The Massachusetts Tree Farm Program will hold a tour of the 2015 Tree Farm of the Year at the Eve-Cowles Family Tree Farm in Deerfield and Conway on Saturday,
October 17th, from 10 am to noon.

The Eve-Cowles family was named the 2015 Massachusetts Tree Farmers of the Year for their exemplary management of the 360 acres of woodlands they own in
Deerfield and Conway, and their efforts to educate others about how caring management can produce both valuable timber and better habitat for many
wildlife species, particularly birds whose numbers have been shrinking.

Over more than 4 decades, the Eve-Cowles family has actively manage their woodlands to grow timber and to provide better wildlife habitat. They thinned
out poorer quality trees to give better quality trees more sunlight to grow, and, with the advice of foresters, they had timber cut to create openings
to provide more diverse habitat for birds and other wildlife. They also slowly created a better road and trail network through the woodlands.

Saturday’s tour will visit areas of the woodlands managed to provide more diverse habitat for birds. The Massachusetts Woodlands Institute, which Arthur
Eve helped found, will provide information about a new program that helps landowners learn more about the habitat for birds and wildlife on their land
and take steps to improve it.

The Eve-Cowles family was one of the first landowners in the state to participate in the new Foresters for the Birds program through the MA Department
of Conservation and Recreation, which provides funding for a Bird Habitat Assessment. Their forester will describe the results of the assessment and
share his recommendations for enhancing bird habitat on their land.

MA Tree Farm Program

http://massforestalliance.org/tree-farm/

Foresters for the Birds

http://masswoodlandsinstitute.org/projects.html#birds

Directions: Take Route 116 (Conway Road) west from I-91 in South Deerfield.

The Eve-Cowles Tree Farm is on the left at 323 Conway Road.

When: 10am, Saturday October 17, 2015 

RSVP: Contact Emily Boss of the MA Woodlands Institute, a subsidiary of the Franklin Land Trust, at emily@masswoodlands.org or (413)625-9151 ext. 104.