Tour In The Woods
A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to join in with a group from the Washington County Small Woodlands Association on a tour of the property of Barrett and Susan Brown.
Barrett and Susan were the WCSWA Tree Farmers Of The Year (TFOY) for the county last year. With all the lockdowns, non-group things happening, we had the opportunity to virtually visit the farm and learn about the treatments the couple are doing that will provide habitats for wildlife and space for recreational uses while still maintaining a healthy environment for trees to grow and mature. We are finally getting the chance to see it for ourselves.
For a big acreage corporate tree growing companies, the time and effort, sweat and tears we as small acreage owners devote can seem trivial. But the groups we form, the connections we make through other small tract owners can have a profound impact on the environment.
The farm is sectioned off by the different eco-systems of the natural landscape. Some areas are timber stands that are ready for a thinning while others are busy growing and nearing harvest. There are stands of large alder patches where the soil is either too damp or has a tendency to promote root disease in fir trees.
Barrett and Susan have teamed up with various agencies that have connected with other local property owners along the Dairy Creek drainage for enhancements along the highly important salmon and bull trout stream for endangered species. Work that is being done can have lasting effects on future populations and health of the stream.
The property has a wide range of altitudes with drop-off cliffs and sharp hillsides while other areas have gentle slopes and spots perfect for meandering trails. Being very hands-on has been the style for the property since it was purchased and Barrett spent nine months designing and building a machine to make recreation trails through his forest.
His invention has not only helped to work his own property but he has sold this machine world-wide. What looks like a simple excavator can make trails through very difficult areas of the forest, the machine is run by either sitting on the seat or when the terrain is not safe enough, can be run from a keypad remotely. The result are trails throughout the forest for walking, bicycles and dirt bikes. Barrett now has easy access to the property with plans for more trails in the future.
Being able to walk the established trails has been a wonderful chance to see the ‘after’ project and what it took to get it to this stage since I have the opportunity to work on a project that is in progress for another Washington County forest property. That will be a future story or two.