A free symposium on open space is coming up at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

The Working Lands and Open Space Symposium on April 20 will address concerns regarding the preservation of agricultural and timber lands, open space and protecting the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

Representatives from the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, American Farmland Trust, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and more are scheduled to speak.

“If you eat, you are involved in agriculture,” co-organizer Laurin Scarcello said April 2.

Scarcello is the vice chair of the Idaho USDA Farm Service Administration that operates Kootenai and Benewah services out of Plummer, and he has served on the Kootenai County Aquifer Protection District board since 2011.

He said the symposium will serve as a venue to discuss the difficulties ranchers and agricultural producers face as North Idaho continues to lose open space to housing developments.

"We are inviting agricultural producers and ranchers, but we are also inviting the county commissioners, elected officials, elected hopefuls and the general public from Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties," Scarcello said.

The reason for this event is to educate the public about the pressing issues agriculture faces, not the least of which is the amount of farmland lost to development, Scarcello said. 

"One of our primary concerns is aquifer protection and groundwater protection,” he said. "It’s as basic as keeping your topsoil in place to protect groundwater."

Doors open at 9:30 a.m. Coffee and pastries will be served.

The event is sponsored by the Kootenai-Shoshone County Farm Bureau, as well as the Kootenai-Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District.

Call Scarcello at 208-661-6090 for details.