Mike T. Jones and his family were selected by the Virginia
Tree Farm Committee as outstanding Tree Farmers of 2007.
Mike’s Springview Farm spreads across 335 acres on a
beautiful stretch of rapids in the Nottoway River at the
northern edge of Greensville County, Virgnia, near the
community of Purdy. The Nottoway River is a big part of
Mike’s life and
 story.
He loves the river and works hard to protect its natural
beauty, clean water and abundant wildlife. Herons, eagles
and osprey patrol his one and a half miles of river
frontage. A variety of fish, including the endangered
Roanoke Logperch, thrive in the clear flowing stream. Mike
has created various wildlife infrastructure such as nesting
platforms for osprey, woodduck and tree swallow boxes. He
uses discarded Christmas trees for fish structure in the
three ponds. His personal “Hole-In-The-Woods” project
involves placing nest boxes throughout the farm that will
invariably be utilized by many wildlife species (e.g. flying
squirrels, gray squirrels, Great-Crested Flycatchers, owls,
etc.)
Mike has constructed and maintains over three miles of
fences to exclude livestock from timberland, sensitive
wetlands and stream corridors (alternate livestock water
sources are provided); he is conscientious when using
herbicides for brush control, timber management and wildlife
enhancement; his roads are properly constructed with water
bars to avoid erosion; and he maintains wildlife friendly
buffers around all pastures, crop fields and other open
areas. Soft edges between forests and fields are the norm
here.
Forestry is a family affair for Mike Jones. It was his
grandfather, Millard M. Jones, who originally established
the Tree Farm on portions of this land and was publicly
recognized by the governor of Virginia as our state’s first
Tree Farmer in 1947. Mike’s four
children still work around the farm and are carrying on the
family tradition. Springview Farm is the perfect example of
sustainable forestry. The picture of Mike’s grandfather
standing next to his Tree Farm sign, in front of a healthy
stand of loblolly pine, could be reenacted today. Despite
two generations of harvests, the forest of today looks
similar to 1947.
Springview Farm is outstanding proof that our land can
produce wood, clean water, recreation and wildlife at the
same time. However, doing this correctly requires diligence
and an astute understanding of forestry and wildlife
management concepts. Mike, who manages his land in harmony
with natural principles, is an excellent steward of all our
natural resources.
Virginia’s forest evolved with fire. Native Americans used
fire as a management tool to encourage game species.
Preventing all fires in the forest can encourage pests,
alter the fundamental nature of the forest, and create
volatile conditions that can lead to disastrous situations.
However, since fire is a natural and necessary component of
our forest ecology, it is also a potential friend. Mike
Jones is a certified prescribed burning manager who knows
how to use fire as the environmentally friendly tool it is.
He burns the pine understory and warm-season grass fields on
a
regular schedule to release nutrients, significantly improve
wildlife values, control understory habitat and improve
growth potential. This wise use of the practice on
forestland is producing a beautiful savanna pine forest
similar to what likely existed in 1607.
Mike is also experimenting with longleaf pine. The longleaf
was once common in southeastern Virginia, but years of
development and diligent fire suppression (the longleaf
ecology depends on fire) have reduced it to mere remnants.
Mike’s farm is located on the northern edge of the
Longleaf’s natural range and he has dedicated a site to
improved longleaf pine seedlings, which are still in the
“grass stage.”
Wildlife thrives. Deer and wild turkey are common sights on
Springview Farm. Although bear and bobcat are seen less
often, they are often watching you. Mike ensures that
necessary forestry operations leave no long-term scars.
After a recent harvest, for example, he ripped the
compressed soil at his log decks and planted them with
forages, allowing them to quickly recover and become
wildlife feeding plots. Mike also assures that the forest
edge flows into the field with a soft boundary that protects
wildlife and provides an additional habitat type. A
beautiful riparian buffer of mature hardwood trees borders
this entire one and a half mile stretch of the Nottoway
River.
 That
old philosophical conundrum —whether a tree falling in the
forest makes a sound if nobody is there to hear it—has
particular meaning to forest owners. We are dealing with an
increasingly urban population, remote from the rhythms of
the country and the cycles of nature. They often do not
understand the principles of good forestry and may be
suspicious of those who utilize and harvest the products of
the forest. After all, the forester’s years of good work are
often literally hidden in the woods, while some of the less
attractive aspects of harvests, and especially the period
immediately following harvests, may attract attention. This
is where Mike Jones is performing a valuable service to
every forester and the 384,000 private forest landowners in
Virginia. In many ways he has opened Springview Farm to the
public and this has allowed many people to learn about the
stewardship aspect of forestry. He hosts the annual Virginia
Tech soils tour of the state, as well as an ornithology
class from Longwood University. The Boy Scouts are regular
visitors to his farm. His segment of the Nottoway River is a
macro-invertebrate study area used to monitor water quality.
Mike leads wildflower field trips, in this respect doing
double duty by showing the wildflowers themselves and
defining their dependence on good forestry practices such as
prescribed burning. Last fall Mike hosted the Southside
Virginia Forestry and WildlifeTour.
It was on a Virginia Tech Extension Southside forest tour in
October 2006 that Georgia-Pacific forester Scott Detar met
Mike. After a tour of his Tree Farm, Scott knew that Mike
was a very special landowner doing great things on his land.
It was then that Scott decided to nominate him for
Outstanding Virginia Tree Farmer of the Year.
Scott was right. Mike Jones is an extraordinary landowner.
He and his family have introduced hundreds of people to the
beauty, bounty and diversity of a well-managed Tree Farm.
Their efforts are an inspiration to all on how the many
principles of natural resource management, stewardship and
tree farming can be blended successfully.
VFA and the Virginia Tree Farm Committee heartily
congratulate Mike and his family. They are making us all
look good.
|
