Tree Farmer - November/December 2011 - (Page 36)

M. Ford’s Tree Farm in Oregon BE PREPARED: 2012 - IS THE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR MANAGEMENT PLAN By telis GISela When Hurricane Katrina swept through Ford’s River Farms, it left a changed forest in its wake. Some stands went untouched, while others were broken and beaten by the devastating storm. Owners Russ and Barbara Ford, who had lovingly tended their 1,101-acre Tree Farm in Columbia, Mississippi, for more than 30 years, wondered if it would ever be the same again. “Eighty acres of bottomland hardwoods,” recalls Mickey Webb, a consulting forester who works closely with the Fords. “Beautiful, big oaks — and they just got laid flat.” Recovering from the disaster seemed impossible, and it might have been were it not for the Fords’ meticulous record-keeping. Their regularly updated management plan held every detail of how the woods had been, including maps and inventories of the trees, and that allowed the Fords to precisely calculate how much damage the storm had done. With Webb’s help, they revisited every piece of the property, noting what had survived and what had not and updated their plan based on the changes they saw. The result was a roadmap to recovery: a revised plan that would salvage what they could and restore the woodland to health. Your Tree Farm may never experience the devastation the Fords faced. But you can be as well prepared for the unexpected as they were — by regularly reviewing your management plan. A Walk in Your Woods Your woods are constantly changing. Seasons come and go, trees grow and die, weather and timber markets vary, and natural disasters or invasive species can take their toll. And just as your Tree Farm changes, you and your family do too: A major life event, such as a birth, death, or illness, can alter your relationship with your woods. So as winter nears and the year winds down, take time to reflect on what’s happened this year, how your woods were affected, and what you may choose to do differently in the future. This review 36 International Year of Forests, 2011 Tree Farmer NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - November/December 2011

Tree Farmer - November/December 2011
Contents
The Value of Certification
Markets Demand More Certified Wood
Tracking Through Chain of Custody
Farm Bill Progress Report
Corporate Policies Fuel Certification Efforts
Inspectors Explain Certification Goals
Certification: “Our Most Direct Impact”
Review Your Management Plan
Taxing Issues
Wildlife Matters
Woodland Security

Tree Farmer - November/December 2011