! USING INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS TO BUILD AN URBAN WOOD UTILIZATION PROGRAM: A TWIN CITIES CASE STUDY PREPARED BY DOVETAIL PARTNERS, INC. STEVE BRATKOVICH KATHRYN FERNHOLZ JUNE 30, 2010 Table of Contents1 !"#$%&'(#)*%++,-. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////0! 1,-&)2//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////3! 24&-56%$&'54 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////3! 78'4)9'&'#:);,$<=-5%46 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////>! 78'4)9'&'#:)?556)@&'A'B,&'54)C$&'('&'#: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////D! 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"! Using Industrial Clusters to Build an Urban Wood Utilization Program: A Twin Cities Case Study !"#$%&'(#)*%++,-.) Urban tree removals in the U.S. range from an estimated 16 to 38 million green tons per year. Removals of this magnitude—due to pests, storms, construction, hazard trees, etc.—are increasing the interest and adoption of practices to convert urban “waste” wood to useful products. One example is the Minneapolis-St. Paul (Twin Cities) metropolitan area where strong markets for biomass and landscape mulch are contributing to the growth of recycling fallen urban trees. Twin Cities-based tree service firms, wood recyclers, communities, niche businesses, and ancillary wood-using companies all contribute to regional wood utilization activities. State-based initiatives and programs are important in promoting and facilitating the conversion of urban wood residue into useful products. Also, the discovery of the emerald ash borer in the Twin Cities is leading to heightened awareness of urban wood utilization. The concept of industry clusters—where businesses and/or organizations are located within a geographic region and have developed mutually beneficial cooperative links with one another— can serve as a template for starting or expanding an urban wood utilization program. Ingredients for a successful industry cluster include: • Feasibility analysis • Education, technical and research support • Supportive government actions including financial grants • Supporting and complementary industries • Entrepreneurship and innovation • Access to raw materials, markets and transportation networks • Leadership, commitment and collaboration • Business climate The above ingredients are prominently evident in wood utilization activities in the Twin Cities. Three case studies highlighted in this report—a public urban forestry program, a small start-up business (entrepreneur), and a legislative funded initiative—strengthen the notion that an emerging and successful urban wood utilization cluster exists in the Twin Cities. Communities, industries, and organizations across the country that seek to develop an urban- based wood cluster need to recognize what key ingredients are either present, absent or need bolstering in their particular situation. This report offers recommendations—using the Twin Cities as a case study—for advancing an urban wood utilization cluster in community and urban areas. #! !"#$%&'% /0&-12%$&'10) Today there are about 4 billion urban trees2 in the U.S., with another 70 billion growing in metropolitan areas3. As urban land in the U.S. expands, so do the urban forests. Urban land in the lower 48 states increased from 2.5% of total land area in 1990 to 3.1% in 2000, an area about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. U.S. Forest Service scientists project that urban land in the coterminous U.S. will nearly triple in size to over 8% by 2050, an area larger than the state of Montana (Nowak and Walton 2005). The number of trees, and hence the volume of wood, removed annually from our nation’s urban forests is significant. Estimates of removal (due to pests, wind storms, construction, hazard trees, etc.) range from 16 to 38 million green tons per year. Even the lower value of these estimates is comparable to total annual harvests from America’s National Forests (Bratkovich et al. 2008). Although the utilization of urban trees for wood and paper products is occurring only sporadically, there are signs that momentum is increasing. Community officials, wood-using industries, arborists, tree care firms, researchers, public agencies, non-profit organizations, and others are devoting additional resources and new initiatives to convert urban “waste” wood to useful products.4 Nationally, the U.S. Forest Service, State and Private Forestry, has developed publications, case studies, and educational programs, as well as provided financial support for demonstration projects on urban wood use. The Ash Utilization Options project—spearheaded by the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation and Development Council—is one example of a regional effort (created after the discovery of the emerald ash borer) to promote better utilization of urban trees.5 Numerous wood-using industries and entrepreneurs—including, as examples, CitiLog in New Jersey, Horigan Urban Forest Products in Illinois, and Pacific Coast Lumber in California6— have expanded or created new businesses in recent years