Reducing wildfire risk by converting biomass to biochar

What is the Challenge?
Wildfire.

A century of fire suppression has left our forests dry and full of unprecedented amounts of biomass – providing fuel for extreme wildfires. Add climate change, with hotter temperatures and longer summers, and we’re now seeing forests being destroyed by wildfires at an accelerating rate. In the US, wildfires burn 8 million acres per year – an increase of 250% since the 1990’s, and account for ~8% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Cedar Creek Fire – Winthrop, WA – 2021

What is Biochar?
A Solution.

Biochar made from small diameter trees (the fuel for extreme wildfire) will create a market for biomass that previously had no value. This will increase the pace and scale of small diameter tree thinning and reduce the wildfire risk. Biochar is a carbon rich material produced by heating biomass in the absence of oxygen, retaining much of the carbon in a highly stable form. Some benefits…

Reduces wildfire risk
Fights climate change
Supports regenerative agriculture

Raw Feedstock (left), Biochar (right)

How does it work?

Our Mission:

Advancing forest health restoration to reduce the risk of extreme wildfire in the Pacific Northwest.

Who is C6?

We’re a nonprofit that uses innovative and science-based solutions to reduce the risk of wildfires and fight climate change.

We reduce wildfire risk by removing excess biomass (the fuel for extreme wildfires), and turning it into biochar, a carbon-rich material that supports regenerative agriculture.

We Need Your Help

Only by protecting our carbon storing forests from extreme wildfire can we protect our climate and communities. We’ve completed our 1st milestone, our biochar production proof of concept. We’re close to completing our 2nd milestone, being shovel ready for our Pilot Biochar Plant, and have begun raising capital for construction. Please help us.

Donate

C6 Forest to Farm
566 Twisp-Winthrop Eastside Rd.
Winthrop, WA 98862

While studying at Washington State University, Jana learned about the severity of the climate crisis and became passionate about environmental issues. She now works on a variety of sustainability topics, but discovering how to most effectively address climate change at the local level is her favorite.

Jana is co-founder and Executive Director of Sustainable NCW, a nonprofit that promotes a culture of environmental stewardship and social sustainability in North Central Washington. She has a bachelors in Communication with an emphasis in public relations from WSU and a masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College.

Jana lives in her hometown of Wenatchee with her husband and two kids. She enjoys camping with her family in their pop up tent trailer, live music, especially at the Gorge Amphitheatre, and is an avid reader.

Mark Moseley, Director of Finance & Product

Mark joined C6 Forest to Farm in January 2022 as the Director of Finance & Product Development. He works across the C6 team to define the specifics of our business plan, develop our product development roadmap and translate everything into financial projections. Mark also focuses on building strong partnerships with suppliers, customers & potential investors.

Mark has 20 years of experience mostly working for a few of the big PNW companies including Expedia, Amazon, Starbucks, Nike. Most of Mark’s experience is in finance & analytics but he also led teams focused on fraud prevention & product development. Mark spent the last 15+ years at Expedia where he helped launch & lead Expedia Partner Solutions (API based private lodging platform) as it grew into the largest private label travel platform globally. Mark has an B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington and an MBA from the Foster School of Business (University of Washington).

When he’s not thinking about the drivers of biochar profitability, Mark spends most of his time with his family (wife, daughter, son) getting outside as much as possible. Mark’s passions include backpacking, skiing, Husky football (Go Dawgs!) and trying to slow the impacts of climate change.

Bret Richmond, Director of Engineering

Bret joined C6 Forest to Farm in April 2022 as the Director of Engineering. He brings rich expertise in balancing engineering rigor and agility to negotiate challenging tradeoffs in projects with aggressive time to market objectives. He is focused on architecting and integrating our pilot production process from receiving biomass to shipping out finished biochar and other co-products.

Bret Richmond is a mechanical and systems engineer with 18 years of product development experience. He was on the startup team at BigBelly Solar, helping to develop one of the first major IOT products, a solar powered consumer-facing garbage compactor that helps municipalities optimize their garbage collection. He later joined Synapse Product Development, initially as a mechanical engineer, then served in roles as a project manager, mechanical technical lead, director of mechanical engineering, and finally as principal systems engineer. In these roles, he contributed to many product development projects from concept to launch, including consumer, medical, and industrial applications.

Bret lives in the Methow Valley with his family, counting himself lucky to be able to participate in the community and take advantage of the outdoor recreation opportunities. Given the extensive Nordic ski trail network in the valley, Bret favors the winter season, but he also relishes time on his bike in the shoulder seasons and time in the garden during the summer.

