The Rural Voice, 2003-03, Page 34R
Victor Roland says
he's not a great
woodlot manager
— after all, he makes his
living as a dairy farmer —
yet the Gorrie-area farmer
is president of the Huron -
Perth Chapter of the
Ontario Woodlot
Association.
For a farmer with a
woodlot on his property,
being a member of a
woodlot association is like
joining the Soil and Crop
Association because he
grows corn or soybeans,
Roland figures.
"We're just trying to
promote information
exchange," he says of the
Huron -Perth group which
is the oldest of the
woodlot associations in
western Ontario and the
only one that's currently
affiliated with the Ontario
Woodlot Association.
A big part of the
benefit of being a member
of a woodlot association is
the chance to meet and
talk with other woodlot
owners, says Joe Watson,
co-ordinator with the Grey
County Forest Steward-
ship Network who assists
the Grey County Woodlot
Association. One of the
most successful events the
association has held, for
instance was a tour of the
woodlots of three woodlot
association members
where people got a chance
to learn from the
experience of other
woodlot owners.
Generally the Grey
association holds about
four workshop meetings a
year, touring woodlots or
bringing in speakers, with
attendance ranging from
35-50 people. The
meetings give landowners
access to a number of
professionals, says
Watson. At other times of
the year it gives members
a place to start when
they're seeking inform -
30 THE RURAL VOICE
Talking trees
Woodlot associations allow
landowners to share information,
learn about getting the most from
their bush
By Keith Roulston
Meeting other woodlot owners
helps spread word about the best
logging practices, log buyers and
consultants.
ation, and tips on where to
look for further details.
As well Grey County
Woodlot Association
members get a newsletter
published three times a
year and access to a
lending library of forestry
management books.
The other strength of
an association is that it
gives landowners a
collective voice -to lobby
government on important
issues, Watson said. The
Grey association, for
instance, had a member on
the committee designing
the county's new forest
management plan. Though
the county hasn't moved
toward a new tree bylaw
at this point, the
association will provide a
voice for woodlot owners
when it does, he says.
Through formed only
three years ago, the Grey
association has grown
rapidly with 145
members, with an influx
of new members in the
past few weeks after one
local municipality
included an information
pamphlet and membership
application in its tax bill
mailing.
A frequent comment
the group gets from
landowners is "we didn't
know you were there,"
Watson says, so the
association has tried to
create a higher profile.
Many of the members
are relatively new
landowners who want to
be able to get information
on woodlot management,
Watson says. Only about
20 per cent of members
are farmers.
In Bruce County,
Russell Horning, chair of
the two-year-old Bruce
County Woodlot Assoc-
iation estimates about half
the membership of 40 are
farmers.
The lack of interest
many farmers have in
their woodlots troubles
Roland. He's concerned
that only 25-30 per cent of
woodlots logged in Huron
and Perth Counties are
professionally marked.
"Loggers have
managed our woodlots for
a long time with the
dollar," he says, noting
that many farmers don't
pay much attention to
their woodlot until a buyer
drives up the lane and
offers money for the bush.
Farmers are oriented
toward annual crop
production and a long-
term crop like trees tends
to get overlooked, he says.
Then someone offers them
a big dollar for some trees
that they've been
overlooking and they
jump at the chance.
But compare that
response to what a farmer
would do if he had some
cattle in a field and
someone drove up the lane