Forestry specialists holding workshops on damaged trees

Ignited by damage from the East Fork Fire and the record-setting October snowstorm left this year, forestry specialists will be putting on workshops in Havre Tuesday on the best tree-care and logging-related practices.

The dual-focus workshops are aimed at teaching people how best to deal with the burned lumber left by the fire in the Bear Paw Mountains as well as what to do about the extensive tree damage caused by the record-setting Oct. 2-3 snow storm.

The all-day workshops will be led by Peter Kolb, Ph.D., a Montana State University Extension forestry specialist and Matt Ricketts, Natural Resources Conservation Service state forester

The first part, "Post Fire: How to Assess and What to do," will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the Timmons Room of the Hill County Courthouse. The targeted audience, USDA District Conservationist Laurie Massar said, will be landowners and the aim will be to educate on the best logging options and how to do so responsibly.

"Seeing the silver lining in a disaster and seeing some good come out of it," Massar said.

Factors like assessing the condition of trees and how much time lumber has before losing its value will be discussed.

After the workshop, the class will move to Beaver Creek Park for a site visit.

The second workshop, "SOS: After Storm Tree Care," will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Hospitality Room of the Triangle Communications building on U.S. Highway 2.

"The Hi-Line recently had 15 inches of snow that caused major damage to local trees," the flyer for the event says. "Come learn how to care, maintain and protect your trees for all to and enjoy and see."

A large segment of the workshop will focus on pruning methods and how to best take care of trees after the blizzard. Talk about tree diseases and how best to deal with that will be included.