LEAP - Moscow, April 23-25, 2024

Logger Education to Advance Professionalism (LEAP) 2024

April 23-25, 2024 

NEW LOCATION TO ACCOMODATE MORE ATTENDEES!
Seed Potato Gernplasm Lab
753 Perimeter Drive
Moscow Idaho 

Logger Education to Advance Professionalism (LEAP) is a nationally acclaimed Extension program designed to strengthen loggers’ ability to interpret and apply timber harvest prescriptions and regulations. By participating in this program, logging operators will be better able to communicate with landowners, foresters, and other natural resource professionals, enabling them to operate more efficiently and protect environmental values more effectively.

Over 1,900 Idaho loggers have participated in LEAP thus far. Participants learn about and discuss fundamental concepts and terminology related to forest ecology, silviculture, streamside/riparian zone ecology, and water quality issues.

LEAP workshops are designed specifically for loggers and logging contractors, who are given first priority for class registration. However, private forest owners, mill employees, consulting foresters, and others involved in forest management operations may also register, if space is available. LEAP also fulfills a requirement of Idaho’s “Pro-Logger” program.

For more information on that effort, which is designed to recognize and document Idaho loggers’ commitment to professionalism, contact the Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho at (208) 667-6473.

Schedule

Day 1: Forest Ecology/Silviculture
8:00am — Registration
8:30am — Orientation/Overview
8:45am — Forest Ecology: forest succession, fire, shade tolerance, tree species characteristics
9:45am — Break
10:00am — Forest Insects and Disease: insects and diseases that affect conifers in northern Idaho
12:00pm — Lunch (on your own)
1:30pm — Forest Growth and Development, Forest Site Quality: forest stand growth and development, stand structure, soils, nutrient cycling
2:15pm — Break
2:30pm — Silviculture: silvicultural systems, thinning, forest genetics, leave tree selection criteria, pruning, fertilization, and balancing fertility and slash hazard
5:00pm — Close

Day 2: Forest Water Quality
8:00am — Overview (video)
8:30am — Hydrology: streamflow, channel morphology, water chemistry
10:15am — Break
10:30am — Riparian Areas: in-stream debris: effect on structure & biota
11:15am — Forest Practice Effects on Water Quality: stream sediments, water quantity & quality, stream organisms, buffer zones
12:00pm — Lunch (on your own)
1:30pm — Effects of Timber Harvesting on Forest Site: compaction (including effect of different types of equipment, etc.), erosion, productivity loss
2:15pm — Planning Roads and Skid Trails to Protect Soil & Water: network planning, drainage, surfacing, scheduling, abandonment, rehabilitation, designated skid trails, landings
3:45pm — Break
4:00pm — The Idaho Forest Practices Act: Overview and Update
5:00pm — Close

Day 3: Field Exercises
8:00am — Meet at Meeting Room
8:30am — Site #1: Study Lower Water Quality Stream: aquatic insects, riparian vegetation, channel characteristics, etc.
10:00am — Site #2: Study Higher Water Quality Stream: aquatic insects, riparian vegetation, channel characteristics, etc.
12:00pm — Lunch (bring sack lunch)
12:45pm — Site #2: Study Forest Site: tree species, landform, stand structure, habitat type, etc.
2:15pm — Site #2: Develop Logging Plan: likely silvicultural prescription, stream protection zone lay-out, stream shade, logging systems, insect and disease considerations, changes given different owners, etc.
4:00pm — Close

Instructors
• Randy Brooks, University of Idaho Extension
• Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho Extension
• Jim Ekins, University of Idaho Extension
• Tom Eckberg, Erika Eidson, or Isabella Valdez, Idaho Dept. of Lands
• Sean Wright, USFS
• Local Forest Practice Advisors, Idaho Dept. of Lands
• Agency and Industry foresters who serve as field coaches

Register EARLY!

Please register as soon as possible, but no later than March 29, 2024, to assure your place and help us plan. Spaces will be filled by paid registrations on a first-come basis. The $75 registration fee includes refreshments and a large binder of resource materials.

There will be an additional session in Post Falls on  April 30-May 2, 2024.  Each LEAP session is limited to 30 participants. If registration numbers for either or both sessions are low, they may be combined.

For specific program questions, contact Maddie Goebel (208) 885-9338, Audra Cochran (208) 476-4434 or Chris Schnepf (208) 292-1288. Co-Sponsors include: University of Idaho Extension, Idaho Department of Lands, Associated Logging Contractors, and Idaho Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee (SIC). UI credit may also be available for this program - for more information, contact Randy Brooks.

College of Agricultural & Life Sciences / College of Natural Resources
The University of Idaho is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and Educational Institution
University of Idaho, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Idaho Counties Cooperating