Tree Farmer - January/February 2011 - (Page 18)

Setting an example in By preece kATHLeeN Trevor evans: 2010 northeast regional Outstanding Tree farmer of the year Sponsored by STIHL, Inc. Vermont Tree Farmer Trevor Evans has a list of goals for his Orleans County woodland. These goals are familiar; you may have some of them listed in your own management plan. Provide an aesthetically pleasing forest setting. Maintain and enhance wildlife habitat. Grow and harvest forest products using a sustainable approach with silvicultural systems. But it is Evans’ pursuit of one goal in particular that earned him the title Northeast Regional Tree Farmer of the Year 2010: sponsored by STIHL, Inc. Set an example of sound forestry practices on the land. The Evans’ property, known simply as Treefarm, was acquired by bits and pieces of forestland during a time period of 28 years, starting in 1960. Eventually, Evans placed 1,000 acres into one contiguous holding, of which nearly 800 acres are Tree Farm certified. At first, Evans did not give much thought to the trees of Treefarm. He ran his software business, invested in securities, vacationed in the farmhouse on the land, and gave only passing notice to the maple, birch, balsam, spruce, pine, cherry, and beech trees and the red pine plantations. A short course in eco-friendly forest management at Vermont’s Sterling College turned the entrepreneur’s head back toward those trees — each one of them. He soon had a management plan developed and, in the first year of the plan, thinned 50 acres of sugar maple. In the mid-1990s, more than 700,000 board feet of softwoods were Vermont Tree Farmer harvested, including patch cuts and thinnings in dense spruce and fir stands. A northern hardwoods area was thinned and row thinning was conducted in 91 acres of plantation. Salvage operations took place in the late 1990s after heavy windstorms. practices that pertain to the trees themselves; to family, friends, and colleagues who visit; and to the wildlife that thrive and find refuge in its woodlands. Evans’ love for his property is evidenced throughout the acreage. He has planted 6,000 trees, selectively harvested wood, and developed and improved areas for wildlife habitat. Working with a student from Sterling College, he tracked more than 11,000 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 Practices benefit Woods & Wildlife The Treefarm is now a 21st-century example of numerous sound forestry 18 International Year of Forests, 2011 http://link.argifocus.com/1YU-114

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - January/February 2011

Tree Farmer - January/February 2011
Contents
Cover Story
2010 Northeast Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Sponsored by STIHL, Inc.
Managing Risk in Agritourism
Taxing Issues
Woodland Security
Wildlife Matters

Tree Farmer - January/February 2011