Green Horizons

Our 376-acre farm in Northeast Missouri has 240 acres of forest. It’s a sizeable tract for Clark County, but a miniscule part of Missouri’s 14-plus million acres of forest. I am always amazed by the fact that although most of Missouri’s forest is in private ownership, a mere 5 percent or so is under planned management.

One reason for this may be that we have more than 350,000 forest landowners in Missouri. Doing the math works out to less than 50 acres of forest per landowner. Not what most of us would 8 consider "worth fooling with" as an enterprise, I suppose. There is also the consideration that some folks think anything to do with forest management won’t pay or that harvesting timber is bad.

It further appears to me that many folks simply are not aware that options exist and are readily available to landowners in Missouri who want to better manage their forests.

To my family and me, this farm is a very, very special place. It was my grandfather’s farm. My dad was raised there. It is where we learned to hunt. For generations, this land has provided fuel for heating, lumber for building, game for food and recreation, a garden for family food, and agricultural crops for income. With the passing of my grandparents, dad wound up with responsibility for this farm as well as the farm he and mom own and operate. Eventually, desires of our extended family required us to take action. My wife and I followed through with a long series of negotiations and transactions to buy the farm.

We are not a family of exceptional wealth, so owning the farm as a purely recreational property was not an option. We dove right into ownership, fully aware that responsible financial management of all parts of the farm was mandatory. Where to begin?

We began by seeking the best advice available to us. Such advice is available to all, by the way. We began with a complete inventory of the forest, which served as the foundation upon which our forest management plan is based. We hired consulting foresters to conduct the inventory, map the stands by soil type, aspect and species composition, and to draw up the management plan.

We decided on the objective of a productive, healthy and sustainable forest. We decided to emphasize both quality of timber production and abundance of wild turkeys as guiding considerations for the plan.

Amazingly to me, this inventory and plan development was accomplished in weeks, not months. The investment we made in planning has proven many times over to be our second best investment so far. Second best, that is, to buying the farm in the first place.

So we began with a plan. If you are about to buy land, you should do the same. If you already own forest, but have no formal plan, we encourage you to get one developed. If you are among that tiny minority who already own forest and have a plan...well, dust it off, re-read it and see how things are progressing. Any plan is only as effective as its implementation.

The estimates of the positive benefits of bringing more of Missouri’s forests under management are staggering. BILLIONS in revenue every year. THOUSANDS of additional jobs statewide. Our forest industry already pumps over $4 billion each year into the Missouri economy.

Imagine the huge benefits of bringing best management practices to more of our forests. Imagine the increased food and cover available to wildlife. Imagine the improved quality and quantity of timber production. Imagine the enhanced protection of watersheds and water supplies. Imagine the bene?ts of protection from invasive plants, animals, diseases and insects. These are just a few of my reasons for bringing our forest under management find your own and get a plan!

Editor’s Note: Dave Murphy is the Executive Director of the Missouri Conservation Federation and in October 2007, he became a Tree Farmer. Dave has graciously allowed us to reprint a series of articles he is writing for the Federation’s bimonthly magazine, Missouri Wildlife, recounting why and how this came about.