35th Annual Family Forestry Expo to kick off in Northwest Montana

KALISPELL — The 35^th annual Family Forestry Expo is set to begin on Monday, May 6 in Northwest Montana.

The event — which organizers say offers hands-on exposure to the role forests play in our everyday lives — will run through May 11.

This year’s theme is “Forests-Landscapes of Many Uses.”

Over 1,200 fifth grade students from 28 schools — stretching from Eureka to the Flathead Valley — are expected to attend to learn about natural resource topics.

The students visit stations that provide educational presentations about fisheries, aquatic/riparian systems, archaeology, wildlife, fire, backcountry ethics, plant identification, and forest management.

The program is curriculum-based, and the field stations complement the students’ classroom study, a news release notes.

Eighteen classes will tour either the F. H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. mill or a Weyerhaeuser mill.

The remaining classes will have the opportunity to take part in a portable sawmill demonstration and visit stations representing lumber manufacturing and forest products.

Families are invited to share in the activities on Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Trumbull Creek Educational Forest near Columbia Falls.

Over 30 organizations are taking part in this year’s Family Forestry Expo.

Call 406-758-5218 or visit www.familyforestryexpo.org and www.facebook.com/familyforestryexpo for additional information.