LaMalfa announces Wood Innovation Grant recipients
Congressman LaMalfa announced four awards to Wood Innovation Grant recipients in his district. Wood Innovation Grants are administered through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and focus on areas including mass timber, renewable wood energy, and technological development that supports fuel reduction and forest management.
The Collins Pine Company in Chester was awarded $250,000 for sawmill upgrades to produce higher-value lumber from fire salvaged logs.
Mount Lassen Power, Inc. in Westwood was awarded $250,000 for their Mount Lassen Power Wood Energy Expansion – Biomass Power Plant Restart Project.
Yosemite Clean Energy, LLC was awarded $250,000 to be used to support development of a wood waste to biofuel gasification plant in Oroville.
J&C Enterprises was awarded $218,500 to assist their small-scale sawmill operation with wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts in and around Crescent Mills.
“These innovative operations provide aggressive forest management and fuel reduction across Northern California, reducing risks of fires, creating renewable energy, and providing local opportunities for advanced-technological jobs,” LaMalfa said. “Another added bonus is the removal of burned, dead trees kicks off the regrowth and restoration processes for our forests, helping them to return to health. These awards are a win-win-win.
“I’m pleased to announce these much-deserved awards to the Collins Pine Company, J&C Enterprises, Yosemite Clean Energy, and Mount Lassen Power Inc. Congratulations to them all, and I look forward to seeing the great opportunities this funding will provide in recovery from so much fire devastation for the residents of Northern California.
“We are excited about this grant from the USDA, which will enable us to make key upgrades to the sawmilling capacity at our Chester operation,” said Galen Smith, Strategic Planning Director of Collins Pine Company. “The Chester sawmill is an essential part of the local economy and of forest rehabilitation efforts in the region. Improving throughput and quality recovery is vital to the restoration effort from the Dixie Fire, as well as the ongoing success of the mill. We are grateful to the USDA for their selection of this project, and to Congressman LaMalfa, former CalFire Chief Ken Pimlott, and the Lassen National Forest for their key support of our efforts.”
“We are thrilled to be awarded the Wood Innovations Grant,” said Tom Hobby, CEO & Managing Member of Yosemite Clean Energy. “It is encouraging to know that the Forest Service, and the federal government at large, is getting behind our vision of converting forest waste into renewable fuels that will reduce the risk of wildfire, stimulate the forest economy, and lower carbon emissions.”
“We are grateful to receive this funding as it will support us in providing economic activity and lumber to the community as we rebuild from the devastating 2021 Dixie Fire,” said Jared Pew of J&C Enterprises.
