Garman named Tree Farmer of the Year

Crook County's Jeff Garman has been named the 2024 Wyoming Tree Farmer of the year by Wyoming State Forestry.

Each year, the award recognizes a family-owned woodland for its outstanding sustainable forest management, honoring individuals who go above and beyond in their commitment to responsible forest management.

The Garmans have spent several decades working with professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wyoming State Forestry on stewardship of their land. The goal of this effort has been to enhance the regeneration and diversity of species and timber sawlogs on the property on Garman Road near Sundance.

The Garmans began their stewardship management endeavor back in the 1980s, when Mary Garman collaborated with the District Land Office to administrate a timber harvest.

Once this was complete, the next decade was spent implementing timber stand improvement practice units. The intent was to enhance forage for grazing, improve the ability of stands to resist insects and disease, improve the water yield of wetland areas and maintain economic benefit from timber products.

As the next owner of the land, Jeff continued these efforts. Around 40 years after that first timber harvest, he did a selective logging of the timber stand to open it up to a remaining good-quality, medium-sized sawlog stand.

At the same time, he completed a small unit of timber stand improvement. The remaining units are expected to regenerate to a ten-year cycle, with thinning needed again in 2030.