Arizona Forest

Restoration Products Inc.

Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona

The key findings of the original sustainability analysis published by AZFRP in 2006 have been confirmed by the findings of the collaborative Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona published by Northern Arizona University ForestERA group in February 2008.

The collaborative Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona can be downloaded from the ForestERA website at http://www.forestera.nau.edu/project_woodsupply_finalreport.htm or from the AZFRP website here.

Key findings of the two analyses

The key findings of the 2008 NAU ForestERA Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona compare with the key findings of the 2006 AZFRP sustainability analysis as follows:

	2008 NAU ForestERA Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona	2006 AZFRP Sustainability Analysis
Acreage of national forests requiring mechanical thinning identified in study "Consensus Scenario"	987,206 acres (Table 11 p. 58)	985,500 acres (Step #2)
Available wood supply backlog in national forests requiring mechanical thinning identified in study "Consensus Scenario"	847 million ft³ (Table 11 p. 58)	788 million ft³ (Step #2)
Net annual forest growth estimate over next 20 years	34 ft³ / acre (Table 20 p. 64)	35 ft³ / acre (Step #3)

Cleary the key findings of the collaborative Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona confirms the key findings of the original sustainability analysis published by AZFRP and validate the scientific basis of AZFRP's sustainability analysis.

Critical difference between the two analysis

There is one critical difference between the two studies however.

Specifically, the collaborative Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona published by Northern Arizona University ForestERA group in February 2008 does NOT include the 817,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest located in the White Mountain Apache Reservation and in the Navajo Reservation.

Although there is a clear rational for a study funded by the Forest Service to consider only national forests, a economic wood supply analysis in Northern Arizona MUST include the tribal forests, especially in view of the fact that the tribal forests have provided as much is not more wood to the industry over the last two decades than the national forest have in Northern Arizona.

Considering that both the Navajo and the White Mountain Apache reservations' Department of Forestry are actively involved in forest ecosystem restoration, and that both have expressed their interest in entering a long term wood supply contract with AZFRP, the AZFRP Sustainability Analysis will continue to include the conservative assumption that 50% of the 817,000 acres of tribal forests need thinning, because this represents an economic reality.

Therefore:

Total Northern Arizona, including public forest and tribal forests

Acreage of Northern Arizona requiring mechanical thinning

1.4 million acres

(Step #2)

Available wood supply backlog in public and tribal forests requiring mechanical thinning

1.1 billion ft³

(Step #2)

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Analysis of Small Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona