Tree Farmer of the Year

Crook County's Mike Frey has been named the 2023 Tree Farmer of the Year by Wyoming State Forestry.

Frey has been the owner of the Moskee Land Corp property for close to twenty years now. Owning timbered ground comes with its own set of challenges, as he has learned throughout his ownership.

His management tasks have spread from monitoring the timber harvests to thinning out the dog hair stands and everything in between. These in-between tasks included battling beetle infestations, reducing the fine and medium fuel loads, creating water sources, monitoring Mother Nature's ignitions and battling the fires that resisted nature and mankind's general control efforts.

Then came the challenge of dealing with the after effects of the burn.

Through the hard times, Mike has been an exemplary steward of the land with changing management approaches as needed to enable trees to grow healthier. Mike started these changes with a multi-aged stand management aspect, reducing fuel loads and breaking up the continuity of the timber to lessen the fire risk.

As Mike works toward the potential of doubling his timber capacity while managing for the best interest of the natural resources, he is helping capture and store emission with the world's oldest carbon capture technology, our forest, for the benefit of all.

Contact your local resource professionals for technical assistance on how to challenge the many odds against forest management. Their strategic and technical viewpoint can help you put most of those odds in your favor.

As forest landowners, you are in control of both the forest management and the benefits it will provide. The end rewards are well worth the effort and the management is much appreciated.

As individuals, we should take the time to appreciate those who challenge themselves to the multiple tasks it takes to manage the forests, each of which an important role in a healthy forest.

Submitted by Wyoming State Forestry, Newcastle Division