Western Nominee: Don, Darrell, and Dena Oakes of Oregon

What makes them outstanding?

The Oakes family, with patriarch and matriarch, Donald and Donna Oakes, are passionate about the sustainable forestry practices they implement on their land. They value continuing education, sharing forestry with others, and establishing generational family connections to the land. Members of the family volunteer to support forestry outreach, be leaders in their county Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA) chapter, be members of the Oregon Tree Farm System board, to speak at the state legislature on issues important to family forest owners, or to participate in activities related to their community and forest. Donald and his daughter Marsha both completed the extension Master Woodlands Management (MWM) course and have donated numerous hours to others as a MWM. They certified their forest to the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) to facilitate and align with their desire to maintain a balance between the economic, environmental and social values of their property.  

A major strength of the family is the focus of showcasing succession planning. While not formally trained as professional foresters, many family members have learned the knowledge needed to sustainably manage their forest and they perform almost all of the work and planning on the land.  All members of the family have opportunities to work on the property and are as active as they can be.  In 2018, 52 family members were on the property to work or play. A recent family tree planting weekendincluded Donald Oakes, six children and spouses, 12 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Tree Farmer Story

In 1883 Ransom and Mary Oakes settled a donation land claim outside of Monroe, Oregon where they raised livestock and produce. 104 years later their great-grandson, Donald Oakes obtained ownership of the 240 acres and an additional 318 acres to establish a tree farm with a long-term vision for future generations.   In 1999, Donald and his wife Donna, formed The Oakes Investment LLC with their six children, Christine, Dennis, Marsha, Duane, Darrell, and Darwin, as a way to formalize their vision of having family forestland with sustainability for future generations.

Some of the stated objectives in their management plan include providing family educational opportunities using Extension at the College of Forestry at nearby Oregon State University, Oregon Small Woodlands Association, Oregon Tree Farm System. They plan to generate enough income from annual harvests to pay for silviculture expenses and taxes using sustainable timber management.  Recreational use is prioritized to enjoy the land in a way that values the land.

Donald became interested in managing his own forest while working at Hull-Oakes Lumber Company as the logging superintendent, a job his dad, Chet, had before him.  Hull-Oakes was founded in 1937 by Don’s uncle, Ralph Hull, and his father, Chet Oakes.  Still in operation, it specializes in cutting big timbers up to 85 feet long. Chet eventually sold his portion to Ralph and then Donald became an owner when Ralph retired.  Donald sold his portion to his cousin, Ralph’s grandson, upon his own retirement.  Family members continue to work at Hull-Oakes with Don’s son-in-law, David, being the millwright.  The family is proud of the connection and Donald’s part in making the mill a success.   When on a trip to Boston, Donald, Donna, Darrell, Dena, and their children were able to have a private tour of the USS Constitution where Don was able to show the grandchildren the replacement beams made from trees he selected in the woods and then milled at Hull-Oakes lumber company. 

Dennis, Duane, and Darrell all worked for their dad at Hull-Oakes at some point in their adult lives. They gained skills working for their dad they now utilize managing their own property.  For the past few years Dennis, Duane, and Darwin have done most of the logging, land clearing, road building and trucking. Marsha did some choker setting, then transitioned into log sales, logging plans, record keeping, and hiring when needed.   Darrell is the president of the LLC and Christine is the LLC secretary. All of the siblings discuss with their children and grandchildren their roles within the LLC and working on the property.

The family manages to keep a balance between work and play on the property.   In 1999, they started a two-year project to build a large picnic shelter with kitchen and bathroom.  The wood for the 900 square food shelter was made from trees harvested by the family on the property and milled at Hull-Oakes Lumber Company.  It was built entirely by family members. Notable features of the building are the beautiful large beams, grandkids handprints in the concrete and Grandpa Donald’s footprints on the vaulted ceiling boards where he walked across the boards with his muddy boots during construction. It is a well-loved and used gathering space.

Keeping future generations connected to the tree farm is a priority.  The Oakes’ Investment LLC has a Facebook page and occasional newsletter. To make sure all the grandchildren are kept informed of the tree farm business, Darrell’s wife Dena manages a group text to communicate in a familiar format to the younger generation.  The LLC also has regular business and family meetings where the family is invited to meet at the homestead picnic shelter.  A report is given with opportunities for all to ask questions, give feedback, and volunteer for projects that interest them such as making bat houses, working in the homestead apple or hazelnut orchard, building roads, or thinning.  Even the youngest members are listened to.  Recently the younger generation got together their own list of ideas, voted among themselves, and presented to the larger group that they wanted a twirlyslide.  Later that summer, Darrell and Dena found one on a garage sale site, drove three hours south with Grandpa Donald and their daughter to purchase it and had it installed by the next meeting.   The kids were impressed with the evidence they are also owners of the tree farm and that their voices matter.

