Drax Biomass in collaboration with Atchafalaya Basinkeeper marked National Bioenergy Day by declaring the cypress and tupelo stands found in Louisiana’s forested wetlands, including the Atchafalaya Basin, to be off-limits for its timber purchases.
Drax Biomass, Inc. (DBI), the US pellet manufacturing subsidiary of UK energy major Drax Power Plc, operating in the Southeast, marked National Bioenergy Day by declaring the cypress and tupelo stands found in forested wetlands, including the Atchafalaya Basin, to be off-limits for its timber purchases.
Louisiana’s famed Atchafalaya Basin is a popular destination for boaters, fishermen, and migratory birds. The “river of trees,” noted for its magnificent cypress-tupelo swamps, has also been eyed by logging operations, some illegal, for mulch and lately for wood pellets. A collaborative effort between the bioenergy company and Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (ABK), an environmental non-government organisation (ENGO), aims to provide better protection for these and other valuable forested wetlands.
The initiative came about after officials at Drax were alerted to the Basin’s unique ecological value by Basinkeeper Dean Wilson. The two organisations worked together to agree on a set of sourcing practices that will strengthen environmental protection and promote sustainable use of forest resources. By committing to these sourcing practices on National Bioenergy Day, Drax Biomass and ABK hope to encourage other bioenergy companies to follow suit.
– The irreplaceable cypress and tupelo stands are far more precious as habitat than as timber. Drax Biomass is committed to sustainable procurement practices, and we believe this commitment should extend to the protection of ecosystems such as the Atchafalaya Basin, saidPete Madden, President and CEO of Drax Biomass
Working with Catahoula-based ABK, the company adopted the sourcing principles that it hopes will become standard industry best practices. ABK has been concerned about logging in wetland forests and the activity’s impact on sensitive wetlands.
– The commitment by Drax Biomass to do business in a way that protects Louisiana’s natural forests and wetlands sets an unprecedented sustainable standard for the natural forestry resources industry in our state. This is a great example of how softwood-based forestry can be compatible with the imperative to protect cypress-tupelo swamps, the Atchafalaya Basin and other ecosystems, said Wilson.
ABK is also concerned that, as the forestry industry sees more demand from a recovering economy, some natural forests could be harvested and replanted as managed pine plantations, reducing biodiversity in the state. Drax Biomass committed to use southern yellow pine as the primary source material at its pellet manufacturing facilities in Bastrop, Louisiana and Gloster, Mississippi. It also committed to not source material from land that is being converted from natural hardwood forest to plantation, or from land that has undergone such conversion since 2008.
– Our landowners and suppliers have a long history of practicing sustainable forest management, and they take great pride in the stewardship of the environment. Nonetheless, our industry has room for improvement, and so I hope our commitments to ABK will encourage others in the bioenergy industry and broader forestry sector to seek out similar opportunities for collaboration, said Madden.
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