Green Horizons

I had the good fortune of attending this year’s National Tree Farm Conference in Portland, Ore., this past October. I was surprised by the turnout of Tree Farmers from all over the U.S.; Texas, Wisconsin, Vermont, Mississippi, Arizona, Florida, Maine and even Missouri. When I overheard a lady say, “You don’t see that in the Ozarks,” I knew I had found my fellow Missourians.

It was great to meet the folks from the National Tree Farm in Washington, D.C., who work so hard for us. I am impressed with the amount of work those young ladies are able to accomplish. Hosting the conference was just a small part of their duties and they shined bright for three days.

Gaining certification from the PEFC has been a labor of love for the Washington, D.C., crew. They presented on the amount of work that it required to get the certification and then discussed the benefits that Tree Farmers are receiving from the newly acquired certification. While we here in Missouri might not see the benefit yet, it is coming. And when it does we all will be very thankful to the national staff.

The most interesting part of the conference for me was visiting with Tree Farmers from around the country and listening to them talk about forest management methods and strategies for their farm. The diversity of both our nation’s forests and forest landowners is tremendous. But, the principle of sound and active forest management was a constant among those in attendance. It was good to hear from many Tree Farmers that forest management was not only important, but a passion.

The highlight of the conference was the field day. We traveled west from Portland to the Little Beaver Creek Tree Farm owned by Anne and Richard Hanschu. Their farm lies in the small hills (mountains to us) and grows Douglas-fir on an even-aged system on most of the acreage. A small stream dissects the farm supporting lowland hardwoods such as ash and aspen. There was something for everyone; 46 stations ranging from high cable logging and mechanical thinning of small diameter logs to pruning for value. You could learn the basics of GPS, chain saw sharpening, riparian management, and tree planting. A portable sawmill was in operation and local experts were on hand to teach tree identification and tell us about both the historical and current-day aspects of fighting western wildfires. There was so much to see that most of us were plum tired by the end of the day.

The indoor part of the conference may not have been as exciting as the outdoor, but there was still plenty of information to gain. There were workshops on the new Farm Bill, managing for cavity nesting songbirds, selling timber, the new certification gained by Tree Farmers from PEFC, transferring your land to your children, carbon markets and business management strategies for your Tree Farm.

Overall, it was a great conference and I am glad that I was given the opportunity to attend. I met many people passionate about forestry and Tree Farm and through conversation, workshops and the field tour, my knowledge has grown. I can’t think of a better reason to go to Oregon than to talk about and look at trees, inside and out.