The importance of sustainability of the forestland for timber harvest and income to meet silvicultural needs resulted in Darrell and Marsha negotiating to purchase additional acreage with a younger age class to the LLC.   In 2018, in order to purchase an adjacent 240 acres with a younger age class, the LLC sold almost 3 million board feet of timber. Before the purchase, the property was heavy with older, mature timber. Combining the younger age class to their standing timber provides a much better distribution of age classes that will allow for better opportunities to have a sustainable harvest over time. This allows the youngest family members to have income when they are older. Darrell showcased this to the younger members in a tour of the newly acquired properties. 

Having a good management plan, succession plan, and stated goals is important to the Oakes’. Don was the primary manager until Marsha retired and took the Master Woodlands Managers (MWM) course.  With her illness, Darrell and Dena became the next to help Donald with management duties.   Donald wrote the original management plan in 1987 with a pencil on notebook paper. When Marsha took on more management, the plan was updated and certified to ATFS, in 2008. Now Darrell, with Marsha’s son, Dan, is responsible for the management plan as they work towards having the remainder of their property ATFS certified. Donald is releasing many of the responsibilities to his children.  He has taught them well and instilled in them love and respect for the land. The longevity of the Oakes’ family forestland ownership will be ensured for generations to come.  

Describe any outreach on behalf of sustainable forestry that the Tree Farmer has done:

The Oakes’ property has been regularly used by Scouts and various schools.   For many years, the local High School brought their German exchange program students for a day tour.  An annual weekend city slickerstour with optional camping is offered to friends and friends of friends.  The weekend has been very well received, with people recognizing many misimpressions they had about managed forests.

Summer picnics for local OSWA members, Neighbor to Neighbor woods tours, MWM programs, and tree school classes have been held on the property. In 2009, Marsha organized the first Benton County Children’s tour.Visiting foresters from other counties use the property as a superior example of family-managed woodlands.  Another tour is already scheduled for spring of 2019.  

Since much of the work is done by family, they are able to share the details and educate visitors on wood, water, recreation, and wildlife. For example, if a logging operation is in progress, someone can hop onto a piece of equipment and show how it functions. Family members can show how they thinned or trimmed trees, share about the bat boxes they built, or explain how to drain a pond. 

Darrell frequently gives tours to visitors from out of state who are visiting his company. NASA, Jet Propulsion Lab, and other high tech firms’ employees, including a space shuttle astronaut. Visitors are amazed to go from intense city living to appreciating the beauty of a secluded timber farm.  They appreciated the dichotomy of the high tech work they do with the labor within a forest.

Kayla, a great-granddaughter, has an interest in a pond, amphibians, and other wildlife on the property.  Oregon State University classes and two local wildlife refuge workers came to the property to discuss improving habitat, and OSU has used the pond as an outdoor classroom.

For the following areas describe how the landowner's management addresses it  

Wood: The management philosophy for wood production is not to harvest more than is grown, over time.  Between 2014 and 2017, 1.2 million board feet were harvested thru a small 3 acre clearcut and some thinning.  In 2018, 65 acres of timber were sold, and the family logged an additional 13 acres for a total of almost 3 million board feet. 

Replanting is on 10x10 spacing with 8’ spacing along roads. This helps assure full stocking as trees grow to maturity. Some pre-commercial thinning may be required. Some of the trees on the property were planted by Donald, his dad and a cousin in 1954 when Donald was 19 years old.  Darrell also planted sections when he was a teenager.  Members of the family are active in replanting.  Most of the land is predominately Douglas fir. As a trial, in 2006-2008 Western Hemlock was introduced in low sunlight, high moisture areas.

Even aged management is done in small sections and continues to be adjusted as part of the management plan. Some areas are more intensively managed for maximum growth potential. Over the past few years the family built one and a half mile of roads to reach corners of the property to provide opportunities for salvage logging, increasing revenue potential. Donald has a number of informal test plots where he makes different choices to thin, limb, fertilize, or remove undergrowth.  He uses these plots as opportunities for education and research.  

Family involvement with the property has always been strong. Recently, two of Donald’s sons clearcut the 13 acres,  and a grandson thinned an area marked for thinning by a great-granddaughter.  The working forest generates some income for Donald and Donna with excess funds used to purchase additional property, pay taxes for LLC members, and fund forestry educational opportunities for family members. 

