A number of organizations are partnering to create an initiative centered on the concept of market-based conservation. Market-based conservation is a concept that focuses on developing economic opportunities and programs to maintain rural working lands, such as farms, forests, and ranches. In this case, the initiative has a focus on protecting working lands in eastern North Carolina, while at the same time supporting the training requirements of the Marine Corps and other services.

The collaboration is comprised of a diverse set of parties, including agricultural organizations, non-profit environmental groups, natural resource agencies, academic institutions, military services, and other partners that share the common goal of conserving rural working lands within the military training footprint. Work groups focusing on economics, science, and policy have been established to help guide the initiative. The Biofuels Center of North Carolina will be actively engaged in this collaboration as it moves forward.

For a list of the partners involved with this project and for more information on the market-based conservation initiative, click here.

Sponsored by the Biofuels Center, North Carolina's Eastern Region Military Growth Task Force held a biofuels symposium in Trenton, North Carolina, on 11 August 2010. Over 200 participants learned how the creation of a biofuels industry in eastern North Carolina can lead the state into the future of renewable energy while helping to sustain business, industry, agriculture, and the military. The forum featured presentations on regional fuel usage, the outlook for energy crops (e.g., growing calendar, yields, markets), and the military’s renewable energy mandates.

Keynote speakers included Biofuels Center president and CEO Steven Burke, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Steve Troxler, and Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen.

In developing the seminar, the MGTF partnered with the Biofuels Center, the N.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the N.C. Solar Center, Marine Corps Installations East, N.C. State University, and Central Carolina Community College.

The Military Growth Task Force was created to facilitate regional responses to growth challenges exacerbated by the substantial increase in military personnel. The MGTF operates as a liaison between the military and communities, and advocates for seven counties—Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Onslow, Pamlico, and Pender—to sustain quality of life in the region and preserve the mission footprint of North Carolina military installations.

As part of her Granville County tour, U.S. Senator Kay Hagan visited the Biofuels Center for a progress update on 12 August 2010. While in the state Senate, Senator Hagan was instrumental in establishing the center.

Senator Hagan was briefed on the progress of the following topics:

• The Business of Biofuels project
• New value from sprayfields
• Addressing sustainable biomass policies
• Accelerated biofuels production for the state's military community
• Advancing public commitment
• North Carolina's Biofuels Campus

Senator Hagan was then guided on a tour of the Biofuels Campus and its four-acre plot of biofuels feedstock crops, including Giant Miscanthus, Switchgrass, Biomass/Forage Sorghum, Arundo donax, and others. The senator said she was a big supporter of the Biofuels Center and views its mission as "incredibly important" to the state's fuel independence.

Biofuels Center business development director Dr. Egle Thomas gave a lecture to a group of 30 students involved in the graduate-level Microbial Biotechnology program, led by Dr. Paul Hamilton at N.C. State University. The lecture, "Biofuels Industry Development in North Carolina," provided an overview of the biofuels industry and discussed both the spectrum of technological solutions and the industry driving forces. The questions and follow-up discussion addressed a number of areas, including landowner benefits, infrastructure development needs, and production options for specific regions.

N.C. State University’s Master’s of Microbial Biotechnology class will be following up with a visit to the Biofuels Center of North Carolina. The class will tour the feedstock trial sites and learn more details about the value chain based on specific feedstocks.