From Boom & Bust
to Enduring Resilience
Building a Circular Bioeconomy
Rooted in Forest Stewardship
Christy Prescott | christy@forestwrx.org
Executive Director, Forest WRX Alliance
Making Money With Your Forest - Garberville, March 14th 2026
Strategic Interventions:
Aligning Forest Values and Economic Opportunity
"
I used to call myself
an environmentalist.
Then I saw the forests we were leaving behind.
1997
Arrived on the North Coast
Then
Counted fish, assessed streams, witnessed overstocked forests
Now
Convinced we must actively steward β not just protect
The Pendulum Swung Too Far
EXTRACTIVE ERA
β Over-harvesting stripped forests
β Timber, fishing: boom & bust cycles
β Logging & milling drove local economy
β Forests left depleted, unstable
HANDS-OFF ERA
β National Forest harvests dropped ~80%
β Forests 'protected' from active management
β Supply chain collapsed: loggers, truckers, mills
β Overstocked, diseased, drought-stressed stands
β·
Neither extreme worked. Today's crisis is the result.
Your Community Today
A community of resilience β facing real headwinds
πΈ
Economic Transition
Rapid decline in cannabis market revenues has cascaded into reduced spending, closed businesses, and falling county tax revenue.
ποΈ
Community Impact
Shifts in social networks, political capital, access to goods & services, and community institutions β KMUD, Mateel and others.
π²
Assets You Have
Connected to the land. Entrepreneurial spirit. Heavy equipment. Rural properties. Skills that power a stewardship economy.
Some call this the end of another boom-bust cycle. We see it as a turning point.
I am βthat guyβ on road trips.
Driving Highway 299 to Big Bend, I interrupted my friend mid-story. I couldn't help it β we were passing through a shaded fuelbreak. She asked why the rest of the forest hadn't been treated.
"These treatments are costly. With limited funding, investments get prioritized around roads and escape routes. That's what Forest WRX is trying to change."
The goal: landscape-scale forest health β not just ribbons around roads.
We need the economic conditions to treat forests at scale,
not just at the margins.
A System in Crisis
π²
Overstocked Forests
Disease-prone, drought-stressed, high wildfire risk. Net carbon emitters β not carbon sinks. Poor quality logs.
βοΈ
Broken Supply Chain
Too few foresters, loggers, truckers & mills to plan and implement treatments at scale.
π
Limited Markets & Infrastructure
Limited infrastructure to convert forest residuals into high-value products.
π‘
Stalled Innovation
R&D in forest products effectively halted for ~50 years. Few new markets for biomass.
π·
Workforce Gap
Training programs reflect traditional forest product industries. We lack the skilled workforce to grow a bioeconomy.
π°
Treatment Cost Gap
Cost of planning & implementing forest health projects often exceeds revenue generated.
These constraints are interconnected. You can't solve one without addressing all of them.
The Vision: A Circular Bioeconomy
Biomass
& Timber
Harvest
Forest
Stewardship
& Treatment
New
Products (Mfg)
& Markets
Workforce
Training
Nature-Inspired Economics
β Eliminates waste
β Keeps materials productive
β Restores ecosystems
β Builds community resilience
β Generates long-term value
Moving from boom-bust
to enduring resilience.
Revenue
& Jobs
Innovation
R&D
RESILIENT
FORESTS
&
COMMUNITIES
The Vision: A Circular Bioeconomy Co-Benefits
Reduced Catastrophic
Wildfire Risk
Improved
Habitat & Biodiversity
Improved
Air
Quality
Climate
Change
Mitigation
Nature-Inspired Economics
β Eliminates waste
β Keeps materials productive
β Restores ecosystems
β Builds community resilience
β Generates long-term value
Moving from boom-bust
to enduring resilience.
Carbon Sequestration
Improved
Water
Quality & Quantity
RESILIENT
FORESTS
&
COMMUNITIES
Your Assets Are the Starting Point
Community Capital: More Than Just Money
π° Financial
Land value, equipment, potential revenue from forest products & credits
π³ Natural
Forests, water, soil, biodiversity β productive landscapes with growing market value
π€ Social
Neighbor networks, community organizations, trust relationships built over decades
π§ Human / Cultural
Land management knowledge & skills, entrepreneurial spirit, ability to operate heavy equipment
ποΈ Political
Voice in policy, relationships with agencies, civic capacity
π¨ Built
Roads, infrastructure, equipment β deployable in a stewardship economy
Economic development that leverages your unique capital β and enriches all of it.
Forest WRX Alliance
Forest and community resilience by creating the enabling environment for a circular bioeconomy to flourish.
