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One of the key elements in the Pinchot Institute’s work on sustainable wood bioenergy development is an examination of the adequacy of existing environmental safeguards to address the added challenges of large-scale, highly-intensive harvesting of wood for energy. The Pinchot Institute is working with a number of diverse stakeholders on a state level to explore the ability of biomass harvesting standards and management frameworks to maintain forest conservation values and ecosystem services during energy wood harvests.  Forest type, forest economics, conservation objectives, and biomass availability all vary by regions and states.  Biomass harvesting guidelines themselves will reflect these ecological, economic, and societal differences, and thus can be expected to vary significantly from region to region, and state to state.

The Institute is working with state forestry agencies and the USDA Forest Service to develop these biomass harvesting standards customized to the needs and objectives of individual states and avoid potential impacts to soil, water, wildlife, biodiversity and ensure that forest regeneration that may occur with increased biomass removal. This effort will be linked to broader regional and national efforts by government agencies and by NGOs to develop more general sustainable biomass harvesting frameworks. The Institute also continues to explore the integration of biomass harvesting standards in forest certification programs and is interested in developing procurement guidelines for wood-based energy enterprises.

Currently, the Pinchot Institute is working with many partners within the states of Maryland and Massachusetts, such as the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the University of Maryland Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-ecology, to develop state biomass harvesting guidelines.

Sustainable Wood Bioenergy in Maryland
There is significant potential for bioenergy markets to emerge in the Mid-Atlantic region. While the nature and scale of future markets remains largely unknown, the Pinchot Institute is working  to ensure forest biomass harvests are done in a sustainable manner. While best management practices (BMPs) protect Maryland’s waterways, and landowner education and outreach efforts provides valuable services to landowners, there remains an information gap and an absence of formal management practices to ensure that the numerous ecosystem services provided by Maryland's forests will be maintained. This project will characterize the likely scale and nature of emerging markets for woody biomass and develop a set of state biomass harvesting guidelines. 

Sustainable Wood Bioenergy in Massachusetts
Through an integrated approach to forest and carbon policy, the Pinchot Institute is working with a team of experts to evaluate the sustainability of various forest biomass harvesting regimes and bioenergy systems within the specific context of Massachusetts. A main objective of this project is to determine how Massachusetts’ forest and energy policies may better support the sustainable management of Massachusetts’ forests and deliver the optimal reductions in carbon emissions.