There's a fitting synchronicity that a product made from recycled paper is used in forest fire restoration. Green Bay's ENCAP LLC, which manufactures environmentally friendly mulch and garden products, has been involved with the U.S. Forest Service in a two-year forest fire restoration test project in central Utah that appears to be reaping benefits. "We had been talking with the Forest Service about the opportunity to demonstrate our product — PAM-12 — versus traditional technology or no technology," said ENCAP president Mike Krysiak. "Two years ago we entered into a study to show what we could do." In July 2004, the Red Bull fire, triggered by lightning, destroyed more than 1,800 acres in the Uinta National Forest in central Utah. In the aftermath of the fire there was a risk of soil erosion and river and stream pollution. Within days of controlling the forest fire, the Forest Service established a controlled experiment with ENCAP in which a section of the damaged forest was treated with PAM-12, while another was treated with PAM-12 and straw. Yet another zone was subject to traditional technology of restoration known as bale-bombing, which is just as it sounds — dropping bales of straw and grass from a helicopter onto an area ravaged by fire. The straw acts as mulch and hastens new growth of the seeds, which in turn will help the soil cling to the hillside. PAM-12 is a composite of green granules made from recycled office paper saturated with a mixture of water-soluble polyacrylamides that ENCAP calls Advanced Soil Technology. A mixture of PAM-12 and indigenous seeds was spread over a damaged area. When exposed to water in the form of rain or snow, the polyacrylamides are released into the soil. The Advanced Soil Technology has a negative charge, while most soil minerals have a positive charge. The pair literally form a web that holds the soil particles in place, while allowing water to percolate into the soil and the seed to flourish. PAM-12 also may be more cost-effective than the traditional method of forest fire restoration, say ENCAP officials. In bale-bombing, about 3,000 pounds of straw is dropped per acre, with an average cost of about $760 per acre. By contrast, about 600 pounds of PAM-12 is used per acre, with an average cost of $427 per acre. U.S. Forest Service soil scientist Robert Davidson, who worked with ENCAP staff in the test project, confirmed that treatments using PAM-12 and PAM-12 with agricultural straw helped reduce soil water repellency in fire-affected areas. Also, soils on the steeper slopes that were treated with PAM-12 resulted in less soil erosion. First-year vegetation recovery was greatest with the PAM-12 and PAM-12 with straw treatments. Depending on circumstances including soil and hill slope characteristics, restoration purpose and National Environmental Protection Act review, the Uinta National Forest will consider using PAM-12 for future restoration projects, Davidson said. "PAM (polyacrylamides) has been around for years, but it has been always difficult to deal with," Davidson said. "When they (ENCAP) put it into paper cellulose pellets, that makes it a more useable, more friendly form. It's a simpler delivery system." Davidson stressed that the Red Bull fire area was a test project and that National Environmental Protection Act review will be critical before PAM-12 becomes a regular feature in the forest service toolbox. "As far as I know, there's no toxicity. But whenever there's an activity on land that is 'man-caused,' we must advertise to the public and they get an opportunity to respond," he said. The Forest Service's preliminary analysis is a vote of confidence that has Krysiak and market manager Joe Sabel enthused about the future.
Soil restoration projects could eventually be the top market for PAM-12. After all, there are more than 78,000 forest fires every year, damaging more than 7.5 million acres, Krysiak said. "If we can control soil runoff on a mountain, think what we can do on a roadside," Sabel said. In fact, later this month, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will add PAM-12 to its Product Acceptability List, which means that it can be used to create green space after a highway construction project, Sabel said. And getting a place on the Wisconsin PAL list could open the door for use in other states, he said. "Anywhere that seed needs to be established and soil needs to be preserved, we think that there's a market for PAM-12," Sabel said. |