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Chipping demo to show virtues of biomass heat: Victor, Darby schools use chips as fuel for boilers

Local landowners who are looking at hazardous fuels reduction on their property will be able to see first-hand how the removed fuels could be processed.

On Wednesday, Stan Krueger along with representatives from the Bitter Root Resource Conservation and Development Area will demonstrate a wood chipper at private property west of Hamilton.

By GREG LEMON Staff Reporter

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The chips generated will be used as fuel in either the biomass boiler at the school in Darby or in Victor, said Krueger who is contracted to be the supplier of fuel to both schools.

The biomass boilers burn "hog fuel" or wood chips instead of fuel oil. Darby’s biomass boiler was in place for the majority of the last school year and saved the school district around $41,000, according to Tom Coston, who works with the Bitter Root RC&D.

The chipping demonstration will show "landowners who are interested what happens to the slash or what could happen to the slash," said Krueger.

"We’re just trying to provide some way of getting rid of the slash without open burning," he said.

The "Fuels for Schools" program is under the State and Private Forestry branch of the Forest Service. Both the boiler in Darby and the boiler in Victor were built with money from federal grants through the State and Private Forestry program.

The idea of the "Fuels for Schools" program is to figure out a way to use the material that is coming off the state, federal and private forests in hazardous fuels reduction projects, said Coston, who coordinates the program for the region one of the Forest Service. Having a market for the unmerchantable material, such as brush, tree limbs and small diameter trees, will make it easier and more cost effective to get the fuels reduction projects done, he said.

At the chipper demonstration, people will be able to see examples of both treated and untreated land, said Krueger.

"They can see what a fuels reduction project looks like," he said.

Krueger is also hoping that landowners from outside the Bitterroot Valley will attend the demonstration. Schools in Phillipsburg and Townsend are also looking at putting in biomass boilers and this demonstration would be educational for residents of those areas as well, he said.

Byron Bonney, community forester with the Bitter Root RC&D will be on hand to answer questions and explain the fuels reduction process.

People who want to attend should meet at the RC&D office at 1709 North First Street in Hamilton, which is next to Mildenberger Motors, at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Due to limited space at the chipping site, people will car pool from the RC&D office. For more information call the RC&D at 363-1444 extension 5.

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