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US Forest Service Research & Development
Contact Information
  • US Forest Service Research & Development
  • 1400 Independence Ave., SW
  • Washington, D.C. 20250-0003
  • 800-832-1355
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Nate Anderson, Research Forester

Nathaniel (Nate) Anderson

Research Forester
800 East Beckwith Avenue
Missoula
Montana
United States
59801-5801

Phone: 970-219-2659
Fax: 406-543-2663
Contact Nathaniel (Nate) Anderson


Current Research

  • Forest management and economics
  • Forest operations research
  • Forestry for climate change adaptation and mitigation
  • Biomass, bioenergy and bioproducts R&D

Research Interests

I am fascinated by research questions at the intersection of ecology, economics and public policy. I pursue applied research that bridges the gap between basic scientific inquiry and widespread adoption of new approaches and technologies for sustainable natural resources management. Most of the work I do is focused on active management of forest ecosystems, and blends elements of silviculture, remote sensing, climate science, operations research, and economics. Almost all of my projects include close collaborations with forest managers, industry professionals, and agency and academic researchers in a broad range of disciplines.

Past Research

  • Remote sensing and GIS technologies for forest management
  • Mobile pyrolysis systems
  • Sawmill wood procurement and timber trade
  • Ownership, use and management of non-industrial private forest
  • Geographic variation in heart size of sugar maple
  • Landowner cooperatives

Why This Research is Important

Rapid changes in disturbance patterns, forest management objectives, silvicultural techniques, and forest industry technologies have left significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of the short and long-term environmental, economic and social impacts of new options for managing forest resources. Understanding the costs and benefits of these options can help individuals, businesses and communities make informed choices to enhance the broad range of market and non-market benefits that forests provide. Science-based knowledge is also a critical tool in guiding the management of our National Forests and Grasslands. Among the most prominent management challenges, the relationship between forest resources and the expanding bioeconomy poses a wide range of compelling questions related to climate change, the sustainability of harvest, and the economic feasibility of new forest industry enterprises.

Education

  • Ph.D. State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, Ph.D. Forest Resources Management 2008
  • M.S. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, M.S. Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology 2003
  • B.S. Bates College, Lewiston, ME, B.S. Biology with a concentration in Ecology 1996

