Idaho has abundant forest land, with over 2 million acres (11% of Idaho’s forests) owned and managed by thousands of family forest owners. Each owner has unique goals for his or her forest property, ranging from timber income to simply "a place to get away from it all". However, one goal common to most forest landowners is to steward their forest land, for their own goals and future generations.
2011-2012 Strengthening Forest Stewardship Skills Events*
* Titles in gold are linked to event brochures, which provide program details as well as registration information.
Forestry Shortcourse
This multi-session program enriches family forest owners' basic understanding of forest management planning, forest ecology, silviculture, insects, disease, goal setting, record keeping, and other forest stewardship topics. (2 UI credits available).
- Sandpoint, ID. Six Wednesday mornings. June 13,20,27 & July 11,18, 25, 2011. 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Backyard Forests
This program helps homeowners with less than five acres of forestland apply basic forest management concepts to “home landscape” forests.
- Bonners Ferry, ID. Wednesday, May 9, 2012. 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Landscaping for Fire Protection
This program helps forest homeowners make their home site less likely to burn and easier for firefighters to access, in the event of a local forest fire.
- Additional sessions of this program can be scheduled for interested groups of 10 or more. To make arrangements, please contact Chris Schnepf (Idaho Panhandle) at (208) 446-1680 or Randy Brooks (North-Central Idaho) at (208) 476-4434.
Using Your GPS
This half-day program introduces participants to the science underlying Global Positioning Systems (GPS), followed by field exercises on basic GPS tasks.
- Coeur d'Alene, ID. Friday, May 11, 2012. 1:00 to 5:00 pm.
- Sandpoint, ID. Saturday, May 12, 2012. 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.
- Moscow, ID. Friday, June 1, 2012. 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.
- St. Maries, ID. Friday, September 14, 2012. 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Root Disease - The Hidden Menace
This program will help forest owners, loggers, and natural resource professionals identify, assess, and manage forests with root disease issues. The program will be offered as a either a one-day session (two locations) or a two-day, in-depth program.
Measuring Your Trees
Forestry decisions require good information on species composition, density, and other forest characteristics. This program feature 2-3 hours indoors learning how to measure trees, followed by hands-on measurement activities outdoors.
- Coeur d'Alene, ID. Saturday, May 26, 2012. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Thinning & Pruning Field Day
This program will feature 2-3 hours indoors discussing basic concepts of thinning and pruning, followed by a hands-on field tour about thinning, pruning, forest genetics, and chainsaw safety.
- St. Maries, ID. Saturday, June 16, 2012. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
- Cottonwood, ID. Friday, August 3, 2012. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Pruning to Restore White Pine
This program will help you to reduce white pine mortality from blister rust. It covers blister rust disease cycles and identification, and blister rust pruning methods.
For more information email Chris Schnepf or call (208) 446-1680.
- Sandpoint, ID. Friday, June 22, 2012. 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Forest Insect & Disease Field Day
Participants get a full day of first-hand contact with varied insects and diseases that affect forest growth and health, with discussions of related management strategies.
- Moscow, ID. Friday, July 27, 2012. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information email Randy Brooks or call (208) 885-6356.
- Bonners Ferry, ID. Friday, August 3, 2012. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information email Chris Schnepf or call (208) 446-1680.
Free Computer Mapping Tools for Forest Owners
This program will introduce forest owners to Google Earth, ArcGIS Explorer, and similar programs used to improve forest management decisions.
- Coeur d'Alene, ID. Friday, August 10, 2012. 1:30 to 4:30 pm. For more information email Chris Schnepf or call (208) 446-1680.
Strengthening Forest Stewardship Skills programs are supported in part by the Idaho Forest Stewardship Program, a cooperative effort of the following agencies and organizations:
• Idaho Department of Lands
• University of Idaho Extension
• USDA Forest Service
• Idaho Forest Owners Association
• Idaho Tree Farm Program
• Consulting Foresters
• Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts
• USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
• Idaho Department of Fish and Game
• USDI Fish and Wildlife Service
• Idaho Nature Conservancy
• Idaho Association of RC&D Councils
• Nez Perce Tribal Forestry
• Idaho Native Plant Society
• Idaho Forest Products Commission
• Idaho Sustainable Forestry Initiative State Implementation Committee
• Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho
