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State foresters, state energy biomass contacts, and members of the National Council of Forestry Association Executives were surveyed to gather perceptions on items that should be included in a definition of woody biomass. Participants also rated different renewable energies and the particular opportunities and challenges that the utilization of woody biomass faces to become a sustainable energy feedstock. Ninety-seven responses from 43 different states and the District of Columbia suggest that a definition of biomass should not differentiate between naturally regenerated forest stands and plantations or private and public forestlands. There is a lower level of approval for the inclusion of biomass from old-growth or late successional forests and tree needles/leaves in a woody biomass definition. Participants rated the use of combustion as the woody biomass energy platform with the highest potential to …