LemhiWeb

Last week, Superintendent of Schools Joey Foote and school board member Dorrie Prange accompanied members of the Lemhi County Forest Restoration Group on a tour of the Darby, Montana school district’s wood heat system.

Darby became one of the first Fuels for Schools projects, started by the Forest Service after the exceptionally severe 2000 wildfire season. Darby’s wood-fired heat system was installed in 2003, and a central boiler services an elementary school, junior high, high school, bus shop, and heats under the sidewalks for a total of more than 100,000 square feet of space.

Rick Scheele, Darby’s maintenance supervisor and the town’s mayor, hosted the tour. Scheele said he would not hesitate to recommend a similar system to the Salmon School District. Since converting from a diesel fuel system, Darby’s cost savings has been significant. Scheele estimated that Darby has realized savings of up to $180,000/year.

The Darby schools use about 1,000 tons of wood chips each year or about 2.9 tons/day. They have gotten the cost of wood chips down to about $18/ton.

Prange noted, “I find it exciting that a school district of similar size to ours has buildings that are all heated with wood chips.” She taught in the Salmon schools when the old sawdust-fueled heat system was in place. “It (Darby’s) is significantly different that the system we had before. It’s very clean burning, it uses local wood, and it’s extremely cost effective.”

Bill Grasser, who owns and operates Lost Trail Powder Mountain and participates in the Lemhi County Forest Restoration Group, urged Salmon school officials to consider installing a similar system in any new school design. “What you have to remember is that all the dollars that go into a plant like this stays within the community, unlike the money you are currently spending on overseas oil or out-of-the-area electricity.”

Salmon-Challis National Forest and Salmon Field Office Bureau of Land Management representatives were also on hand for the tour. They committed to analyzing past and proposed fuels reduction and other projects that might offer suitable wood products for chipping to confirm that a figure like 1,000 tons/year is feasible for Salmon schools.

Photo: John Goodman of Moose Creek Estates inspects wood chips moving on a conveyor belt to the Darby School District’s wood-fired boiler.