Released: February 07, 2006

Kansas Town is a Tree Farm--Florence to Host Workshop

MANHATTAN, Kan. – About 100 places in Kansas can display an official Tree Farm sign. For the first time, one of them is a small Kansas town – Florence, located about 50 miles west of Emporia.

Florence, Kan., pop. 671, prides itself on being “Nestled in a Valley of Opportunity.”

The town made its own opportunity, however, when it came to starting an 18-acre tree farm adjacent to Doyle Creek and the Cottonwood River.

Kansans will be able to see the town’s endeavors March 25 when the Kansas Forest Service (KFS) and Kansas Forest Products Association offer a workshop on tree planting at the Florence Tree Farm. Designed for landowners and natural resource professionals, the workshop will focus on successful planting techniques and on wildlife damage and weed controls.

Those interested in attending the workshop can contact the KFS state office at 785-532-3301 (e-mail: pmccaffr@ksu.edu).

“The site is basically a riparian planting, designed to reduce soil erosion through bank stabilization, but it has the added benefit of producing timber products long term,” said Bob Atchison, Tree Farm administrator for Kansas and the KFS rural forestry coordinator. “I don’t think there’s much danger of the town’s losing its certification status any time soon, either. Last year, Florence applied for and got a $3,500 tree-planting grant from the Hardwood Forestry Fund. They’re establishing a 2.5-acre black walnut plantation, too.”

The American Tree Farm System awarded Florence its certified status. The program promotes what Atchison calls “productive forestry” – growing a renewable resource while also protecting the site’s environmental benefits.

District KFS foresters prepare a Forest Stewardship Management plan for any Kansan interested in entering the American Tree Farm System. They also serve as the program’s certifying inspectors and revisit a property every five years to see if it can retain its certified status.

Atchison credits Leonard Ellis – Florence logger, timber buyer and chair of the Kansas State Tree Farm Committee – with providing the leadership needed to help Florence become Kansas’ first Tree Farm town. District KFS forester Dennis Carlson served as the site’s technical planner and inspector.

To qualify as a potential Tree Farm, a landowner must have at least 10 contiguous acres of woodland. The woodland must be actively managed in a sustainable manner that meets program standards and guidelines.

“When land can display the Tree Farm sign, that’s a symbol of a landowner who cares for and is actually managing a part of our state’s natural resources,” Atchison said.

As a potential shorter term benefit, the Kansas State Tree Farm Committee presents an Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year award each fall at the KFS annual Forestry Field Day. The award includes a new STIHL chainsaw.

Additional information about the Tree Farm program is available by accessing http://www.kansasforests.org/rural/organizations.shtml  on the Web or contacting Atchison at
785-532-3310 (e-mail: atchison@ksu.edu). Any Kansas State University county or district Extension office also can provide access or further information.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News