Forest Bioeconomy Act

This bill boosts research and real-world use of wood and forest products. It pushes the Forest Service to find new markets for low-value wood from forest projects and to explore wood as a source for renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel . It creates a new Office of Technology Transfer to move Forest Service lab ideas into the marketplace, work with private companies, and protect inventions; the bill also calls for tracking key results each year and authorizes $5 million annually for this work . Small businesses can get “innovation vouchers” to use Forest Service labs for R&D, demonstrations, workforce training, and commercialization; most projects require some cost-sharing, and this pilot ends September 30, 2031, followed by a report on outcomes .

It also launches a mass timber science and education program to help architects, developers, and the wood industry. The program funds practical research on things like fire performance, energy savings, acoustics, and carbon impacts, coordinates with colleges, shares results widely, and supports a voluntary curriculum for engineering and architecture schools. A strategy for this work is due by September 30, 2026, and a stakeholder group—including scientists, builders, local building officials, and industry—will guide priorities. Up to $4 million from existing Forest Service research funds may be used for these activities .

Key points

• Who is affected: Small forest-product businesses; architects and developers; colleges and universities; local building officials; Forest Service researchers; communities near forests .
• What changes: New tech transfer office and annual performance tracking; vouchers to access Forest Service labs; more research on new wood markets and renewable fuels; mass timber research and a voluntary curriculum; wider sharing of findings .
• When: Mass timber strategy due by Sept. 30, 2026; voucher pilot ends Sept. 30, 2031; annual reporting on tech transfer results after the first report is submitted .