PLSO Oregon Surveyor Nov/Dec 2019

2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 42, No. 6 From the Editor Greg Crites, PLS Editor MESSAGE EDITOR FROM THE Having received two national editorial awards in the past two years and even a national award for the magazine, I think I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. M y wife and I were walking through Miller Woods this morning. For those of you who don’t know the area around McMinnville where I now reside, Miller Woods is an old farmstead that was donated to the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District by Frieda and K.T. Miller in 2004. They settled on the property in 1967 after retiring as mil- itary contractors in Alaska. The forested parts of the 130 acres were logged in the 1970’s with replanting commencing in 1971. The site contains an intensely managed forest which is now approach- ing 50-years of age. As with many forested tracts in the Pacif- ic Northwest, active logging commenced in the late 1800’s where homesteaders cleared land for farming. There was a log- ical pattern of settlement when it came time to choose the location for these farms, centered around terrain, vegeta- tive cover, soil types and the availability of water. Miller Woods seems to have satisfied most of the criteria necessary for a successful rural farm. With gentle slopes and terrain with aspects facing primarily to the east, west and south, it is laced with year-round streams that would provide adequate water for any/ all agricultural activities. When I say an intensely managed for- est, Yamhill County has been thinning the trees for some time, with the result being a stand that is well spaced with minimal understory. Trails lace across the terrain providing hikers, bird watchers and other users a wonderful opportuni- ty to witness intensive forestry in action. I applaud Yamhill County for their efforts in managing this property and for mak- ing it a worthwhile place to visit that is within perhaps a 20-minute drive from my house. Now that I’ve givenmy little treasure away, hopefully this won’t generate a great deal of interest for visitors. As it is, I feel that most of the times we’ve visited the site, my wife and I have had it pretty much to ourselves. The benefit of this is I’mbecom- ing very familiar with the trail system, to the point where I don’t need to pay much attention to where I’m going and can concentrate on observing the flora and fauna. Today, our hike was punctuated by beautiful, late-fall weather, sunshine and reasonably warm temperatures, to the point that I was quite comfortable in a light jacket and my trusty old trail shoes. I happened to notice a tree on our hike today that I hadn’t recalled seeing before, only because it was non-typical with its neighbors. Big and gnarly with a huge “sucker” arising from the south side of its trunk, it was obvious that this tree had been bypassed by loggers because it represented little merchantable val- ue. When I was working in the woods in my youth, the term for the character of a tree like this was “wolfy.” Large limbs encompassed the stem from the ground to the top, which from a lumber-makers perspective meant huge knots and no chance for peeling, even as core material for plywood. Ironically, these character- istics represented the salvation for this tree, which causedme to think about oth- er “wolf” trees I have seen throughout my career tramping through forests. The trees the loggers left were still standing because they had no value. Funny, but now that I’m getting older and have re- tired from active practice, I’m beginning to understand old trees like that. We have a lot of things in common. I have an old friend who was a Reikki mas- ter. She lives in Hawaii and teaches grade schoolers about environmental issues. I