Crawdads, barred owls and mules
Fifth-graders from Kalispell’s Hedges Elementary School stroll through the Trumble Creek Educational Forest on Tuesday on their way to the pack camp after learning about plant identification at the Family Forestry Expo near Columbia Falls. Garrett Cheen/Daily Inter Lake
Forestry Expo open to public this weekend
A gaggle of fifth-graders from East Evergreen School crowded around a table, peering into water dishes containing snails, crawdads and freshwater shrimp, along with dragonfly, damsel-fly and may-fly nymphs.
The students held the specimens and examined them with magnifying glasses, getting a whole new view of Montana aquatic ecology at the 19th annual Family Forestry Expo at the Trumbull Creek Educational Forest near Columbia Falls.
The Expo will host an estimated 1,200 fifth-graders from Northwest Montana schools during the week, with its displays, demonstrations and educational stations opening for the public on Saturday and Sunday.
"This is awesome," Keyawna Larson said. "I'm having a great time."
It was familiar territory for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman John Fraley, who was working the fisheries station and answering barrages of questions during his 18th Expo.
As usual, the aquatic bugs were provided courtesy of Fraley, with some help from his own children.
"I'm always out grabbing bugs, all week long," Fraley said. "Over the years, I've developed some hot spots."
One of those spots is right near the fisheries station, along the waters of Trumbull Creek, where Fraley was lucky enough to find a long-toed salamander this week.
At one point, Fraley gave a demonstration of a portable electro-fishing device, bringing up a sample of brook trout from Trumbull Creek for display in an aquarium.
That display goes hand-in-hand with fish identification lessons, an important mission for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in educating the public how to distinguish threatened bull trout from other species.
There are about eight stations along a pleasant walking tour through the educational forest, which is owned and managed by the F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co.
One of the favorite stops for youngsters is the wildlife station, where a live barred owl and a great horned owl are on display, along with capes and pelts from Western Montana wildlife.
Megan Chaisson, an interpretive ranger from Glacier National Park, led a discussion for the Evergreen class on owl biology.
The youths learned some obscure facts about the elusive nocturnal raptors: Their heads can turn 270 degrees, an asset in hunting and a necessity considering their eyeballs are fixed.
Sarah Hatfield, another seasonal park ranger, quizzed the students on wildlife identification, using the hides provided by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
"This is my first Expo," said Jake Culver, a student from Kalispell's Hedges Elementary. "I think it's been very exciting and educational so far. My favorite was animal identification, definitely."
Also on the trail this year are exhibits on archaeology, wildfire and firefighting, forest management, riparian ecology, plant identification and low-impact camping and livestock outfitting.
As part of the daily itinerary, students also visit either the Stoltze or Plum Creek Timber Co. mills in Columbia Falls.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
The weekend of outdoors education and entertainment for the public at the Family Forestry Expo runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, continuing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Trumbull Creek Educational Forest is located on Tamarack Road about two miles north of the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 40.
Saturday demonstrations in the grandstand area will be at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., while demonstrations will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. A free logging camp lunch runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days.
The grandstand show includes the U.S. Forest Service Spotted Bear mule pack string, the Flathead Valley Community College Logging Sports Team, and a variety of logging equipment demonstrations.
Local businesses and agencies involved with natural resources will also have exhibits, and the Firewise trailer will be on hand with information about fire ecology and living in fire-prone areas.
The Expo is supported by a coalition of businesses, individuals, organizations and agencies that provide a small army of volunteers to make the weeklong event possible.