How to Protect Forest Carbon in a Fire-Prone Future

The policy brief examines the impact of high-severity wildfires on the U.S. forest carbon sink, noting that forests in several Western states have become net carbon emitters. It advocates for scaling up 'fuel load treatments'—such as prescribed burns and mechanical removal of biomass—to mitigate wildfire risk and suggests developing markets for thinned biomass (e.g., biochar, green hydrogen) to fund these efforts and reduce emissions. The brief calls for federal policy support via the 2023 Farm Bill to increase research, support rural and Tribal communities, and incentivize innovative wood products.

• Forests in several Western U.S. states have transitioned from carbon sinks to carbon sources due to drought, insect infestation, and high-severity wildfires. In 2019, forests in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah emitted 36.7 million tons of CO2e more than they sequestered.
• Historical fire suppression policies since the early 1900s have led to an accumulation of dead biomass and shrubs on the forest floor, which now fuels high-temperature, severe wildfires that kill mature trees and destroy seeds, permanently transforming some Western forests into shrublands.
• Fuel load treatments, including prescribed burns and mechanical removal of small-diameter trees, can protect long-term carbon stocks provided that healthy, large-diameter trees are not harvested. However, these treatments are costly, ranging from $200 to $1,700 per acre, with a total estimated investment of $30.8 billion needed over 20 years to treat all high-risk forests.
• There is an opportunity to offset treatment costs and reduce emissions by diverting thinned biomass from onsite burning to low-carbon or carbon-negative end uses, such as biochar, oriented strand board, or green hydrogen with carbon capture and storage.
• Investment in fuel load treatments and biomass utilization could provide significant economic benefits to rural communities, potentially supporting 49,000 jobs over 20 years, primarily in Western states.
• The document recommends that the 2023 Farm Bill prioritize the development of innovative wood product supply chains, increase research funding for forest health interventions, and enhance partnerships with Tribal communities by incorporating indigenous knowledge of fire management.

APA

Leslie-Bole, H. (2022). How to Protect Forest Carbon in a Fire-Prone Future. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/wildfire-forest-carbon-stewardship

Chicago

Leslie-Bole, Haley. How to Protect Forest Carbon in a Fire-Prone Future. World Resources Institute, 2022. https://www.wri.org/insights/wildfire-forest-carbon-stewardship.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leslie-Bole |first1=Haley |title=How to Protect Forest Carbon in a Fire-Prone Future |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=22 August 2022 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/wildfire-forest-carbon-stewardship |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lesliebole2022how, author = {Leslie-Bole, Haley}, title = {{How to Protect Forest Carbon in a Fire-Prone Future}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/wildfire-forest-carbon-stewardship}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }