 Richard Hanschu, Anne Hanschu and our three adult children (L-R): Kristine, Richard Duane, and Amanda. Little Beaver Creek Tree Farm began in 1956 with a purchase of 141 acres by Byron and Marguerite Doneen. Later, another 56 and 15 acres parcels were added for a total or 212 acres to become the Wildcat Unit. In 1973 another 212 acres were purchased called the Meecham Unit. The final purchase of land was in 1986 with 70 acres near Manning. This brought the total number of acres to 494. Management includes pre-commercial thinning, commercial thinning, pruning, and brush release. In 2016 we did an unusual harvest of 173 utility poles over a 36 acre area on the Wildcat Unit.
Richard and Anne Hanschu are second generation managers, The third generation is involved in the management decisions by virtue of corporate share ownership and Board of Directors positions. The fourth and fifth generation enjoys the trees by means of summer trips and help in the woods. The tree farm is certified under the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Richard and I have created an outdoor forest laboratory with trails to various educational stations giving an insight to those outside the forestry circle as to what is involved in tree farming.  From RIdgeback Tree Farm
About 10 years ago, we purchased a small tract of 25-year old Douglas-fir from the neighbor. The stand was about 25 years old at the time and many of the trees were tall, spindly and stressed as a result of being crowded too close together. The understory was pretty barren since little light penetrated to the forest floor, It was self-mulched with needles and twigs. We knew something needed to be done to improve the health of the forest stand. With help from the forester at our local soil and water conservation district, we made some simple measurements of the stand. He prescribed thinning the stand to reduce crowding, improve the health of the remaining trees, and encourage more plant diversity for wildlife. That summer we starting thinning our the poorest trees with the help of a fellow OWC member. All the wood harvested eventually ended up packaged in the bundled firewood that the Co-op sells. And we did a second, lighter thinning a few years later that also produced firewood for OWC. It’s now four years after the last harvest, and we are starting to see the positive effects it had on the stand. Just in terms of biodiversity, there’s been a big increase in the number and variety of understory plants. This spring, we’re seeing seedlings of many native shrubs such as blue elderberry, snowberry, dwarf Oregon grape, vine maple, etc., plus lots of swordfern and wildflowers. All have naturally seeded-in, and will provide food and cover for wildlife. Plus the remaining Doug-fir trees are doing well now they have more room to grow.  New Doug-fir seedling From Ridgeback Tree Farm:
The cycle of renewal on our tree farm begins early, in February when it's still cold and wet in western Oregon. It's the time of year when we plant out tree seedlings to create new, or supplement existing, forests. This year we bought a mix of both hardwood and conifer seedlings: Bigleaf Maple, Doug-fir, Western Hemlock, Red Alder and Incense Cedar; about 200 in all. We got good seedlings through the Washington Co. Small Woodlands Association and Brooks Tree Farm. We're creating a new, mixed-species stand on ground formerly in Christmas trees. There are groups of conifers, including the species above plus Western red cedar and Ponderosa pine, with maple and red alder planted around the edges. The conifers will someday be harvested for timber and the hardwoods thinned to for firewood, while the diverse stand provides habitat for wildlife. |
Our Products |
Our StoryOur PeopleJoin the Co-opContactPrivacy Policy |
|
