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US Forest Service Research & Development
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  • 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: 406-329-2122
Fax: 406-543-2663
Contact Nathaniel (Nate) Anderson


Current Research

  • Financial and economic analysis of forest product supply chains
  • Forest operations research and engineering
  • Forestry for climate change adaptation and mitigation
  • Remote sensing and GIS technologies for natural resources management
  • Research and development of advanced bioenergy technologies

    • Research Interests

    I am fascinated by research questions that rest 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 and GIS, climate science, finance, operations engineering, and supply chain management. 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

  • Spatial analysis of sawmill wood procurement
  • Cross-border trade in sawlogs
  • Parcelization, ownership 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 forest management objectives, silvicultural techniques, and production 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 net greenhouse gas emissions, the sustainability of harvest, and the economic feasibility of new technologies their supply chains.

    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, Development of a Comprehensive Hydrologic Assessment and Restoration Plan and Regional Restoration Decision Support System for the Apalachicola Basin
      2017 - Current
      Funded by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region and the RESTORE Act.
    • Advisor, RMRS Science Partner Program, New Partnerships to Improve the Use of Economic and Social Science Information in Forest Planning
      2017 - Current
      Funded by Salmon-Challis National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service Inter-Mountain Region, and the Rocky Mountain Research Station
    • Co-Principal Investigator, Forest bioenergy and biofuels integration: Sustainability, energy balance and emissions from forest restoration in the southern Rocky Mountains
      2016 - Current
      Funded by the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) Competitive Grants Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
    • 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/Project Manager, Longleaf pine inventory, mapping, monitoring, and analysis: Outputs for cross-ownership conservation and restoration
      2015 - Current
      Funded by the US Forest Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
    • Co-Principal Investigator/Executive Leadership Committee, Sustainable biofuel feedstocks from beetle-killed wood: Bioenergy Alliance Network of the Rockies (BANR).
      2013 - Current
      Funded by the AFRI-CAP Sustainable Bioenergy Competitive Grants Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
    • Project Director/Co-Principal Investigator, Integration of biofuels and bioproducts production into forest products supply chains using modular biomass gasification and carbon activation.
      2011 - Current
      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.

    Featured Publications & Products

    Publications

    Research Highlights

    HighlightTitleYear

    RMRS-2016-207    		Development of a Forest Biochar Spreader

    Biochar can be used to restore forest, range, or mine soils by adding organic matter, providing buffer from droughts or floods by increasing wat ...

    		2016

    Last updated on : 06/04/2018