Two soil erosion-control trainings are available to contractors in Western North Carolina in early March. One is classroom-based and free, the other is in the field and has an admission fee.

A Mountain Soil Erosion Control training will be held from 8:05 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2, at the Almond Campus of Southwestern Community Center in Swain County. Richard McLaughlin, a lead soil scientist with N.C. State University and director of sediment and erosion control research, will be the presenter. He will cover erosion control, sediment control and turbidity control. Admission is free but registration is required.

The second training led by McLaughlin will be on installation of construction site erosion and sediment-control devices, and will be held twice: Thursday, March 3, and Friday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Highlands Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River. The cost is $30.

Both training sessions fulfill Swain County requirement for annual erosion-control training. Register at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.488.8418.