Green Horizons

By the early 20th century most of the Missouri Ozarks had been cut over, burned and turned into hard-scrabble farms. Uncontrolled burning had become a rite of spring and free-range livestock grazing was the norm.

In the 1920s the Rev. Paul Wobus of the United Church of Christ traveled into the area with the intent of developing rural churches. He established a church at Shannondale. When the Rev. Vincent Bucher arrived in the early 1930s to serve as Shannondale’s first pastor he also took on the job of serving the community. The church purchased more than 4,000 acres of land. This area has since become one of the largest demonstrations of private forest management in the Missouri Ozarks. The hope was through the purchase, good forestry practices could be demonstrated to local landowners.

A formal ceremony was held in a Shannon County stand of virgin shortleaf pine on Hwy. 19 in October of 1949 to commemorate the initiation of the Tree Farm Program in Missouri. Tree Farm membership certificates were presented to the first 10 landowners entered into the program. Shannondale Tree Farm was one of those original landowners.

Today, Shannondale Tree Farm is the oldest continuously owned Tree Farm in Missouri. To celebrate this historic event on its 60th anniversary and to honor Shannondale Tree Farm, the Missouri Tree Farm committee is planning a ceremony at Shannondale Tree Farm in Shannon County Oct. 23 and 24, 2009. The event will highlight this outstanding 60-year commitment to sustainable forestry, environmental improvement and community outreach effort.

For more information or to register contact Tammy at the Missouri Forest Products Association, 573-634-3252. Information is also available online at http://www.mofo rest.org/education/treefarm.html