COLUMBUS —Steve Stone of Nelsonville has been named the 2011 Ohio Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year.
History
In the family for nearly 100 years, Stone’s Meadowview Farm is a typical southeast Ohio hill farm in the heart of coal mining activity.
“Steve Stone and his family have long promoted forest conservation on their 68 acres of woodlands,” said Robert Boyles, state forester and chief of the Ohio Division of Forestry.
“Through prudent forest management practices, this Athens County tree farm has been a showcase for other landowners, and a model of the Ohio Tree Farm principles of woods, water, wildlife and recreation.”
Sustainable forestry
Among the sustainable forestry practices accomplished by the Stone family are boundary line marking, access road and trail improvements, grapevine and invasive species control, wildlife food plots, crop tree release and timber harvesting.
Additionally, Stone’s Meadowview Tree Farm has been a longtime member of the Ohio Forest Tax Law program. In cooperation with several area conservation agencies, a public field day is planned for Oct. 1 at Stone’s Meadowview Farm, which is located near Nelsonville in Athens County.
The state Outstanding Tree Farmer honor is awarded annually by the Ohio Tree Farm Committee, which plans and administers the Ohio Tree Farm Program. The Ohio Forestry Association and the ODNR Division of Forestry are sponsors of the committee.
The Ohio Tree Farm Program, organized in 1946, brings foresters together with landowners to apply the American Tree Farm System standards of sustainable forest management in Ohio.
Landowners interested in the American Tree Farm System should visit www.ohiotreefarm.org.
