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Seeley Lake conference to focus on uses for forest waste
By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian

Experts from across the nation will suggest innovative uses for the small-diameter wood and brush typically removed during fire-hazard reduction projects during a two-day conference in Seeley Lake, beginning Thursday.

Organized by the Montana Community Development Corp. in Missoula, the conference is intended to help entrepreneurs, forest-product business owners, conservation groups, builders, engineers and tribal enterprises learn about the potential for turning what was once considered forest waste into commercial products.

Open to the public for a $79 fee, the meeting will be held at Camp Paxson in Seeley Lake. The fee includes all meals; a limited number of cabins will be available free to participants on a first-come basis.

Among the presenters will be Susan LeVan, a technology leader from the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis. LeVan has spent the past decade helping rural businesses convert small-diameter wood into everything from laminated beams to filters for cleaning polluted water.

Bob Smith, director of the Center for Forest Products Marketing and Management, will be on hand to discuss opportunities for new markets, and to teach conference-goers how to identify new customers and promote new products.

Also among the participants will be experts in small-business efficacy, community forestry, biomass energy and small-diameter engineering.

To register, contact Craig Rawlings at Montana Community Development Corp., 406-728-9234, Ext. 203.
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