Water:  There are approximately 19,600 feet of small, mostly seasonal, non-fish bearing streams within the certified property. Within any areas of the tree farm near water, careful harvest practices are implemented to protect stream banks and sedimentation as defined in Best Management Practices.  Logging is reduced in winter to reduce any possible negative impacts on water and soils.

The new purchase of adjacent property includes a boundary of a fish-bearing stream, Oliver Creek, for about 2000 feet.  Care will be taken to have a minimal impact on the stream.   Dena is pursuing conservation projects with the local Natural Resources Conservation Service district as the family looks at how to manage the new property.

The picnic shelter’s water comes from the original spring that supplied the homestead thru gravity fed lines. The excess water is piped back underground to the original drainage for wildlife and vegetation. In 2004, the Oakes put in two 1500 gallon storage tanks and now have a steady supply of water for all their functions.  Drinking from the same spring as ancestors, and preserving the purity of the water, is another way for the Oakes to connect with their heritage.

Near the picnic area is a hydrant for filling fire trucks, if needed, as fire suppression is a key consideration for the family forest.  Also, nearby is a pond that was created from a dam and non-fish bearing seep that flows year-round.  Efforts are made to avoid the area to not interfere with the water flow. The overflow continues down the draw with its cooling shade and vegetation to Oliver Creek.  Besides being a pump chance for fire protection the pond is also a source of water for bear, deer, and other wildlife and the site of a recent conservation project for red-legged frogs.

Wildlife including threatened and endangered species: The family places importance on wildlife in their forest as they recognize a healthy forest has much diversity.  Elk, deer, cougars, and turkeys are some of the animals seen on the game cameras placed on the property.  Signs of bear, coyotes, raccoons, squirrels, bobcats, rabbits, and other animals are easy to find. The twenty one heritage apple trees from the original homestead orchard are maintained not only for their history and aesthics but also to provide food for deer and bear.  Hardwoods, snags and downed wood are retained for habitat for birds, other small mammals, amphibians, and insects.  The family has made and placed bat and owl boxes as part of family work days.  Other bird boxes for bluebirds and swallows are also placed throughout the property.  The wood for the boxes was from their property and milled on the Oakes portable sawmill. 

In 2017, Marsha’s granddaughter Kayla with lots of family help drained the pond and placed additional rock to make it safer for swimming and for wildlife to access.  After attending tree school, Kayla decided to take on the pond as a wildlife project.  She contacted Oregon State University and was connected with a fish and wildlife class that needed a place to conduct their on the ground research for the Conservation Efforts Assessment Plan (CEAP).   They came to the property several times and suggested helping provide habitat for red-legged frogs, a threatened species in Oregon.  New vegetation and logs were added to the pond.  Kayla showcased a community of red-legged frogs in the pond on a woods tour in 2018.  Kayla has also reached out to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify birds on the property and visitors from nearby Findlay Wildlife Refuge have helped to identify wildlife habitat development opportunities on the property.

Recreation and Aesthetics including special sites: Opportunities for recreation in the forest is one of the prioritized management goals.  There have been multiple family reunions and weddings with this year hosting the first funeral for Donald and Donna’s daughter Marsha.  Every Labor Day weekend a crab feed is held with extended family flying in from as far as Pennsylvania to join in the festivities.  The horseshoe tournament at the lit regulation pits is always greatly anticipated. 

A picnic shelter, with a recently installed solar system, large lawn with fire pit, and 32’ covered picnic table (made out of a single slab by Marsha and her husband David) are always available for picnics and barbeques. It also provides a great gathering space for forestry tours which is one of Donald’s goals. The Oakes’ LLC keeps the bathroom and kitchen stocked with supplies, including propane for the barbeque and heater. Each of the six LLC members has their own designated camping spot in the camping area near the picnic shelter which has over 20 spaces for tents or campers.

Family members and friends have fun with opportunities for hunting, horse riding, biking, and hiking. For hiking, there is a system of marked and named roads which Don works at keeping mowed and maintained.  ATV riding is allowed on the rocked roads. Roads are throughout the property to allow access to all areas for recreation, fire protection, and other management needs. Swimming, boating and catching newts in the pond are always very popular with kids.  Visitors enjoy being shown the Big tree which is a Douglas Fir estimated to be over 200 years old and the h tree, which is two trees grown together to form a perfect lower case h.  It is Don’s own Trees of Mystery tour, as the family fondly calls it.