Biochar ambassadors hope to save fire-ravaged Methow
By MANDY GODWIN
InvestigateWest
Biochar ambassadors hope to save Washington state’s Methow Valley, which has been ravaged by the effects of wildfires this summer. A couple plans to accelerate forest restoration by creating a local market for the small-diameter trees that are a symptom of unhealthy forests and fuel for giant fires. They’ll make biochar, a form of charcoal, from trees cut down during forest thinning. In doing so, the couple hopes to reduce emissions from raging wildfires and the burning of slash piles.