24 VIRGINIA FORESTS 2024 Tree Farm Tours Recap By Jennifer Gagnon, Virginia Tech Sussex County landowner Bill Owen and his forester Ben Lane are working to restore longleaf pine, a diminished native species, in southeast Virginia. During the summer of 2024, the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation (VTFF) held three Tree Farm Tours across the Commonwealth. The tours were on properties that have been actively managed by the same families for multiple generations. In all, 59 landowners and natural resource professionals attended. The VTFF kicked off the tour series on the Gregory family’s 600+ acre Tree Farm and the Gregory Lumber Company in Pittsylvania County. Although the day was strikingly hot, the tour was exceedingly cool, thanks to our gracious hosts. Stone Gregory, along with Virginia Dept. of Forestry (DOF) Tree Farm inspectors Drew Arnn and Mike Aherron, explained the management strategy for the property, most of which is planted loblolly pine. Stone thins his pines twice to increase diversity of the understory vegetation (improving wildlife habitat). This type of management creates beautiful, open-canopied forests, and plentiful hunting opportunities. The second tour was held at Bill Owen’s 1,800+ acre Tree Farm in Sussex County. Bill inherited the Tree Farm where he grew up, when his parents passed. Having lived and taught in New England most of his adult life, Bill initially considered selling the property. However, The Nature Conservancy reached out and convinced him Thinned loblolly pine plantations at the Gregory Tree Farm in Pittsylvania County are used to produce income from timber and habitat for hunting.
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