Professional Experience

  • Co-Principal Investigator, Developing Geospatial Analytics to Improve LCES Implementation and Enhance Wildland Firefighter Safety
    2021 - Current
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Advisory Board Chair, Advancing Forest Logging Residue Harvesting and Collection Logistics in the Eastern United States
    2020 - Current
    Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Assessment of Fuel Treatment Effectiveness from Wildfire Planning and Response Perspectives
    2020 - Current
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Challis Idaho Forest Industry Feasibility Study
    2020 - Current
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Effectiveness of Fuel Treatments at the Landscape Scale: The State of Our Understanding and Key Research Gaps
    2020 - Current
    Funded by the Joint Fire Science Program.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Informing Strategic Development within the U.S. Forest Service Research and Development Deputy Area
    2020 - Current
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, International Research Collaboration on Forest Carbon
    2020 - Current
    Collaboration with Seoul National University funded by SNU and the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Deputy Coordinator, IUFRO Division 3 Forest Operations Engineering and Management, Unit 3.09 Sustainable Forest Operations for Forest Landscape Restoration
    2020 - Current
    International Union of Forest Research Organizations.
  • Co-Director and Co-Lead of Task Team 2, The Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Biomass Consortium (MASBio)
    2020 - Current
    Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • Advisor, RMRS Science Partner Program, New Partnerships to Improve the Use of Economic and Social Science Information in Forest Planning
    2017 - Current
    Collaboration with several National Forests and the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Region.
  • Adjunct Associate Professor/Instructor/Co-PI, Seoul National University Graduate Program in Forest Carbon
    2016 - Current
    Funded by Seoul National University and the Korea Forest Service.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, A Roadmap for Technology Integration and Data Analytics in Fire Suppression Operations
    2019 - 2021
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Forest Bioenergy and Biofuels Integration: Sustainability, energy balance and emissions from forest restoration in the southern Rocky Mountains
    2016 - 2021
    Funded by the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • Acting Program Manager, Human Dimensions Science Program, Rocky Mountain Research Station
    2019 - 2020
    U.S. Forest Service.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Development of a Comprehensive Hydrologic Assessment and Restoration Plan and Regional Restoration Decision Support System for the Apalachicola Basin
    2017 - 2020
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region and the RESTORE Act.
  • Co-Principal Investigator/Executive Leadership Committee, Bioenergy Alliance Network of the Rockies (BANR): Sustainable biofuel feedstocks from beetle-killed wood
    2014 - 2020
    Funded by the AFRI-CAP Sustainable Bioenergy Competitive Grants Program, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • Deputy Coordinator, IUFRO Unit 3.04 Forest Operations Management, Working Party 3.04.02 Supply Chain Management
    2016 - 2019
    International Union of Forest Research Organizations.
  • Co-Principal Investigator/Project Manager, Longleaf pine inventory, mapping, monitoring, and analysis: Outputs for cross-ownership conservation and restoration
    2015 - 2018
    Funded by the US Forest Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
  • Project Director/Co-Principal Investigator, Integration of biofuels and bioproducts production into forest products supply chains using modular biomass gasification and carbon activation.
    2011 - 2016
    Funded by the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) Competitive Grants Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
  • Project Director/Co-Principal Investigator, Expanding bioenergy production from mill and fuel treatment residues in the southern Rocky Mountains: Quantifying supply, demand, energy balance, and emissions.
    2012 - 2015
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service, National Fire Plan.
  • Project Manager, Incorporating project-level analysis and enhanced decision support into the OptFuels fuel treatment planning system for the Lake Tahoe Basin.
    2012 - 2014
    Funded by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, Competitive Grant Program.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Regional assessments of carbon in harvested wood products: Estimates for the U.S. Forest Service Northern Region, 1906 to 2010.
    2010 - 2014
    Funded by the Rocky Mountain Research Station and the U.S. Forest Service, Resource Information Management Board.
  • Project Manager, Delivery of a novel GIS raster utility to facilitate high-resolution spatial analysis of ecologically diverse landscapes.
    2012 - 2013
    Funded by RMRS Science Application and Integration Program, U.S. Forest Service National Fire Plan.
  • Co-Principal Investigator/Project Manager, Integrating modular pyrolysis processing into forest operations to improve the sustainability and efficiency of treatment residue utilization.
    2010 - 2013
    Funded by the Woody Biomass, Bioenergy, and Bioproducts Competitive Grant, U.S. Forest Service Research and Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Uncompahgre Plateau restoration: Assessing the economic feasibility and net greenhouse gas emissions of producing bioenergy from forest and range treatment residues.
    2010 - 2013
    Funded by the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Competitive Research Initiative.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Biochar from biomass: A process for utilizing forest treatment and mill residues.
    2010 - 2012
    Funded by the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Competitive Research Initiative.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Mapping current and potential flows of biomass from national forest treatment operations to power and cogeneration facilities in a critical management region of the interior west.
    2010 - 2012
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service, National Fire Plan.
  • Postdoc, Assessing costs and benefits of alternative methods for handling and transporting forest treatment residues for bioenergy.
    2009 - 2010
    Funded by the U.S. Forest Service, RMRS Agenda 2020 Research Initiative.
  • Postdoc, Economic and environmental analysis of mobile fast pyrolysis deployed under field conditions.
    2009 - 2010
    Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
  • Postdoc, Sustainable forest bioenergy production using in-woods fast pyrolysis conversion including bio-oil production and biochar soil amendment.
    2009 - 2010
    Funded by the Woody Biomass, Bioenergy, and Bioproducts Competitive Grant, U.S. Forest Service Research and Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • PhD Student/Research Assistant, The impact of wood procurement pressure on sustained yield management on private non-industrial forestland in the Northern Forest.
    2007 - 2009
    Funded by the Northeastern States Research Cooperative.

Publications

Research Highlights

HighlightTitleYear

FPL-2019-68		Life Cycle Assessment of Activated Carbon from Woody Biomass

Expanding biofuels and bioproducts production using forest biomass as feedstock contributes to not only alternatives to U.S. fossil fuels, but a ...

2019

RMRS-2018-90		The Region 4 — RMRS Science Partner Program: Working to improve management strategies and communication through shared stewardship

In 2016, the Rocky Mountain Research Station launched the Region 4—Rocky Mountain Research Station Science Partner Pilot program. The program' ...

2018

Last updated on : 05/05/2021