Biochar workshop registration due Friday

To maintain an acceptable fire risk, logging and thining slash must be treated or eliminated. This is often done by piling and burning slash, which costs time and money, and generates greenhouse gases.

Slash treatment costs could be off-set by converting slash to biochar, a type of charcoal produced from plant matter and stored in the soil. Biochar can improve soil nutrient and water-holding capacities and contribute to many other benefits on both forest and agricultural lands. Biochar is relatively stable and can persist in the soil for hundreds or even thousands of years — aiding carbon sequestration.

A program on biochar creation and its applications in agriculture and forestry will be held at a UI Extension program later this month. The program will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, June 23, at the University of Idaho Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center, 10881 N. Boyer Road. The program can accommodate up to 70 people. Registration is due this Friday.

Registration forms can be downloaded at uidaho.edu/extension/forestry. Online registration is available at marketplace.uidaho.edu, then scrolling to and clicking on “University of Idaho Extension: Panhandle Forestry”. A $20 registration fee covers publications and refreshments.

“Making an Using Biochar” is an Idaho Forest Stewardship program, co-sponsored by University of Idaho Extension, the USDA Forest service, the Idaho Department of Lands, and others.

Information: Chris Schnepf, 208-292-1288