annual tree sale to the public
The experts at Boundary Soil Conservation District have been making trees available for sale through their Annual Tree Sale program, now in its 21st year.
Trees available when this year's sale started off a month or so ago included Western White Pine, Western Larch, Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Douglas Fir. At this point in the sales period, not all of those trees may yet be available for purchase. The District's trees come very reasonably priced, in plugs ranging from six to twenty-four inches tall (depending on the species), and can be picked up when they are available in April 2017, ready to plant. The tree plugs sold are usually 1 to 2 years old.
These
trees start out from seeds, which come from a
seed bank from North Idaho-collected
species, and are cultivated to plug size before
they are sold. The seeds are collected by and
banked by the four northern Soil Conservation
Districts (Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai/Shoshone
and Benewah) and the Idaho Forest Owner's
Association. With that kind of pedigree, one can
be assured these trees have been expertly
nurtured before they are delivered to their new
homes.The Boundary Soil Conservation District has been involved with the tree seedlings sale since 1996, and approximately 185,000 trees are sold each year across the four Northern Districts.
Anyone can buy trees through the program, and if information is needed for planting or growing the trees, help is available from your friendly local Boundary Soil Conservation District office. "We have handouts available, and with a phone call or two we can always find an answer," said Cassie Smith with the Bonners Ferry office of the District.
Trees purchased through this program range from 65 cents to 85 cents, depending on the species purchased. However, trees cannot be purchased in single increments. They come in bundles of either five or fifteen trees, depending on the species. Trees ordered in larger quantities will have a price break available. Trees purchased this year may be picked up when they are ready around the second week of April in 2017.
Trees are in limited supply in this sale, and at this point in the year, it's possible some species may already be sold out for this season.
In addition to selling these trees to the public, over the past seven years Boundary Soil Conservation District has also provided trees to our local elementary schools as a gift to the third graders for Arbor Day and Earth Day.
For more information on the Boundary Soil Conservation District Tree Sale, contact René Riddle or Cassie Smith at the Boundary Soil Conservation District office, 267-3340 ext. 107.