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North Carolina Chip Mill Assessment Study.
This
study will evaluate the economic and ecological impacts associated with wood chip
production in North Carolina. Fred Cabbage of NC State University and Dan Richter of
Duke University will be responsible for integrating the assessments. Cabbage will be
responsible for leading the economic component and Richter will lead the ecological
aspect of the study. As the study proceeds and reports are written, they will consult with
various interest groups who have a stake in the issues surrounding the study. Scientists
from both universities will help provide documentation. Faculty, in conjunction with
graduate students, will also help develop literature reviews, collect data, and formulate
models. Cabbage and Richter will be responsible for developing a final report that will
have a detailed summary which will be written for the general public. The timeframe for
the study is from May 1998 through March 30, 2000 or approximately 23 months.
Although more funding would be able to expedite the study, most of the funding will rely on
modest salary expenses for scientist's time and for graduate student stipends.
Documentation from the two "teams" will be discussed throughout the assessment study,
and preliminary results will hopefully be available by the end of 1999.
The purpose of the study will be to examine the economic and ecological impacts of wood
chip production in North Carolina. The study is asking basic questions about forest
management, sustainability, and environmental impacts that encompass the entire fields of
forestry, ecology, and economics. There will be an overview of the literature and
knowledge about these topics, in addition to particular questions that have been raised
about chip mills in the state. Many of these concerns, issues, and questions were raised at
DENR's public meetings through citizen involvement. It has been CCRC's intent that it is
critical to involve the public in this process as much as possible, and this has been very
evident from the public comments that DENR and these two universities have received.
Thus, as the assessment is being conducted, public input will be received as progress is
made. DENR study advisers and the public partners will consult in the performance of the
tasks and activities. CCRC has been involved in this process all along, and will help
continue to represent the environmental aspect. CCRC and other environmental groups
have requested that the environmental community have fair and equal representation along
with industry in order to insure that the documentation is fair, accurate, and will be openly
disseminated throughout the next two years.
Internal and external reviews will comprise an important part of the study. Various public
individuals and interest groups will have the opportunity to comment and make suggestions
as the study proceeds. Joint reports will be prepared by both study teams during and after
the study along with consent of cooperating scientists on both "teams." The five segments
of this study will be broken down over a 23 month timeframe. This allows citizens to
become familiar with the data and participate in public meetings to address data,
approaches, models/case studies, methods per comments, expansion of regional and state
impacts, and other issues that will arise over the next two years.
This assessment will be an interdisciplinary team effort that will involve scientists at
several institutions and organizations. This study will provide $250,000 to the Southern
Center for Sustainable Forests, which will provide funds to the two cooperating
universities. The funds will be administered by Fred Cubbage and Dan Richter. Each
institution will receive $125,000 and these two professionals will cooperate to ensure that
adequate funds are available to fund the relevant components of the study as required.
These two institutions will be cooperating throughout the study, and economists and
ecologists from NCSU and Duke along with other organizations, will participate in the
study.
It is certainly CCRC's intent that this study be the beginning of valid documentation that can
then provide the vehicle to affect state policies which will protect the forestlands of North
Carolina. If any readers are interested in more information about Landowner Outreach in
Rutherford County or the North Carolina Chip Mill Assessment Study, contact us.
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