|
NAFO supports BCAP if done right |
|
The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) delivered a
letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supporting the
purposes of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).
NAFO pledged to
work with the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure that BCAP is
implemented effectively and in accordance with its intended purposes to
help meet the nation's renewable energy and climate change objectives
while also sustaining private forests on rural landscapes.
David P.
Tenny, President and CEO of NAFO, said, "We strongly support the BCAP
as a means of providing carbon neutral energy from renewable forest
biomass as part of our contribution to cleaner energy and a better
climate. If administered properly, BCAP can help provide these
important benefits, while developing vital new markets that give forest
owners the financial means to maintain their forests in a working
condition for the long term."
The NAFO letter to USDA emphasized that the BCAP program should be administered in a way that:
• Recognizes that new markets for energy from forest biomass help sustain working forests as forests.
• Fosters a level playing field for all potential sources of biomass energy.
• Does not arbitrarily limit or otherwise allocate the use of renewable forest biomass in the marketplace.
• Is fiscally responsible.
Tenny
explained that, "As an emerging market, energy from renewable forest
biomass can add that extra revenue stream that helps maintain the
economic viability of private forests and preserves the many
environmental and social benefits they provide in rural America. The
resulting investment by forest owners makes forests more productive and
the raw materials they pr oduce more plentiful for all end users. That
is good for the environment, for forest owners and for the economy.
"If
done right, BCAP can provide the incentives to create a new,
sustainable marketplace for renewable forest biomass, capturing the
full benefit of this renewable, carbon neutral energy source."
www.nafoalliance.org/economic-impact-report
|
