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1-800-CALL B4 U CUT Get the most out of your timber harvest!
Local Landowners Recognized for Good Forestry Practices Tim and Martha Kimpel were presented a 25 year Tree Farm sign from the ODNR, Division of Forestry in recognition for over 25 years of practicing good forestry on their property and for managing for wood, wildlife, water and recreation. Pictured is Tim Kimpel (left) and Peter Eales, Service Forester with ODNR, Division of Forestry.
Saturday, September 20, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Joe Mattingly Farm located on Conn Road, North of Zanesville
Joe Mattingly, 2008 Ohio Tree Farmer of the Year-Slideshow If you have ever met Joe Mattingly, you already know that there is no other person that has more respect for the land that one owns and manages. For this and his hard work on his forested acres, Joe has been selected as the 2008 Ohio Tree Farmer of the Year by the Ohio Tree Farm Committee and ODNR-Division of Forestry. Joe now owns and still resides on the property where he grew up as a child on Conn Road in Muskingum County, just north of Zanesville, Ohio. Though now in his 70’s, Joe remains a kid at heart, seeing the beauty in every aspect of nature, and wanting to conserve it. Joe owns and manages almost 500 acres situated on five different farms. These farms all contain a mix of land use ranging from rich bottomland farmland, to steep forested slopes. On all of these acres, Joe has kept a close eye on the protection of these lands, not only to the aesthetic eye, but for the wise management of the resources growing on them. A few years ago, Joe decided to quit farming and lease his cropland to a neighboring farmer, but requires that person to follow an approved soil and water conservation plan provided by the local Soil and Water Conservation District. The remaining land predominantly forest land is also managed using a forest management plan developed and overseen by the ODNR-Division of Forestry. These forested acres now include, what was once pasture, tree planting totaling more than 50 acres, and maintaining a total of 115 acres in the American Tree Farm Program. All of the timber stand improvement practices implemented on Joe’s farms have been completed by Joe personally. Joe’s first contact with the Division of Forestry was more than fifty years ago (1953) and has been in the Tree Farm system for thirty years. But his passion for management does not stop in the forest. Joe has installed numerous soil and water conservation practices over the fifty-plus years including ponds, wetlands, grassed waterways and diversions, tile drainage, erosion control structures, and wildlife plantings (yes, Joe still plants several hundred trees annually for the benefit of wildlife). Because of the diversity of his conservation practices, Zane State College has utilized Joe’s farm as a learning center for their Parks, Recreation, and Wildlife students to view first hand the variety of soil-saving conservation practices that one might find anywhere in Ohio, but all on one farm. I always said during this fall tour “if you mentally draw a line across the state of Ohio, beginning in the northwest corner and ending in the southeast corner, you could find those conservation practices on Joe’s farm”. In addition to college high school, and elementary school programs, Joe has hosted numerous field days and tours, ranging from Pond Clinics to Woodland Workshops. Most recently, Joe hosted the 2007 Summer Meeting and Tour of the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission, showcasing forest land management. One of Joe’s most valued treasure’s includes a log cabin that was situated on one of his other farms, was disassembled and moved to the farm near his residence, now situated above a large farm pond on a ridge top overlooking hundreds of acres of varying land use. Joe’s love of the land and desire to protect its resources has not gone unnoticed. Joe has been recognized by the ODNR-Division’s of Forestry and Wildlife for his contribution to natural resource management. In 2000, Joe received the Resource Conservation Award- Agricultural Division, for his numerous contributions to soil and water conservation. In 2005, Joe was recognized at the Farm Science Review, and inducted into the Ohio Conservation Family Farm award program for more than fifty years of conservation and education efforts. Though never married, Joe’s love and respect of the land he owns and manages is like a marriage with the natural resources found on his land, and one that he cherishes. Joe will officially receive his award at the Ohio Forestry Association’s Annual Meeting and Banquet in March 2008 at Deer Creek State Park Lodge. Additionally, Joe will host the Ohio Tree Farm Tour later this year, so watch the local news for more information. If you see Joe, please extend a well-deserved congratulation to him.
Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) Forestry Management Plans: These plans are developed for private landowners that have ten or more acres of forestland, devoted to commercial forest production (managed for the purpose of harvesting timber). Plans include a forest visit, determination of basal area, species growing in the area, the dominant forest class, and recommended forest management practices, soils map with expected tree growth information for trees growing for that soil type. Most practices include marking the property lines, cutting of grape vines in marketable trees, creating or maintaining management trails, fencing livestock out of the woodlot, and the control of invasive specie in the woodlot (optional for CAUV requirements). For more detailed forest management plan, they are referred to the ODNR-Division of Forestry.
Big
Tree Contest
Maybe that big tree on your property is the largest in the county. If you think it might be, stop by the Muskingum SWCD office at 225 Underwood Street, Zanesville and enter the “Big Tree” Contest. Entries will be accepted in the spring of 2009. An award will be presented to the owner of the largest tree in the county, regardless of specie. A custom made plaque, and recognition in the District Newsletter and the Times Recorder will be awarded to the owners of the “Big Tree 2009”. Donald and Grace Helle of Sugar Grove Road in Chandlersville has the biggest tree for 2008. This year’s winning Silver Maple tree measured 19.5 feet in circumference, 82 feet in height, with an average crown width of 100.5 feet, giving it a total score of 340.125.
Tree Planting Sites: Site visits for the planting of hardwood or conifer tree seedlings. The soils map is used to determine trees suitable for the site. We recommend sources of trees from private and public sources.
Best Management Practices (BMP's): The SWCD offers technical assistance to landowners that are planning a timber harvest without the services of a state or private consulting forester. We visit the site and make recommended conservation practices, or BMP'S, to abate soil erosion during the logging operation and after the close of the sale. Ohio Timber Harvest Planning Form To Fill out form online: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/soilandwater/resources.htm
Forestry Field Days and Clinics: The SWCD typically offers one to two events annually to inform private forest landowners of current or new forest management techniques to make their woodland more productive and valuable. Many times, other programs associated with the forest are incorporated into the events including recreation, wildlife, ginseng production, portable sawmills, and other related forestry related topics. Many of these events are sponsored in cooperation with OSU-Extension and ODNR-Division of Forestry.
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