Tree Farm Field Day:
Claude & Pilar Eans

Written by Heather Montgomery, Community Restoration Coordinator & Frederick County Forestry Board (FCFB) member
Edited by: Mike Kay, Claude Eans, Keith Schoonover of the FCFB

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Ah, the holiday season… for many, a favorite tradition includes going to a Christmas Tree Farm to cut down the perfect Christmas tree for decorating. Did you know that—according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources—there are over 1,500 tree farms in Maryland totaling over 269,000 acres? Not all of these are Christmas Tree Farms; in fact, many are diverse woodlands managed for forest products, wildlife, water protection and aesthetics, and to minimize the threat of fire, insects and disease. This type of forest management has been encouraged by the American Tree Farm System  since 1941. In Maryland, forest landowners can be certified as Tree Farmers by the American Tree Farm System for their forest management efforts.

This past weekend I ventured out to a “Tree Farm Field Day” at Claude and Pilar Eans’ 28-acre forested property in Walkersville, MD. Claude has been a Certified Tree Farmer since 1986. The Eans Tree farm consists of 5 acres of mature oak forests, 8 acres of young forest that developed naturally after livestock were removed, and a 15 acre pine plantation that was planted in the early 1970’s.

Pilar & Claude Eans
   The Eans Property Pine Stand

The field day focused primarily on the pine plantation. The plantation originally consisted of white and Scotch pine planted closely (6 ft by 6 ft) to encourage rapid upward growth. The original intent was to harvest the Scotch pine for Christmas trees in order to provide more room for the longer lived, native white pine trees.  By the time Claude purchased this property, the Scotch pines were too large for Christmas trees.   A forest management plan prepared for the Eans by Forester Bonnie Johnson recommended removing the Scotch pine to free up the white pine.  Claude did this on his own.  Forester Johnson was so impressed with this effort that she nominated Claude as Tree Farmer of the Year in 1988.  Over the years the white pine continued their growth, eventually to the point that large adjacent pines began to interfere with each other.  At this point Claude tried numerous times to have the pines thinned out commercially;  each attempt was met with failure since most commercial pine operators operate outside the confines of Frederick County.

Fortunately for Claude, local logger Brian Blickenstaff recently acquired a Feller-Buncher- an 18,000 lb. specialized piece of logging equipment that can secure, cut, and maneuver a 12-14” dbh tree to create neat piles within narrow confinements.  Brian has agreed to thin the pine trees and pay Claude a predetermined price for the pine trees he removes based on the weight of the logs as they arrive at the pulp mill. 

Feller-Buncher

The Tree Farm Field Day was co-sponsored by the Maryland Tree Farm Program and the Frederick County Forestry Board. It introduced participants to the importance of forest management, and also included a live demonstration of the Feller-Buncher. Mike Kay (MD DNR Forest Service/FCFB) gave a brief presentation on the history behind pine plantings and the need for management. We learned that the destructive pine bark beetle is attracted to overcrowded pine stands where trees are stressed due to heavy competition and limited resources.

Forester Mike Kay pointing out pine bark beetle damage    

Field Day Participants & Logger Brian Blickenstaff discussing thinning technique

The Feller-buncher demonstration was very impressive. The process was powerful, quick, and efficient; in the span of 3 minutes, four large pine trees had been cut and laid down neatly. About 30% of the less desirable white pine trees will be removed from the stand to allow the remaining trees more room to grow and develop.  The long-lived white pine can live hundreds of years and grow to a height of nearly 200 feet tall as long as it has enough room to stretch out.

Feller-Buncher in action- sawing pine

Feller-Buncher laying down cut pine

Pine pile made by Feller-Buncher

At the conclusion of the Tree Farm Demonstration Day, Tree farm signs and hats were distributed and everyone left knowing a little more about the importance of proper forest management and the technology that can help tree farmers achieve their forest management goals.

Field Day instructors and participants with Tree Farm signs & hats

Contact information:

For logging services/Feller-buncher inquiries, contact Brian Blickenstaff at:
Blickenstaff Logging
12811 Brandenburg Hollow Road
Myersville, MD 21773
301-293-9889

For more information about the Maryland Tree Farm Program, contact Claude Eans: 301-898-7664 / oeans@hotmail.com.

For more information about the Frederick County Forestry Board or forest management plans, contact Mike Kay:  301-473-8417 / mkay@dnr.state.md.us.