Missouri Tree Farm Program 60th Year Celebration

By the early 20th Century most of the Missouri Ozarks had been cutover, burned and turned into hard-scrabble farms.  Uncontrolled burning had become a rite-of-spring and free-range livestock grazing was the norm.  

In the 1920s Rev. Paul Wobus of the United Church of Christ traveled into the area with the intent of developing rural churches.  He established a church at Shannondale.  When Rev. Vincent Bucher arrived in the early 1930s to serve as Shannondale’s first pastor he also took on the job of serving the community.  The church purchased over four-thousand acres of land.  This area has since become one of the largest demonstrations of private forest management in the Missouri Ozarks.   The hope was through this purchase, good forestry practices could be demonstrated to local landowners.  

A formal ceremony was held in a Shannon County stand of virgin shortleaf pine on Highway 19 in October of 1949 to commemorate the initiation of the Tree Farm Program in Missouri.  Tree Farm membership certificates were presented to the first ten landowners entered into the program.  Shannondale Tree Farm was one of those original landowners.

Today, Shannondale Tree Farm is the oldest, continuously owned Tree Farm in Missouri. To celebrate this historic event on its 60th anniversary and to honor Shannondale Tree Farm, the Missouri Tree Farm committee is planning a ceremony at Shannondale Tree Farm in Shannon County October 23 & 24, 2009.  The event will highlight this outstanding 60 year commitment to sustainable forestry, environmental improvement and community outreach effort. 

SCHEDULE

8:00-8:45 Registration

8:45-10:00 Opening Remarks

10:00-12:00 Concurrent Sessions-North & South Tour

North Tour-Moderators- Rick Merritt and Tim Stanton
10:00 Travel to Shannondale Church
10:10 Bob Cunningham – Missouri’s Forest History
10:50 Walk to Woodland/Savanna talk
11:00 Mike Gaskin & David Saphian Woodland/Savanna Talk
11:30 Crafts/Nature lodge visit
11:45 Travel back to Timber Lodge.

South Tour: Moderators-Eminence MDC Foresters
10:10-10:40 Old Timber Sale with Shannondale Foresters
10:50-11:20 New Timber Sale with Shannondale Foresters
11:30-11:45 Charcoal Plant with Todd Hamilton

12:00-1:45 Lunch and Award Presentations
Silver Certificates – Wallace Brumfield
Forester Awards – Gary Smith
Fred Bergman Award – Jeff Fulk
John Slusher Award-
Regional Tree Farmer Awards – Wallace Brumfield
2008 State Tree Farmer of the Year Award – Lisa Allen

1:45-3:45 Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

North Tour-Moderators Rick Merritt and Tim Stanton
1:45 Travel to Shannondale Church
1:55 Peter Becker – Shannondale, Tree Farm, & Carbon Mkts
2:35 Walk to Woodland/Savanna talk
2:45 Mike Gaskin & David Saphian Woodland/Savanna Talk
3:15 Crafts/Nature Lodge Visit
3:30 Travel back to Timber Lodge.

South Tour: Moderators-Eminence MDC Foresters
1:55-2:25 Old Timber Sale with Shannondale Foresters
2:35-3:05 New Timber Sale with Shannondale Foresters
3:15-3:30 Charcoal Plant with Todd Hamilton

4:00 Wrap Up

Directions

The Timber Lodge is 23 miles south of Salem on HWY 19, or 20 miles north of Eminence on HWY 19.

Click here to print a registration form