funding through an Energy and Mineral Impact planning grant administered by Colorado's Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the team said, and the county provided matching funds.

No formal board action or vote occurred at the work session. Staff said the study is not finished and that they expect another month or two of work to complete the evaluation of utilization options and the business-case elements that would support next-step project development and funding requests.

"This is data-driven information," Larimer County Manager Lorenda Volker said. "It is not a silver bullet. It will require partnership, funding and potentially rule or land-use changes as the county and partners consider next steps."