Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC)

To provide technical assistance and funds, on a cost-share basis, for projects that enhance opportunities for sustained forest products production for primary and secondary wood industries located in the eastern hardwood forest region of the United States.

In order to maintain and improve the health and stewardship of our Nation's forests, local wood-using industries need to be vibrant and able to utilize a wide variety of resources from the forest. Priorities include:

Maintain the economic competitiveness of primary and secondary wood industries.

Examples include:
1) Encouraging the adoption of new technology to improve competitiveness and profitability.
2) Bringing information and technology about processing, marketing, and business-related skills as well as urban wood utilization to existing and emerging businesses
3) Developing utilization options that improve forest stewardship and health.
4) Support activities that maintain or enhance harvesting industry capacity to serve the wood industry.

Increase the knowledge and information about how the wood industry can contribute to the green building movement. Examples include chain of custody certification for sustainable wood products as well as life cycle analysis for a range of wood products. Increase the knowledge, information, and promotion of how carbon sequestration by wood products can provide a competitive edge to a sustainable forest products industry. An example includes developing specific carbon storage factors for a range of wood products.

Develop technology and markets to address urgent issues on a global or domestic scale, including:
1) Sanitizing wood packaging materials, firewood, and similar products to eliminate these pathways for the transport of insect and disease pests.
2) Developing markets for and using unexpected increases in the volume of urban and rural wood due to new pest introductions (for example, emerald ash borer) and weather events such as tornadoes and ice storms.

Increase the sustainable use of woody biomass to meet our Nation’s needs for energy, raw materials, and reductions of hazardous fuels. Examples include public/private partnerships for using woody biomass in heating and cooling, process energy, cogeneration, district energy systems, and solid and liquid fuel production. Projects may also develop or maintain local markets and forest industry infrastructure by using woody biomass for both energy and value-added products. Provide key information to address the economic, social and ecological aspects of woody biomass production and use: including sustainable supplies, harvesting techniques, forest management, plantation development, and environmental implications.

Established by the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Regional Office, Milwaukee, WI