Gina McCoy

Gina spent her childhood in New Zealand and was raised by amphibious wolves.

When she had to come inside to get an education, she eventually studied civil and agricultural engineering, followed by watershed hydrology, stream processes and landscape ecology. She has spent her career in the glorious watersheds of the east slope Cascade Mountains, working to reconcile human uses of natural resources with ecosystem protection.

When she is not working to help C6 achieve its goal of forest protection she is likely to be gardening, riding her horse, hiking, skiing, or reading. Also, she thinks libraries are the pinnacle of civilization and has been a library volunteer since 2016. Other volunteer activities include Okanogan County Watch, 2015-2017, and Okanogan County Planning Commission, 2017-2021

Shane Swanson, Vice Chair & Treasurer

Shane first pursued his passion for the environment as a Peace Corp volunteer assisting with the establishment of a sustainable agriculture nonprofit in Guatemala.

Shane is now an intellectual property attorney with over 20 years of experience assisting technology-based companies with capturing, managing, and monetizing their intellectual assets. Prior to serving as a Director of C6, he served as a Director and Chair of the Design & Construction Committee for Friend of the Winthrop Library. Shane has a B.S. in Botany from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Seattle University.

He enjoys mountain biking, trail running, skiing, rowing, and brewing beer. Shane lives and plays in the Methow Valley with his partner Molly and dogs Nick and Jasper.

Michelle Schmidtke, Secretary

Michelle was raised an urban girl in Seattle but migrated to the less populated rural regions of Washington state as soon as she was able.

Michelle graduated from Washington State University as a Doctor of Veterinary medicine. She worked summers for the US Forest Service to help pay her way through college. After graduation, she settled on Whidbey Island, working in a rural setting on any creature that came through her door or lived on a farm.

She runs rivers, hikes and rides her horses into the wilderness all over Washington state as well as volunteering for several non-profits in the Methow Valley and being a board member of C6.

Andrew Buhayar, Director

Through graduate studies Andrew first rolled-up his sleeves on climate change efforts for the Rocky Mountain Institute and also for the City of Chicago.

Andrew is an global health delivery consultant and trusted programmatic leader, most recently with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation vaccine and primary care delivery programs. He completed MDes at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in addition to earning a MBA through IIT’s Stuart School. His prior board experience includes Launch, a pre-school and after-care organization operating 14 sites across the pacific northwest, and Green Dot Public Schools, one of Washington State’s first charter programs.

In his spare time, Andrew enjoys hiking, skiing, travel, and spending time with his family in the North Cascades.

JB Huyett, Director

After more than a decade working on environmental disasters and witnessing his in-laws lose their house during the Carlton Complex fire in 2014, JB sought out alternative ways to protect the landscape we live in and hopefully address larger climate issues.

JB’s background is in cartography and data sciences. He worked as a contractor to NOAA collecting and managing enviromental science during major oil spills and hurricanes in US coastal waters. He holds a B.A. from Virginia Tech and a MSc from the University of Chicago. Currently he’s taking a break from the environmental world and working as a carpenter in the Methow Valley. He previously volunteered on the board of the Methow Valley Watershed Foundation.

JB enjoys raising his two boys, Arlo and Ziggy, with his wife Baylie in the Methow Valley. They relish jumping in puddles, throwing rocks in the river, and chasing their dog Blue. In addition he enjoys time in the mountains climbing, backcountry skiing, and running. Whenever there’s time they head to the coast for the occasional surf.

Tom McCoy, Executive Director & Co-Founder

Tom came to the Methow Valley in 2008 as the Manager of the WDFW Methow Wildlife Area. Prior to that he was the Watershed Restoration Manager for the Yakama Nation where he co-founded and led the largest watershed restoration project in the Columbia Basin. Since leaving WDFW in 2014 he has worked as a consulting ecologist, and an expert witness in civil lawsuits. Tom has a B.A. in Business administration from Washington State University and an M.S. in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from the University of Wyoming.

When not working with the board of C6 to protect the forest of the Methow Valley from wildfire he can be found skiing anywhere with snow and fishing the region’s rivers with a spey rod.

Mike Liu, Director

After a 36 year career in the Forest Service, Mike joined the board to continue finding ways to restore resilient forests by removing excessive forest fuels in environmentally friendly ways.

Mike has a degree in Forest Management and certifications in Forest engineering and silviculture. During his 36 year career with the Forest Service, he has planned, sold, and administered timber sale contracts, fought wildfires, and developed a deep understanding of forest and landscape ecology.

In his spare time, Mike enjoys hiking, skiing, fishing, hunting, travel, and gardening. He also volunteers to help maintain hiking trails and historic fire lookouts.