Five Family Field Days are scheduled this year for forest landowner members and guests. One of the five Field Days occurs at the Annual Meeting, which this year will be in Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley at the Hilton, May 9-11.
The Field Day Committee is working on another spectacular program of Field Day events this year. The Field Days will likely be scheduled between June and October. Look for more details in the future on the Family Field Days page, in Family Forest News and by email.
2012 Field Days
Four Family Field Days are scheduled this year for forest landowner members and guests. Of course there is the additional Field Day that is held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting; that Field Day date was May 10. The last Field Day of the year is scheduled for October 13 -- scroll down for more information and to download the flyer.
June 16 – Baker Creek Tree Farm and Lofton Ranch (Shasta County)
The Baker Creek Tree Farm and Lofton Ranch are adjacent ownerships owned and managed by the Vermilyea family and the Chapin family. The properties are located on
Kosk Creek and Baker Creek approximately three (3) miles north west of the community of Big Bend in Shasta County. Scott and Nora Vermilyea are full-time residents living at Lofton Ranch. Jim and Lana Chapin have a summer camp site on the Baker Creek property and spend most weekends and vacation time on the tree farm from May to November. Jim Chapin is a forester (RPF) managing the forest resources on both properties.
The field day featured a tour of the properties to show past and current management practices and silvicultural systems used for harvest and regeneration of the timber stand. A discussion of landowner’s assistance programs, landowner management objectives, and management tools was included. At Lofton Ranch, Scott showed the hydro-electric project and the Wood-Miser sawmill operations.
August 4 – Hall Ranch (Mendocino County)
The Hall Ranch is located on the Mendocino Coast about two miles north of Elk. Edye Hall has been a full-time resident of the property since 1971. The property is primarily second growth redwood, Douglas-fir, grand fir, and Bishop pine. Elevation ranges between 440 feet and 1090 feet above sea level. Most of the old growth was logged in the early 1900s and most of what remained was harvested in the 1960s. Since the late 1970s the property has been selectively harvested and has operated under an NTMP since 2005. Craig Blencowe is the supervising RPF.
The field day featured a tour of the property with presentations about botany issues and transition types, redwood management, goals for increasing volume, average dbh (diameter at breast height), and improving stand value as well as wildlife issues, timber marking strategies and viewing one of the remaining old growth redwoods in the area.
September 15 – Yosemite Mountain Ranch (Mariposa County)
Attendees at the YMR Field Day enjoyed a historical overview by President Chris Martin, including YMR's unique ownership structure. The tour included a walk down through the meadow to the dam where a Mexican buffet lunch was served.
October 13 – Phillips Brothers Mill and Tree Farm (Shasta County)
Field Day participants enjoyed a spectacular day at the Phillips Mill and Tree Farm. Attendees were treated to how the steam-powered saw mill operates, a tour of the box factory and various other unique buildings on their property.
The Phillips Tree Farm is 920 acres located in eastern Shasta County near the community of Oak Run. Much of the property has been owned and managed by the Phillips family since the late 1800s. The original saw mill was a water powered mill built in 1897-98 on Little Cow Creek. The present steam-powered saw mill has been in operation since 1933 at the present site. This mill is the last steam-powered saw mill in commercial operation in the United States. The present operation includes logging equipment, the saw mill, the box plant, the planning mill, and the machine shop which are all steam powered. The Tree farm and the milling operations are operated under the direction of Gregg Hendrix with help from several family members. Logs are harvested from the Phillip forest annually on a selection, sustained yield bases under the guidelines of a Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan and a Conservation Easement. Many old tractors, trucks, and tools, which have been used on the property in the past, are present at the mill site. This harvesting and milling operation is a working historical museum and an example of a well managed forest and wood products business that has carried on the long family traditions since the late 1800s.
2011 Field Days
Three Family Field Days were held in 2011 for forest landowner members and guests. The first one was in Siskiyou County near the town of Weed, second one in the Central Sierras near Sonora, and the third one was held near Nevada City in Nevada County. Of course there was also the annual membership meeting field trip held on Thursday, May 5 prior to the Annual Meeting in Blue Lake.
Saturday, June 25
Ron Berryman is offered his tree farm near Weed in Siskiyou County for this field day. The program started at 10:30am; a hot lunch served at 12:00noon; and the tour ended at 3:30pm. The theme of the field day was "potential opportunities for income from your forest lands in California." Ron discussed the management objectives of his family forest, including forest products, communications towers, bees, and outdoor recreation. Other speakers discussed vineyards, hunting leases, and eco-tourism. This was a very enjoyable day in the woods with many new ideas for managing our woodlands.
Berryman Family Forest -- Field Day Video
Saturday, July 23
Eric Knapp, Ph.D., research ecologist with the USFS/PSW research station, was our primary speaker for this field day. We visited the USFS Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest near Pinecrest established by Forestry Expert Duncan Dunning in 1929. Of particular interest was the inspection of tagged trees with comparison of DBH calculations in 1929 and the present. During our lunch break Tim Tate, district manager of SPI, provided the group with an update on the new SPI Mill near Sonora and the current and prospective market for logs in the Central Sierra. Also, Maria Benech, USFS Stanislaus National Forest, shared brief history about the National White House Christmas Tree Project, the logistical processes used to determine what trees will be chosen for the White House, including how the Stanislaus National Forest was selected.
USFS Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest -- Field Day Video
Saturday, September 10
This September Field Day was hosted by Ron and Nancy Knaus, Nevada County. The day began at Malakoff Diggins State Park with a presentation by Daniel Boudreaux of Sierra Pacific Industries. One of SPI’s plantations is adjacent to Malakoff Diggins State Park, which participants visited to see the progression of managed forest growth and learned of SPI’s long-range plans for this area. During lunch, Christy Sherr, State Park Ranger, Malakoff Diggins State Park, provided a brief history of hydraulic mining in the Sierra and an update on the status of California State Parks. The Field Day concluded with a tour of Harmony Ridge Tree Farm. The 95-acre tree farm is on the property owned by Ron and Nancy Knaus, which has been in their family since the 1880s. The Knaus’ highlighted some of the steps they implemented to bring the land up to where it is today. In 2001, the Knaus’ received Conservationist of the Year award from the Nevada County Resource Conservation District.
Malakoff Diggins State Park -- Field Day Video
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