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After postponing for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maine Tree Farm Program and Maine Woodland Owners are once again co-hosting the annual celebration of the Maine Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year on Sunday, September 12th from 8:30 am – 3:00 pm. For this year’s Forestry Field Day, the event will be held at the winner of the 2020 award, Wicopy Woods Tree Farm in Sebec, Piscataquis County. This is an opportunity to learn about and highlight the forestry practices the owners, Jessica Leahy and Bob Seymour, have conducted resulting in a high-quality, healthy, and productive forest. Because of the pandemic, no Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year was selected in 2021.
“For nearly 70 years, the Maine Tree Farm Program has supported small family forest owners in stewarding their woodlands by connecting them with natural resource professionals,” stated Randy Lagasse, Chair of the Maine Tree Farm Committee. “With the Maine Forestry Field Day, we take an opportunity to recognize exemplary forest management in Maine. While the pandemic caused a one-year delay, we are proud to join with Maine Woodland Owners Association to recognize Jessica Leahy and Bob Seymour of Wicopy Woods as Maine’s 2020 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year.”
Wicopy Woods Tree Farm is a 130-acre forest known for its remarkable merchantable timber products and embrace of forest ecology. In 1968, Ron Locke, a forester, transformed it into an example of thoughtful forest management. In 1984, Locke was awarded the Maine Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year for his stewardship of Wicopy Woods. Leahy and Seymour purchased the property from Locke in 2015 and have strived to continue and expand his exemplary woodland management.
Read the story in the Bangor Daily News
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