Three Colorado logging companies each received $250,000 federal grants Wednesday to upgrade operations to deal with forests ravaged by pine-bark- beetle infestation.
That brings to $1.7 million the federal grants awarded this year to Colorado for beetle-kill- related forest projects by the U.S. Forest Service.
“The goal is to improve efficiency, treat hazardous fuels and help stimulate the wood-products market,” said Susan Ford, a Forest Service program manager.
The grants, which require a 20 percent to 30 percent match by the company, went to:
• Independent Log Co. in Alamosa, which plans to expand its log-home-building and firewood business. The company estimates the money will enable it to double its timber removals.
• Intermountain Resources LLC in Montrose, the largest saw mill in the state, which plans to use the money to purchase a field grinder to turn wood into mulch, biofuel and compost.
• Rogue Resources Inc. in Steamboat Springs, which plans to upgrade its saw mill and buy a self-loading logging truck.
The grants were part of $4.2 million awarded to 17 small-business and community groups in nine states.
Among the projects that received $250,000 grants earlier this year are:
• A plan by Colorado Springs Utilities, the city’s municipal power provider, to use beetle- kill wood along with coal in one of its power plants.
• A Boulder County plan to harvest timber and use it to heat county facilities.
About 90 percent of all pine- bark timber sales in Colorado go to Intermountain’s mill, said Nancy Fishering, a policy analyst for the company.
“There is a certain amount of material that . . . isn’t going to be made into a 2-by-4,” she said. “This grinder will allow us to make it into a product right there and send it on its way.”
Rogue Resources’ plan to buy a self-loading logging truck would cut the cost of hauling, enabling the company to take smaller loads from national forests or private landowners, said Rogue executive Trent Jones.
The upgrades at the mill, which operates on beetle-killed trees, will add a product line and wood-waste treatment.
The new product Rogue will add is tree stakes, used by orchards to support young trees.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