Our Approach
βΈ Collaboration across social & geographic communities
βΈ Shared skills, knowledge & resources
βΈ Integrative solutions for community & forest resilience
βΈ Both market and non-market/subsistence economic development
βΈ Connecting fuels reduction to manufacturing jobs
βΈ Long-tail investments β not quick wins
Current Portfolio - Funded Work
βΈ Lake County RCD - Asset mapping: workforce training in forestry & fuels
βΈ Forest WRX Alliance - Cal Poly Humboldt new program design (natural resource mgmt & climate tech)
βΈ Mad River Mass Timber - Multifamily mass timber design
βΈ Humboldt Redwood Company & Anew Climate - Reduced Emissions from Megafires (REM) carbon pilot
Proposed Projects: What's on the Horizon
PROPOSED
Certified Building Materials Testing Lab
ISO/IEC 17025-accredited testing & certification laboratory. Partnership with Cal Poly Humboldt. Creates R&D infrastructure to validate new wood & bio-based building products.
Partners: Cal Poly Humboldt Β· Humboldt Bay Harbor District Β· HRC/MRC Β· GRDC
PROPOSED
Disaster Resilient Materials Accelerator Program
Business ecosystem for fire-resilient building materials. Provides focused business support and revolving loan fund to scale small businesses in this sector. Connects forest residuals to high-demand building markets in wildfire-affected California.
Partners: Northern CA SBDC Β· Mad River Mass Timber Β· Moxy OID
PROPOSED
Field-Scale Fire Testing for
State Procurement Standards
California's first field-scale fire testing infrastructure. Validates materials performance. Essential for product certification and market entry.
Partners: UC Berkeley Disaster Lab (Azwell, Dimon) Β· Cal Trans
PROPOSED
Samoa Peninsula Bio Manufacturing Campus
Redeveloping port infrastructure for bio-based manufacturing. Located adjacent to existing biomass & timber producers on the Humboldt Bay and certified lab.
Partners: Humboldt Bay Harbor District Β· Moxy OID Β· Academic Partners
California Jobs First Round 2 Implementation funding β positioning our region as a leader in wood product innovation.
PROPOSED
PROPOSED
Value Streams for Your Forestland
Multiple pathways β we aim to help you evaluate what fits your land and goals
π³ Timber Markets
Traditional harvest with improved access to buyers. We're working to rebuild supply chain capacity β more buyers, better prices.
Near-term
β»οΈ Biomass & Residuals
New and emerging markets for submerchantable timber, chips, and slash. Driven by innovation in bio-based manufacturing.
Emerging
π Carbon Credits β IFM
Improved Forest Management credits reward long-term increases in carbon storage relative to baseline harvest levels.
Established
π₯ Carbon Credits β REM
Reduced Emissions from Megafires β a new pilot approach crediting avoided wildfire emissions from fuels treatment. Forest WRX is actively developing this.
Pilot stage
π¦ Conservation Finance
Payments for ecosystem services: watershed, habitat, biodiversity. Growing suite of conservation easements, mitigation banking, PES programs.
Growing
πͺ΅ Non-Timber Products
Specialty forest products, firewood, mushrooms, botanicals. Subsistence and local market value that complements larger revenue streams.
Local markets
You Are Part of the Solution
20%
of California classified forestland
60%
of North Fork Lumber Mill timber supply comes from
non-industrial private timberlands β
landowners like you.
Forest WRX aims to help you evaluate and access:
Forest assessment Β· Project design Β· Grant partnerships Β· Carbon credit development Β· Market connections
The Chicken & Egg Problem
βΈ Forest product manufacturing is constrained by supply of feedstock.
βΈ Supply of feedstock is limited treatment costs exceed revenues.
βΈ Your land is a critical piece of the supply equation.
βΈForest WRX is working to expand markets, increase revenue potential to increase feedstock supply and create conditions for expanded investment in supply chain.
5 northern counties account for majority of timber harvest in State
40%
forestland
privately owned
How We Work Together
FOR LANDOWNERS
πΊοΈ Tell us about your land, your challenges, and your goals
π¬ Partner with us to pilot new market options
π Participate in grant applications as a project partner
π± Sign up for our newsletter
π Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
π€ Become part of our network
CONNECTORS & SUPPORTERS
π‘ We're a young org with big vision and limited resources
π― Seeking philanthropic partners: high-net-worth individuals, aligned foundations
π£ Do you know someone who should know us?
π A warm introduction expands our capacity enormously
π Help us grow our network across the region
The Time Is Now.
The wildfire crisis, the climate imperative, and this community's economic crossroads are converging β creating a rare window to build something enduring.
π Risks are becoming catalysts for change
π² Our forests are assets, not liabilities
π€ This community has what it takes
Forest WRX Alliance | forestwrx.org | Christy@forestwrx.org
Turning Risk Into Opportunity