Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol (CROP)

In 2006, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management undertook a series of CROP pilot projects as a means of addressing the growing fuel load problem within major forest systems and the realized potential for fostering catastrophic wildfires within these systems across the United States. Focused on biomass removal (versus biomass inventory), the CROP model was initially developed in 2003 by Oregon-based Mater Engineering, Ltd. targeting unlevelized, uncoordinated, and erratic resource offerings from public forest lands at landscape scale.

The key tenets of CROP projects are to:

1. facilitate coordination of biomass removal between public agencies;
2. facilitate the use of long-term multi-agency stewardship contracts to achieve biomass removal;
3. increase the certainty of "levelized" biomass supply offerings from public agencies;
4. invite investment back into a sustainable forest management landscape; and,
5. heighten public trust and support for biomass removal from public lands operating within a transparent process.

Since 2006, almost 20 CROP evaluations have been completed on over 50 million acres of public forestlands across the United States, and more CROPS are underway. The CROP evaluations were conducted in geographic regions where forest restoration and fuel load reduction efforts are a high priority. For each CROP, detailed resource offering information is provided showing the following biomass removal data for every species to be removed during a rolling five-year period:

• Volume (by mmbf; green/dry tons; ccf ) with conversions
• Diameter sizes: less than 4-inches, 4- to 7-inches, 7- to 9-inches, 9- to 12-inches, and greater than 12-inches
• Species (every species evaluated for resource flow)
• Harvest "type": fuel load reduction, timber sales, pre-commercial thinning ( PCT), or post and pole
• Location of resource offering
• NEPA phase for each resource offering
• Road accessibility for each resource offering

Prior CROP Results

Northeastern Region

• Northeastern Revised CROP PowerPoint Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Northeastern CROP ROMs Summary (PDF, 0.3 MB)
• Northeastern CROP Full ROMs (PDF, 1.1 MB)

Oregon Region

• Cow Creek CROP PowerPoint Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Cow Creek CROP ROMs Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Cow Creek CROP Full ROMs (PDF, 0.9 MB)

Southeast Alaska Region

• Southeast Alaska CROP PowerPoint Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Southeast Alaska CROP ROMs Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Southeast Alaska CROP Full ROMs (PDF, 1.0 MB)

Southern Oregon and Northern California Region

• Southern Oregon - Northern California CROP PowerPoint Summary (PDF, 0.5 MB)
• Southern Oregon - Northern California CROP ROMs Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Southern Oregon - Northern California CROP Full ROMs (PDF, 0.7 MB)

Tahoe Region (California)

• Tahoe Region CROP PowerPoint Summary (PDF, 0.4 MB)
• Tahoe Region CROP ROMs Summary (PDF, 0.3 MB)
• Tahoe Region CROP Full ROMs (PDF, 1.9 MB)

Wyoming Region

• Modified Coordinated Resource Offering Protocol Study for the Saratoga and Encampment Area in Wyoming (PDF, 1.1 MB) - Prepared by the Office of State Lands and Investments Wyoming State Forestry Division, January, 2009.