March’s featured photos for our Maine Tree Farm 70th Anniversary photo contest were submitted by the Kraskes, highlighting the Kraske Family Tree Farm! Since 1968, Marjory Kraske (photographed below) and her late husband, David, have owned and operated this property, originally established as a dairy farm (pictured below) that closed in the early 1940s. After Marj and David purchased the property, they planted over 60,000 white pine, spruce, and balsam fir seedlings. Due to their hard work, the land has developed into a true Tree Farm, and the Kraske Family Tree Farm officially joined the Maine Tree Farm program in 1975. Marj’s son and registered professional forester, Chuck Kraske, develops the management plans and tends to the property with the help of the entire family and local logging contractors.

Marjory Kraske proudly displays her Tree Farm Sign

The Kraske Family now owns 455 acres of forested land, 248 of which are enrolled in Tree Farm. The family conducts periodic timber harvests, operates a small maple syrup operation, and performs periodic selection and patch cutting throughout the property to reduce beech and promote pine, oak, and sugar maple regeneration. Another primary management objective on the Kraske Family Tree Farm is wildlife, and the family enjoys setting up trail cameras throughout the property to monitor species abundance and distribution. 

The former dairy farm at the Kraske Family Tree Farm

Thank you to the Kraskes for your photo submissions!


Photo contest rules: 

The Maine Tree Farm Program is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2022! As part of the celebrations, we invite Tree Farmers to share photos of their property for consideration in our “Maine Tree Farm Photo Contest,” which will be running monthly throughout the year. Each photographer may submit a maximum of five photos total, and photos must be submitted by the 2nd Friday of the month to be considered for that month’s newsletter. Please send your submissions to coordinator@mainetreefarm.org. When submitting your photos, please include your name, your Tree Farm name (if applicable), the location and acreage of your Tree Farm, along with your email address, age (if under 21), mailing address, and the month/time of year the photo was taken. Please feel free to also send any additional fun facts or history about your Tree Farm that you may wish to share. 

Disclaimer: By sending us your photos, you are agreeing to let Maine Tree Farm use them for publication purposes on our website, social media pages, and newsletter.

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