The UP RC&D Council's BURN-UP Project, whose purpose is to stimulate the development of a sustainable woody biomass industry in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has received the Two Chiefs’ Award from the USDA Forest Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Two Chiefs’ Partnership Awards recognize outstanding partnerships in forest conservation work among Conservation Districts, State Foresters, the Forest Service, and NRCS.

Garry Lee, NRCS State Conservationist, and Don Howlett, Partnership Coordinator for the Hiawatha National Forest, presented plaques to the eighteen partners in Project BURN-UP (Biomass Utilization and Restoration Network for the Upper Peninsula) on April 17. The presentation was in conjunction with Project BURN-UP’s quarterly Steering Committee meeting at Upfront & Company in Marquette.

Partners in Project BURN-UP include: Natural Resources Conservation Service; U.S. Forest Service - Hiawatha National Forest; Marquette County Conservation District; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Michigan State University Extension; The Forestland Group, LLC; USFWS - Seney National Wildlife Refuge; Marvin Nelson Forest Products, Inc.; North Dickinson County School District; Michigan Technological University - School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; The Nature Conservancy; Suchovsky Logging, LLC; Marquette County; Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises, Inc.; D & S Forestry Services Co.; Big Creek Forestry; and Public Schools of Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw. The lead sponsoring organization is the Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council (UP RC&D).

The overall purpose of the BURN-UP Project is to stimulate the development of a sustainable woody biomass industry in Michigan's Upper Peninsula via a dual approach. One approach is by promoting increased use of wood as a fuel for a wide variety of applications because of its many economic and environmental advantages over non-renewable fossil fuels. The other approach is by providing information about the environmental risks of excessive or poorly located biomass harvesting.

Project BURN-UP has funded completion of six pre-feasibility studies for school districts interested in possibly converting to biomass-fueled boilers, and will soon be undertaking second phase feasibility studies in some of those districts. Efforts are also underway to identify clusters of buildings that may be interested in combining forces to use woody biomass as a source of heating and/or power generation.

Two field demonstrations of biomass harvesting equipment and techniques were held in September 2008, and two more demonstrations are scheduled for September 15 and 16, 2009. Project BURN-UP maintains a website, www.upwoodybiomass.org, which serves as a source of information regarding biomass as well as activities occurring in the Upper Peninsula and elsewhere. Information on this fall’s biomass harvesting demonstrations and future educational opportunities will be posted on the website as it becomes available. The website also includes a biomass exchange where producers and users of woody biomass can post information.

For further information contact: Darcy Rutkowski, UP RC&D, at 906.226.7487, extension 101, or click on the link to the BURN-UP website on this page.