Page 16 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Third Quarter 2023

the farm close to Cashoke Creek, which was the gateway to Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound, was and still is excellent for trade. My maternal grandfather, James Norman Phelps, was a WWI veteran
and grew up plowing behind a mule. He logged in the wintertime and farmed in the summertime with the same mules.
I know he would be proud of what I’m doing today.
Q: How do you manage your land for future generations?
A: It’s important to me to “Leave it better than you found it.” The farm was not in bad shape to begin with, but I do want to improve what I leave my kids
and grandkids.
I have objectives for the farm, and I
make those clear to my kids. For example, I invested in a duck impoundment on
my property for the recreation objective and now I get to enjoy duck hunting with friends and family. I wish I’d done more on the land with my kids, but they did help me plant trees and carry out some controlled burning from time to time.
I believe getting their hands dirty goes
a long way to teach kids that they can have different goals and objectives. You can grow for timber while at the same time helping wildlife, soil, air, and water. All of these things benefit from forest management planning.
I also invested in the Working Lands Trust conservation easement on a portion of the farm, an agreement that you make to keep lands in forestry and agriculture in perpetuity.
Q: Are there economic reasons for taking these measures?
A: For me, the financial benefit is not the main advantage. If I manage
and improve upon the farm and receive revenue on that, I can turn it around and reinvest it in the farm. If push comes to shove, and there was an emergency, I could use it for that also.
Q: How does your work with managed forests support
wildlife, water, air, soil, recreation, and carbon sequestration?
A: To me, anything shy of conversion of the land to another use creates
diversity. With any management activity — clearcutting, shelter woodcutting, thinning, controlled burning — you are causing new growth to occur, creating variety and diversity. Young trees filter air and water better than old growth trees.
G. Clay Creed, R.F.
P.O. Box 159 Laurel Hill, NC 28351
NC Registered Forester No. 1655 NC Certified Prescribe Burner 313 C Registered Forester No. 1794 SC Prescribed Fire Manager 899
Society of American Foresters
Contributing member of NCSU Cooperative Tree Improvement Program
610-5841
14 ncforestry.org / THIRD QUARTER 2023