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October 2015 Newsletter: Bird & Crawford Forestry
October 2015 – In This Issue:
FROM MIKE & SAM
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WITH ROBERT OGLE
LANDOWNER SPOTLIGHT
SEEDLING CARE
UPCOMING EVENTS
FROM MIKE & SAM
Though it’s hard to believe more than 40 years have passed since we first met as interns at the Weyerhaeuser Company, it’s not surprising that our friendship has remained strong throughout the years. After merging our companies this year, the core values and beliefs that have always served as the root of our friendship now serve as the foundation of Bird & Crawford Forestry. As a team, our shared values allow us to uphold the highest level of expertise, professionalism and dedication to providing quality services.
These mutual interests are what influenced both of us to be involved with the Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF). As active members for many years, ACF has been a common bond between us and our accreditation remains a priority of ours. Because of our membership, our clients can be assured that we have met rigorous membership requirements, are committed to excellence and adhere to a strict code of ethics. This is an especially important differentiation in Texas and Louisiana given that forestry consulting services can be offered without a specific licensing or registration requirement.
Additionally, ACF requires that members do not have a conflict of interest when serving clients, such as owning interest in a timber-buying entity while providing forest management assistance. Considering all of these factors, we emphasize the ACF designation not only to validate our dedication to ethical and quality services, but most importantly to assure to our clients they’ve chosen a premier forest consultant to help achieve their goals for their land. We appreciate the opportunity to work with each and every one of you. We’d love to hear from you anytime. Reach us at the emails below or give us a call!
J. Mike Bird
[email protected]
936.598.3053 ext 41
Sam Crawford
[email protected]
318.797.1546
TEAM SPOTLIGHT Questions for Robert Ogle Louisiana Region Manager/Forester
You recently joined BC&F. Tell us a little about yourself.
I am 36 years old, married to Keena (my beautiful wife of 11 years) and we have two boys named Trace-Allen (8 years-old) and Trenton (6 years-old). We love to hunt, fish, and play sports as a family. Relative to my career path, I am coming from
Weyerhaeuser where I worked for the last 10 years. At Weyerhaeuser, I was part of a team that executed the Silviculture strategies for the North Louisiana Region.
What are your primary duties at Bird & Crawford Forestry?
I will direct the planning, organizing, allocating of resources and directing the day-to-day operations of the various projects we have been trusted to facilitate by our clients here in the Louisiana region. We have a great team here at Bird & Crawford and I am enjoying the responsibility and opportunity to work with the foresters here as we strive to create management strategies that meet the needs of our clients. My goal is to make traditional forest management the foundation for the properties we manage, while giving maximum effort to satisfy the needs for their property.
What are you most excited about in this new role?
The future to me looks bright for our team at B&CF. The talented foresters we have, along with the rest of the team associated with Advanced Ecology, allow us to offer a dynamic set of high-quality services that you can’t find in any other firm around this part of the country. Coming from an industrial forestry background, I am excited to be able to serve a different sector of the business. I have always had a passion for working outdoors and there is nothing better than being able to do that while developing relationships with clients. My passion for working with people will enable me to provide a value to the client that will help them meet their goals for the property.
LANDOWNER SPOTLIGHT: THE WEAVER FAMILY
Friends Who Happened To Be Clients
By Mike Bird
In 1979, Donna and I started Bird Forestry Services, mostly on a wing and a prayer. Our first “paying” clients (really important when you don’t have a regular income, have a child, a pregnant wife and a house note) were Martin and Malcolm Weaver. That small, but important job not only started our business, but it more importantly blossomed into a rewarding and personal relationship with the Weavers who Donna and I have come to love like family.
Martin passed in the early 1980s. Martin’s wife, “Miss Joy,” as he referred to her, became the person I answered to on forestry business matters regarding land that she owned. She was exactly that, a true Joy to work with. And, what a lady: very proper in a very East Texas sort of way.
My conversations would go something like this: “Miss Joy, we need to thin the 187-acre tract.” Miss Joy would respond, “Now Mike, if that’s what we need to do, just do it.”
Many of the properties Malcolm and Martin owned, they shared undivided interest in, so once I received approval from Miss Joy, I would go see Malcolm and my ducks had better be in line.
My conversation with Malcolm was totally different: “Mr. Weaver, we need to thin the 187 acre tract.”
Malcolm would reply, “Hell, why do we need to thin it, we thinned it once in 1492 (sometimes Mr. Weaver would embellish the facts) and we need to thin it again! You are going to have to show me why, let’s take a ride down to the place.”
The first time this happened, it was a living history lesson. Malcolm knew more about East Texas history than had ever been written. What grand “and educational” trips those were. I truly looked forward to them.
Malcolm met Constance Mary Cavenoish in England in 1945 and they married in 1946. They were married for 60 years and made a delightful couple. Mrs. Weaver was very proper and very English, and yet, embraced East Texas hospitality and charm like Miss Joy.
Connie passed on March 31, 2006. She was 87 years old.
Miss Joy passed away on December 29, 2014. She was 95 years old. Malcolm passed away October 8, 2015. He was 97 years old.
I was honored to be a pallbearer at all of their funerals.
I could write volumes about what the Weaver family has done for the town of Center, Shelby County and East Texas, but others have already done that. I am writing this to let you know that we have lost dear personal friends and members of our forestry family.
The Weaver family is woven into the very fabric that we, Donna and I, and this company have become.
We are better because of them. And, we will miss them.
NOTEWORTHY: Seedling Care
Prepping for reforestation requires timely planning and careful execution. As the fall months approach, it’s important to be reminded of the key techniques involved in the care and handling of seedlings by a professional in order to ensure favorable outcomes for your forest.
That’s why when it’s time to retrieve your seedlings from the nursery, our team takes great care from ensuring they are kept in cold, high- humidity conditions to making sure that planting conditions are right with moist soil and above freezing temperatures. Perhaps the most vital component to the process is successfully minimizing handling during the transfer of seedlings from nursery bags to planting bags. There can be no shaking, swinging or otherwise removing the root gel, soil or
planting media from the roots. Relative to planting, all seedlings must be planted straight, deep and tight, with a goal of placing the root system as far as possible from the soil surface to minimize drying of roots while ensuring that the taproot is pointed down.
We take this process very seriously by having an independent supervisor on-site throughout all aspects of the reforestation process to ensure there are no mistakes with the care and handling of your seedlings. By remaining tedious throughout the planning and execution of the tree planting process, landowners can expect great success with their forests. Give us a call to discuss these steps on your land!
UPCOMING EVENTS
We look forward to seeing you at the Texas Forestry Association Annual Meeting October 21-23 in College Station. Be sure to bid on the whitetail buck hunt on the Oklahoma Trophy Ranch that our team is sponsoring. Proceeds go to the Texas Project Learning Tree educating the next generation of land stewards gain an awareness and knowledge of the world around them, as well as their place within it.
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