PROJECT

Maryland

Reisterstown,

Maryland

Large outdoor pile of waste wood including branches, logs and broken wooden palettes.

Partner(s)

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Mike Galvin, SavATree Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission Maryland Forestry Association

Status

Active

From the Blue Ridge to Blue Crabs, Maryland is known for many things but it also has a long history of industries supported by forestry. In the early 1900’s forestry in Maryland began to move away from its unsustainable harvesting of forests and turn towards a more balanced approach of forest conservation and the forest product industry. To date, this has not extended to utilizing urban (and wildland urban interface areas) wood into its highest and best uses. The opportunities that lay untapped with such a wide range of tree species are rich.

The Problem

Maryland is not a large state but it has a great deal of geographic and demographic diversity contained within its oddly shaped boundaries. It stretches from the ocean to the Appalachian mountains with small rural farming communities to dense urban areas. Its urban and rural forests also host a wide range of hard and softwoods. However, despite the strong investment in tree canopy in many Maryland counties, there is no supply chain set up to absorb the large volume of wood coming down from development, disease or arboricultural work in the urban and suburban areas.

Our Solution

UWE won a wood utilization grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) in 2024 entitled “A Full Circle Economy for Fallen Wood: Assessing a Business Case for Wood Utilization in Rural, Suburban & Urban Centers in Maryland.” The grant provides funding for UWE to explore several different geographical areas within the state of Maryland where Maryland stakeholders can support a self-sustaining and revenue-generating supply chain for locally produced wood products.

The products to be produced at a Wood upcycling campus will include biochar, lumber and compost but bioenergy options are also being explored. UWE is building the best business case(s) and will work with Maryland stakeholders to approach funders to develop and operationalize upcycling campuses and new supply chain solutions for Maryland communities.