Coeur d'Alene, ID - Men in beards and flannel move over, women are headed into the forest for a Women in the Woods workshop on May 19 in Sandpoint. While the event is open to everyone, Women in the Woods provides a wide range of training geared for women by women foresters to give them hands-on experience, inspiring more active participation in managing family-owned forests.

Women landowners play an increasingly important role in forest management decisions, but they are often in the minority at forestry education events in Idaho. The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) hopes to change that trend by hosting women-centric forestry trainings.

This is the second event taught by women foresters from IDL and the University of Idaho Extension (UI Extension).

“We had a fabulous event in March with 40 women participating in Connecting Women in Forestry,” said Erika Eidson, IDL Forest Health Specialist and workshop co-host. “This is another opportunity for women forestland owners to interact with professional women foresters. We will work in small groups so it’s easy to ask questions and gain confidence in managing family forests.”

There is no cost to participate. Attendees will be out in the woods, rotating through different exercises covering forest assessment and forestry work on the ground.

What:   Women in the Woods

When:  May 19, 2023

Time:    9 AM – 4 PM

Where: Pine Street Woods

Sandpoint, ID

Cost:     Free

Lunch:   Provided at no charge thanks to donations from the Kaniksu Land Trust and the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation.

Scheduled activities include:

Forest assessment:

• Tree identification
• Tree measurements
• Forest Health

Forestry work on the ground:

• Thinning and pruning trees exercise
• Marking which trees to cut, choosing which trees to keep
• Saws and tools demo
• Planting seedlings, choosing the right trees
• Slash pile building and burning safety

Register by May 10 online at https://bit.ly/lewisevents. Please direct questions to Audra Cochran at audrac@uidaho.edu or 208-937-2311.