Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year: The Boutwell Family of Alabama

What makes them outstanding?

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John Boutwell is everyman’s Tree Farmer.  Unlike many landowners with over 1,000 contiguous acres, he or his family perform most of the sweat equity on the Tree Farm themselves.  He is an astute student of the environment.  He seeks out experts, studies on his own, and is always ready to try something new.  Even in times of adversity, such as a severe pine beetle infestation and Hurricane Ivan, John used beetle killed timber to build a beautiful cabin and turned hurricane wind- damaged timber into healthy, young forests. 

His active participation in the Alabama State Tree Farm Committee fostered his importance of a current management plan and accurate maps.  He uses My Land Plan for property stand maps and supplemental information for his management plan.  John’s outreach efforts extend far beyond the Tree Farm Committee. He is an active voice for landowners at the state and national level.  He has hosted large groups of landowners and Boy Scout Troops.  Although he enjoys groups that visit Cedar Creek Plantation, his favorite outreach is one-on-one with children who are fascinated fossil hunting in Cedar Creek and individual landowners who want to learn various management practices. 

Through his example, several individuals have purchased land and are on the path to becoming certified Tree Farmers.  John best summed up why he is a Tree Farmer in the Alabama Tree Farm’s Green Horizons newsletter:  “I am a Tree Farmer.  I plant trees, grow trees and sell trees.  I’ve got the best job on earth.”

Tree Farmer Story

The core of Cedar Cree Plantation Tree Farm is truly family land, and has been for nearly 100 years. John and his sister Peggy’s grandfather, O.L. ‘Boss’ Boutwell, purchased the original 39 acres of the ‘home place’ in 1917 when their father was not even 2 years old.  There was a house on the property when it was purchased, and the family continued to live there until 1963.  From 1917 through 1951 ‘Boss’purchased 6 additional tracts of land bringing total acreage to about 1,750 acres.  ‘Boss’and his son were cattlemen and farmers “ timber and wildlife were secondary.  A perimeter fence encompassed the whole place (about 20 miles total), and a cow-calf operation was the main farm enterprise.  Corn and hay was grown to support the cattle operation and some cotton was grown as a cash crop.

John’s father worked for the Soil Conservation Service and was interested in other benefits of the land “ timber, wildlife and water".  In 1961, their property was inducted into the Tree Farm Program.

John attended Auburn University and graduated with BS and MS degrees in Agricultural Economics in 1973 and 1975.  He has enjoyed a long career as the farmer and land manager of 5,000 acres of family land. 

John and Peggy’s grandparents and parents passed away.  The cows were sold, and timber became the primary crop of the land.  All this happened over several years, with much planning and preparation.  John and his wife Ann purchased 3 adjacent tracts which brought the total acreage of the Tree Farm to approximately 2,150 acres. 

Tree Farming is not without risks and challenges. The Boutwells have lived through two devastating events on their property.  In the early 1990’s, they experienced a terrible pine beetle epidemic.  Then, in 2004, the 90+ mph winds of Hurricane Ivan destroyed or damaged much of their mature timber.  In both instances, the land was replanted.  Beetle damaged wood was sawn into lumber and repurposed into a beautiful cabin that is the family recreational centerpiece of the property.  Over 1,000 acres were salvaged, and 140 acres were so severely damaged they had to be cleared and replanted after Ivan.  

From 2002, John began a commercial hunting operation on the property and wildlife habitat became an important management objective.  In 2012, John ceased commercial hunting, and the property was leased to two individuals for hunting and recreation.  This move freed him to devote more time to the upkeep of the property and for timber development.

Today, John oversees all of the management activities on the entire property including timber sales, reforestation, timber improvement practices, road maintenance, wildlife plantings and much more.  Other than plantation planting, occasional mechanical site prep and helicopter spraying, all management activities are performed by John and his family.  His two sons, daughter, wife Ann and sister Peggy are active participants in decision making and carrying out the work.  Six grandchildren spend considerable time with John, and are learning invaluable lessons in land ethics, sustainable forest and wildlife management and enjoying themselves without electronic devices.

John and his family are very willing to reach out to others and show them what hard work, and sustainable management practices can produce on family forest land.  They have hosted groups of landowners for tours and Boy Scouts for Camporees.  John is also known for his willingness to take time and show and tell interested adults about his property one-on-one.  John has written several articles for the Alabama Forestry Association’s magazine on his views of being a Tree Farmer and value in the use of My Land Plan.  He is also sought out by groups to work on political policies that support programs that positively impact healthy forests, forest industry, and forestry programs. John and his wife Ann have participated in three National Tree Farm Conventions (2010, 2013 and 2014), and the Aldo Leopold Foundation’s Land Ethic Workshop.

Family use of the Tree Farm centers at the cabin which John and his family built in 2002 from beetle damaged trees.  Cedar Creek and many other streams on the land are also a focal point.  The family spends many weekends at Cedar Creek Plantation, and especially enjoys celebrating family Christmas at the cabin every year.  John and his sons enjoy deer, quail, and turkey hunting.  The grandchildren just enjoy being there and playing in the water.  It’s a perfect place to get away “ no power lines, no TV, and no phone service".  Their friends ask them when they are coming out to civilization, and they respond “We are in civilization.  Where are you?”

Time at the property also means time for work.  The family plants orchards and wild flowers, and cleans up the area around the cabin.  If orchard trees are planted, the grand kids’ job is to spit in the hole so the trees will grow!

Peggy’s family enjoys camping out on the land and riding ATV’s over the many trails.  Peggy stays in the cabin!

As complex as the history is, this land has a bright future. Because of the family’s love of and commitment to this land, and their desire for the land to remain intact for future generations, the ownership of John and Ann’s land has been placed in a family partnership and is being transferred to their three children.  Ann and John are confident the land is in good hands.  Their son Andrew has degrees in forestry and business management and can handle the business decisions.  Their son Thomas is qualified to operate and service all the machinery needed to maintain the farm, and can handle the wildlife management decisions.  Their daughter Katie, an ordained Methodist minister, will pray for her brothers and put the fear of God in them if needed!

As the 2012 Alabama Tree Farmers of the Year, John and Ann, Peggy and their families are shining examples of who Tree Farmers are, and would represent ATFS well as National Tree Farmers of the Year.