Forest Research Advances and Declines

By Steve Wilent, For The Mountain Times

While the world has its collective eyes on war, politics, and “artificial intelligence,” human researchers around the world are making astounding discoveries about forests and forest products that may have positive impacts on our lives. Two examples involve plastics made from wood and other renewable resources.

First, from The Korea Times: “Korean researchers have discovered a way to transform common forest debris into a key ingredient for high-performance plastics, a development that could significantly reduce the environmental toll of the packaging and automotive industries.”

The scientists, at Korea’s National Institute of Forest Science, came up with a method of using chemicals derived from wood to replace chemicals extracted from fossil fuels. Specifically, the scientists developed a wood-based alternative, called polyethylene furanoate (PEF), to the ubiquitous PET (polyethylene terephthalate) used in packaging, such as soda and water bottles. Currently, annual global PET production is about 82 million metric tons. 

In Japan, scientists have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within several hours, without leaving microplastics behind. This wonder material is made from cellulose derived from wood or other plants. Cellulose is the world’s most abundant organic compound. This new plastic, the researchers said, can be made into a variety of products. Could it replace PET? Real-world testing will be required, but it will have the potential to both reduce the use of fossil fuels and eliminate a significant source of microplastics — PET is a major contributor — the tiny particles that are found in water, food, air, and even in human and animal bodies.

In Switzerland, scientists have found a way to turn wood waste  — the sawdust from lumber mills — into fire-resistant panels. The scientists combined sawdust, a mineral called struvite, and an enzyme called urease, which is found in watermelon seeds of all places, to make composite panels that are not only fire-resistant, but stronger than panels made of untreated wood. These new panels also are stronger and lighter than those made of a combination of cement and wood. Note that cement production is a major source of greenhouse gasses. And that wood is a renewable resource. So, I reckon, are watermelon seeds.

I find these new products exciting, especially the plastic that dissolves in seawater. Another avenue of research may have positive impacts on our daily lives, but in a very different way. A study by researchers at the University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) found that selective thinning of forests in the Eastern Cascades has positive impacts on snowpack and wildfire resilience.

Thinning the forest in the study area, in the headwaters of the Yakima River, increased snowpack by 30 percent on north-facing slopes and by 16 percent on south-facing slopes. With fewer trees, more snow fell to the ground, instead of being caught by tree branches, where it more quickly evaporates or dissipates via other mechanisms. 

As you may recall from some of my recent columns, the average snowpack is in decline in mountains throughout the western US. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, April snowpack on mountains in the western US declined at 81 percent of the sites measured since 1955. This has and will have dramatic impacts on forests, fish, wildlife, agriculture, domestic drinking water, and hydroelectric power generation — not to mention the chances of large, destructive wildfires. Thinning forests to boost snowpack also has the benefit of reducing wildfire intensity and spread. 

For me, the encouraging news about forest and forest-product research is offset by the Trump Administration’s recently announced plan to not only reorganize the entire US Forest Service, but also to close 57 of its 77 research facilities. 

The headline of an April 30 article in The New York Times: “As Wildfire Risks Rise, Forest Service Shutters Labs That Study Them.” The article focused on one of the 57 labs, the Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Wenatchee, Washington, which focuses on studying the impacts of climate change on forests and wildfires. 

“At the same time the administration is reorganizing the Forest Service, President Trump is proposing to eliminate its entire $309 million research and development budget and to cut all of the agency’s 1,215 scientific positions. The White House budget plan would reduce the overall number of Forest Service employees to 12,000 from 30,000,” the article said.

On the chopping block: the 100-year-old Pacific Northwest Research Station, which is, or was, based in Portland. The agency’s Pacific Northwest Region office, also in Portland, will close, too, as the agency closes all nine of its regional offices and opens state offices. In our area, the state offices will be in Salem, Olympia, and Juneau. Among other changes, the agency will move its Washington, D.C., national headquarters office to Salt Lake City. 

This reorganization of the US Forest Service comes after the agency lost 5,860 employees, or about 16 percent of its total workforce, in the first half of 2025. It’s still reeling from those cuts, and others made since then. I won’t be surprised to see the agency lose even more employees as the research labs and regional offices are closed, consolidated, or moved. 

I hope the Forest Service reorganization will not affect our local Mt. Hood National Forest offices or its staff and firefighters. We can’t afford to lose any more of these professional natural resource managers —the folks who both care for our forests, water, and wildlife, and who also protect us from wildfires.

Have a question about thinning forests? Want to know how many PET bottles are made each year? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.