Lee Peterman and Shirley Jolliff co-own 80 acres of mixed
woodlands in Linn County near Scio, Oregon. Members of the Oregon Small
Woodlands Association, the two are managing their land in what might be seen as
a paradigm breaking fashion by today’s standards. Someday, the two may be
viewed as pioneers in innovation, helping to create a model for the new forest
and forest products industry in the coming decades. From the use of solar power
for home and forestry operations including the first of its kind solar powered
Timbery portable sawmill to planning for a future of change in the nation’s forested
regions, Lee and Shirley demonstrate the forward looking attitude likely to be
necessary as small woodlands are managed to meet community desires and needs for
decades to come.
Bogwood, Lee and Shirley’s farm, is an 80-acre rectangular former
woodlot comprised of five different forest types. “The Northwest corner
consists of about eight acres of predominantly Ponderosa pine, with mixed
hardwoods like Big leaf Maple, Oregon Ash and a few Oregon White Oak with the nine-acre
Northeast corner being predominantly Douglas-fir with some scattered hardwoods,”
shared Lee. “A twenty-two acre boggy zone contains scattered stands of conifers
interspersed with plentiful Oregon Ash and many Oregon White Oak. A two acre tall trees section escaped harvest
in the late ‘90s so trees in that stand are about 65 years old and are 90 to 120
feet tall. The South Forty is predominantly Doug-fir with quite a bit of Big
leaf Maple.” On purchasing Bogwood, Lee says with
a grin, “We inherited 20 years of benign neglect.” Short on knowledge
about forests, the couple had three important assets to bring to the table
including an innovative outlook based in proactive environmentalism, a enthusiasm
for learning, and a dedication to restoring the health of their forest.
As president of the Linn County Small Woodlands Association Lee said,
“I never thought I'd be the incoming President for the Linn County
Small Woodlands Association. I never thought I'd be a tree-guy in Linn
County either, but people rarely make big changes until events force
them to and life has a way of presenting one
with opportunities that cannot be ignored. Bogwood, the 80 acre
property I am lucky enough to be co-owner of, has been the very embodiment of
the big change in my life and the purchase of it has most certainly
been the point at which my learning curve about White-Oak and Wet-Prairie
restoration and all-things forest went from zero to stratospheric.”
Going from “zero to stratospheric” involves a lot of time and
effort. Over time the couple has tapped many sources. “Oregon State University
Extension forester Brad Withrow-Robinson and the Master Woodlands Managers in
the Linn County chapter of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association generously provided
a tremendous wealth of knowledge,” said Lee.
“Shirley and I have also done a great deal of reading on our own, both
online and using good ‘ol fashioned books, pamphlets, and handouts from
lectures and presentations we’ve attended.”
An early, successful, and easily replicable innovation Lee and
Shirley believe may be an important approach to managing small farms and woodlands
in the future was to go 100% electric.
“When we purchased the property, it seemed a crime to subject it to
additional abuse,” said Lee. “We decided to use no heavy equipment unless
absolutely necessary, and we’ve not needed it yet. Shirley researched and had a
7 kilowatt solar PV system installed in 2015, it has enabled us to power all
the tools and our home. The equipment we did purchase allows us to work without
fumes and without further environmental degradation. A UTV powered by
electricity is used to pull logs, a 40 volt lithium ion powered chainsaw, an
electric powered chipper and shredder handle cutting and residue management,
and most recently, a Timbery M100 5 horsepower electric sawmill has been added
to allow for the processing of logs into lumber and other wood products.” Small logs are muscled out of the woods using
a log arch. “It works great and is easy on the soil,” said Lee. A foundational concept
behind the couple’s approach is the idea that, “The light touch on the land is
the right way for us to do the work, even if it is not necessarily the fastest
or easiest way to do things. We, as small landowners and operators, can take
our time to do things the way we want. At least in our case, not looking
for the quick profit is liberating.”
Making extensive use of the non-log forest resource is a second
innovation likely to play a big part in the future for the owners of smaller
forests and woodlands. “We have no plans to harvest in the traditional sense of
timber production,” said Lee. “We tell folks we're on a 120 year rotation,
starting in five years. But we do intend on thinning and cutting wildlife
corridors though various stands and to release oaks where we find them. One
viable commercial product from our land are broom handles which
we cut, trim, and sell so the fellow in Eugene at BroomMagic can produce
the final product. Last year Shirley and I cut and bundled over 2,600
sticks and delivered them to Eugene to be dried in a commercial kiln. We’re
also looking at cutting forest greens for local florists, as well as possibly
seeding for mushroom stock. We have massive quantities of Ponderosa pinecones
and needles for Native American ceremonies and with the Timbery sawmill, I'll
be milling for lumber used to build bird, bat, and owl nest boxes. We
might possibly procure a still and distill essential oils from the various
conifers and I've sold suppressed Doug-fir trees as lodge/tipi poles to
mountain man re-enactors. I’ve also made
more than a few dollars selling walking sticks from de-spiked invasive English
hawthorn.” The big guys in the forest
industry, Lee points out, tend to focus on production logging of a small number
of species. That means a wide open, and sometimes quite lucrative, marketplace
is available to open-minded and inventive owners of non-industrial forests.
Perhaps the most important impact Lee, Shirley, and their fellow
small woodlands owners are likely to have on the future is in working their forests
today to be adaptable to change. “Adaptability,”
Lee says, is a key to the resilience and health of the forest of the
future. Reporting to his Association
membership on recent think tank presentations Lee wrote, “The clear and often-repeated
theme from nearly all speakers was greater diversity in riparian areas and
forested land as mono-cultures like Ash forests and even-aged Doug-fir
plantations will be doomed either through infestation or the warming climate.”
“There is
unambiguous evidence that climate change is causing both plant and animal
species to relocate northerly,” said Lee. “Species of trees from northern
California and southern Oregon are poised to fill niches soon to be vacated by
Willamette Valley natives as they die off here.” Lee also reported the Emerald Ash Borer is
moving west and is projected to devastate Ash throughout the region. “What
we're doing at Bogwood by thinning and restoring stands is helping
to keep our trees healthy and to regain some balance in the local
eco-system,” said Lee. “By creating a haven for a diverse population of flora
and fauna, we're helping, even in a small way.”
Lee points to
his recent purchase of an electric Timbery portable sawmill as an example that
“Going green is easy.” While having no
intention of logging commercially he says, “We knew
we'd have to do something with the culled / thinned trees we're removing for
forest health. Most are too small for a commercial mill to take. I have dozens
of projects I'd like to accomplish. By having the sawmill set up as it is,
I can fell / thin trees as necessary for forest health and fire resistance and
then I can use the milled lumber immediately for projects.” Change often drives
opportunity. At Bogwood, Lee and Shirley are successfully demonstrating some
aspects of change likely to come as the owners of small woodlands manage their
forests in the coming decades.
