SONOMA COUNTY FOREST RESILIENCE & WOOD PRODUCTS CAMPUS
Pictured above from left to right: Che Casul, Amy Beilharz, Kyla Vangelder, Judy Rosales-Advisory Committee of RFS, Kim Batchelder, Molly Curley O’Brien, Matt Greene-Advisory Committee of RFS, Darek Trowbridge, Jason Grant-Board Director of RFS, Jeremy Fisher-Advisory Committee of RFS.
RESEARCH
RFS’s latest co-authored report “Assessing the Viability of Wood Recovery and Utilization in Sonoma County” has confirmed that counties with significant forest resources require adequate infrastructure to effectively manage wood resources for positive social, environmental and economic outcomes. In Sonoma County, infrastructure and workforce are lacking to meet forest health and wildfire resilience goals.
To address this need, RFS’s focus in 2025 and beyond is implementing the report’s recommendations that reflect the priorities of key stakeholders through the revitalization of wood processing infrastructure. By doing so, we will help realize an increase in local and state climate and wildfire resilience goals through increased capacity to manage our forests and support forest landowners and managers in achieving their stewardship goals.
IMPLEMENTATION
Sonoma County has historical infrastructure that is presently available to establish a Forest Resilience & Wood Products Campus located in western Sonoma County. In service to forest restoration, jobs, and climate-smart wood product creation, this Bay Area facility will provide a means for forestland owners and managers to increase annual treatment goals from 2,800 to get closer to the State-legislated goal of 10,400 as referenced in our report.
RFS is presently working to secure this site to enable our expansion and we invite you to contact us if you are interested in partnering on this exciting opportunity.
Contact: Temra Costa, Director, temra at regenerativeforestsolutions.org