Tree Farmer, former Agricultural Commissioner and State Representative, and entrepreneur Jonathan Healy of Charlemont has been named as the 2023 winner of the John H. Lambert Forest Stewardship Award by the Massachusetts Forest Alliance.
The Lambert Award, named after former state forester Jack Lambert who was its first recipient, is the Forest Alliance’s highest honor, awarded for lifetime achievement in stewardship of woodlands or improving forest policy in Massachusetts.
In naming Healy, the Alliance recognized both his long service as state representative and Agriculture Commissioner, and his family’s long stewardship of their 400 acres of woodlands in Charlemont.
Healy’s family owns the oldest certified Tree Farm in Massachusetts. The Healy property was the 2nd Tree Farm certified in Massachusetts in 1949 and will celebrate its 75th year of sustainable forest management in 2024.
“Jay Healy and his family have sustainably managed their woods long before the concept of sustainable management began to be discussed, “noted Greg Cox, who administers the Tree Farm program in Massachusetts. “Their commitment to careful management of their woodlands is something any landowner should emulate on their property.” The Healy Tree Farm is known for growing large tall white pines that are used to produce wide pine flooring used in restoring historic buildings at Old Deerfield and other places.
While working in their woods was part of the operation of their family farm when Jay was young, he became more focused on it when he began serving as a legislator in 1970. One of the few legislators who actually grew up on a farm, driving back and forth to Boston each week meant there wasn’t time enough to continue the family’s dairy and egg operation. Working in their woods, however, was something Jay could do on weekends when he was back home.
Over time he began to develop a small sawmill business to utilize some of the timber they grew on their land, with a dry kiln and planer to finish the lumber for flooring and other uses. Out of his experience with producing lumber came his emphasis as a legislator and agricultural commissioner of the need for farms and forestry businesses to compete better in local markets by producing added value products.
“Small farms and small forestry businesses can’t compete with the big operations just producing milk or lumber because big operations have economies of scale that smaller businesses can’t match,” said Healy. “But if you turn the milk into ice cream or yogurt, or the boards into flooring or other products, you can make more money on the added value and compete for local dollars.”
As one of the few Republican legislators, Jay put in considerable effort to teach the mostly urban and suburban Democratic majority about the needs and concerns of the rural areas of the state. As agriculture commissioner, he again had to educate other agencies that agriculture was more than just growing food, but also included growing long-term crops like trees.
Through Healy’s efforts, laws were passed allowing the use of Massachusetts produced lumber in building sheds, barns and homes, and allowing forestry operations to use farm plates on some of their equipment.
When notified of the award, Healy said, “I’m honored to receive this appreciated award. The Forest Alliance does a very good job in advocating for environmentally sound and economically viable forestry in our Commonwealth.”
The Massachusetts Forest Alliance represents forest landowners, foresters, timber harvesters, and forest products companies and advocates for a strong, sustainable forest economy.