Sean C. Morgan
Saturday?s Tree Day activities were mainly aimed at providing a balanced education about forest management so persons can make informed decisions about forests when voting or even becoming a small woodland owner.
The tree farm, owned by Bert and Betty Udell, opened Friday for Family Adventure Day and camping to lead into Saturday?s Tree Day activities.
?They?ve got a good group,? Fay Sallee said, including a group from the Corvallis Boys and Girls Club.
?It?s a public education about tree farming and what tree farming is like,? Sallee said. ?Most of the classes are related to what you can do in the woods or tree farming.?
The Udells started Tree Day 27 years ago to educate people about tree farming and also a place where tree farmers could come and share their experiences with each other.
Classes range from sand sculpturing and yo-yos on Friday to management and forest taxation on Saturday. Friday night included several activities, like stargazing and a hiking tour. Activity wrapped up by 10 p.m. with breakfast kicking off Saturday?s activities at 8 a.m.
About 200 to 250 persons usually show up for Family Adventure Day, and Tree Day usually draws some 300 visitors.
?It?s really important that the younger they are they learn the benefits of a well-managed forest,? volunteer Betty Denison of Toledo said. While the Women in Timber group, which goes into classrooms to talk about forest management, Tree Day serves a similar purpose by bringing children into the woods where they can see first-hand what goes on.
Many persons grow up away from the woods and know little about them.
?That?s why it?s really important we start at an early age to start teaching good forest management,? Denison said. ?We also hope our children will continue tree farming.?
Understanding forest issues will help them make informed decisions later.
Driving to Sisters and Bend, a traveler will trees dead and dying from disease and other problems in their environment, Denison said. ?This (the tree farm) is one way people can understand what we mean by forest management,? where dead and dying trees are replaced and harvesting has a place.
?The main thing is a healthy forest,? Sallee said.
Mary May of the Oregon State University Extension Service is in her second year organizing Tree Day activities.
?Ultimately that would really be the goal, that we present a balanced approach and show that we can have managed forests as well as sustainable environments,? May said. ?They?re not incompatible.?
The theme for this year?s Tree Day was ?40 Years of Forest Management.?
When the Udells started managing Happy Valley Tree Farm they took a different approach 40 years ago, thinning instead of clear cutting, something others said would never work, Sallee said, now it?s the standard.
May wanted to thank the roughly 50 volunteers and instructors that helped put on Tree Day.
?It couldn?t happen without the volunteers,? May said. Numerous organizations also brought supplies and equipment.
May?s position is funded through federal timber money through Linn County. About 75 percent of her time is spent working with 4-H and about 25 percent on Tree Day.