This Just Released

What we knew all along is now recognized "Good Forest Management " keeps our water clean. 

Click on this link to read more about EPA's decision.

US Forest Service- Thirteen States Meet

 The USFS recently met in Atlanta, Georgia, and came over to East Alabama for part of the day back on June the 7th.  The group toured Munford Elementary and met at the high school for discussion about partners with the USFS.  The USFS partnered with Munford to develop the schools with a forestry them throughout the schools.  If you ever get the opportunity to visit the schools I recommend you go and see how interesting the schools were designed.

I was invited to speak to the group about landowner/USFS relations and how we work together in the Talladega District of the forest.  Originally they were to visit our property but travel restraints kept us from having them on our property so my son helped me develop a virtual tour of some of the work we have done in our forest.  Below is the video I showed to the group as I talked about our forest management. It was an interesting day talking with state foresters from Texas to Virginia and answering questions they had about our management plan. 

More Road Work

We have just completed our newest section of road work.  This road goes through a newly harvested section of our property that will be planted in longleaf pines this December.  You can see here where the road passes through the stream-side management zone (SMZ) to protect the stream and provide a travel path for wildlife.  

This road was constructed to give us another access to our property.  We planted the sides of the road and put down hay for mulch before having #4 gravel applied to control erosion and make it possible for us to travel in wet weather.

Earth Day 2016

Every day is "Earth Day" on a well managed tree farm.  This morning as my wife and I ate breakfast I grabbed the camera and made a picture at our bird feeder of this visitor.  This was the first time we had seen him and he was so beautiful.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

Earlier this week we got a picture of an eagle that had just flown up into this sweetgum tree near our property.  Nothing says freedom more than this majestic bird! 

As I said, "Every day is Earth Day on our property!"

Great News For American Family Tree Farms

Yesterday the US Green Building Council started recognizing certified wood from America's Tree Farms.  This is an important milestone for Family Tree Farms.  Click on the link below for more information.

https://www.forestfoundation.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/1/cbe96fbfc85e469f43a48381db1818cc/misc/usgbc_one_pager_040516.compressed.pdf

Before And After

Longleaf Pines

Here you will see some of the reasons prescribed fire is such a good tool in forest and wildlife management.  Not all the advantages will be discussed but you will see enough here on  the why of prescribed fire.

Below is a picture one week before a prescribed fire is used on this four year old, forty acre tract of longleaf pines.

And here is the result of the burn a week later.

Longleaf pines thrive in an area that is burned regularly .  This tract was burned two years ago so this is the second time fire has been used on these longleaf pines.

The fire removes competition from the stand and increases the browse for wildlife. I think a well managed stand of longleaf pines is as good as any food plot you can plant for deer and turkey.

Loblolly Pines

The next day we used a prescribed fire on this twenty-two year old stand of loblolly pines.  This fire was about 130 acres and it made the forth time this stand was prescribed burned for management.

This is what the stand looked like before the prescribed fire.  Notice how little there is for wildlife to eat.  The under growth has become woody and the forest floor has only pine straw.

After the prescribed fire most of the woody undergrowth is burned or killed.  This causes new tender growth to emerge in about a week and more sunlight can reach the forest floor to cause forest legumes to germinate.  This really increases the food available to wildlife.  

A prescribed burn program also protects the forest from wildfire.  If the weather turns off dry and wildfire becomes a problem then this stand is protected because a hot wildfire can't burn through this stand.

In just a few days this under-story will be as green as any place you can find in a forest.

Things Happening On Our Land

Last week we had firebreaks raked  out around 125 acres of 22 year old loblolly pines in preparation for a controlled burn.  This burn is to control undergrowth and to improve the wildlife habitat.  This will make the fourth time this stand has been burned for management.  A prescribed fire helps keep down the danger of wildfire and the risk of damage to the trees and wildlife.

Other happenings:

We have started a timber harvest on this tract of mature trees that joins another tract of 3 year old longleaf pines.  We are going to convert this tract to longleaf pines also.  We are having some good wood harvested on this tract that will be made into lumber and plywood for new home construction.  Longleaf seedlings will be planted here as soon as possible after the harvest.  All of our property is on native mountain longleaf  pine sites and we are converting all our sites back to longleaf pine where it is feasible to use prescribed fire as a management tool.  Planting and managing  longleaf pines really helps improve the habitat for wildlife.