Assessing the Feasibility and Sustainability of Grass Biomass Production in Aroostook County
Agriculture in Aroostook County has declined by about 50 percent since the 1940s, leaving thousands of acres of former potato fields and other crop lands idle. Public and private entities are now looking to this land as a source of economic development for growing crops for energy, food, or animal feed. Jason Johnston, assistant professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, is leading an SSI team that is investigating the feasibility and sustainability of growing perennial grass on some of this land as a source of renewable energy for northern Maine and other regions.
Why This Project?
Aroostook County stakeholders including town planners, farmers, foresters, and agency scientists identified renewable energy as the region’s most important driver of economic growth, landscape change, and environmental quality in a 2011 meeting with Johnston’s team. One potential source of renewable energy in the region is perennial grass, which is planted, harvested, and made into bricks or pellets and used in boilers to heat buildings. The potential costs and benefits of developing grass biomass energy in this region, however, are unclear.
For example, converting former farmland no longer suited for crops into grasslands harvested late in the season may benefit grassland birds such as the Upland Sandpiper, which is threatened in Maine. On the other hand, concern exists over the potential invasiveness of some grass species grown for biomass, such as reed canary grass.
Other questions are emerging as well. These questions range from determining whether a market exists for grass biomass to figuring out whether new commercial enterprises are needed to get this product to market.
Connecting Knowledge With Action
Johnston’s team is investigating key questions addressing the economic, social and ecological feasibility of grass biomass production in the Aroostook River watershed, which includes Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield, Caribou and other communities. The researchers are working to identify potential land and landowners, conduct economic assessments, determine likely ecological impacts, and examine how knowledge about the past can be used as a tool to lead discussions about future land use.
The team’s findings will inform new tools and resources that community leaders, citizens, agencies, and other stakeholders can use to make decisions about grass biomass production in central Aroostook County. These resources include a map and analysis of potential areas to grow grass for biomass along with identification of interested landowners; management guidelines for landowners and municipalities; an assessment of ecological risks and opportunities; an economic analysis and feasibility study; and an analysis of past, present and future land uses for the agricultural region of the Aroostook River watershed. Ultimately, findings will provide local stakeholders with the knowledge and perspective to decide on the most appropriate and sustainable uses for their land.
Team Members
- Jason Johnston (team leader), UMPI, Wildlife Ecology
- Andrew Plant, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
- Kimberly Sebold, UMPI, History
- David Vail, Bowdoin College (emeritus), Economics
- Chunzeng Wang, UMPI, Environmental Studies
Additional Project Information
Fort Fairfield Landowner Survey: Perspectives on Grass Biomass (2012) David Vail and Jason Johnston. (Report)
Place-based Approaches to Alternative Energy: The Potential for Grass Biomass for Aroostook County (2012). Jason Johnston and Soraya Cardenas, Maine Policy Review, Vol. 21, No. 1 pp 66-75
Assessing the feasibility and sustainability of renewable energy production in the Aroostook River watershed through research and stakeholder partnerships (Research Summary)
