The 2019 Massachusetts Tree Farm Field Day will be held on Saturday, September 28th at the Heyes Family’s Big Tully Tree Farm in North Orange, MA from 9 am to 3:30 pm.
The Heyes Family has made a variety of improvements to the property, improving roads and trails, diversifying habitats, installing turtle nesting boxes, etc. All these will be visited on our morning forestry tour.
The 300-acre Big Tully Tree Farm includes a 45-acre area recently harvested to create diverse wildlife habitat, another 40 acre block that will soon be cut to create early successional habitat, areas where treatments have been done for invasive species, and an area where thinning has been done in a white pine stand to control pine needlecast. There has also been some road and trail work done on the property, and some turtle nesting sites have been installed.
Morning Forest Tour The morning tour will visit the habitat cut already done, see some of the recent trail and road work, and the new harvest planned to create early successional habitat..
Tree Farmers Update During the noontime Tree Farm picnic, we will have short updates on forestry topics
- Current Forest Health Issues – Felicia Hubacz, DCR Forest Health
- Opportunities for Improving Habitat — Pat Conlin, Mass Wildlife
- What’s Upcoming with MFA – Chris Egan, MFA
- Update on Changes to the Tree Farm program & 2020 Massachusetts Tree Farm Assessment – Bill Pike & Greg Cox
So, plan to come up to Orange on the 28th!
To register for the Field Day, send Greg Cox an email at gcox@crocker.com and pay at the door. Let us know by the 26th in either case so we can plan on enough food. Cost of the Field Day is $25 for adults, $10 for children.
Directions to Big Tully Tree Farm:
From the West:
- Take Route 2 to Exit 16 for Route 202
- Turn left on Route 202 and follow east 2 miles into Orange Center.
- Continue straight onto Brookside Road .2 miles and turn right onto South Main Street (Route 2A).
- Follow Route 2A 1.1 miles and turn left on North Orange Road
- Follow North Orange Road 1.5 miles and bear right onto Athol Road
- Follow Athol Road 1.7 miles to North Orange Center and continue .2 miles on Main Street
- Turn right on Creamery Hill Road and follow 1 mile and turn left onto Tully Road
- Follow Tully Road 1+ miles to Big Tully Tree Farm (opposite 450 Tully Road)
From the East:
- Take Route 2 to Exit 18 for Route 2A West
- Follow Route 2A 2 miles through Athol Center
- Turn Right on North Orange Road and follow 1.5 miles and bear right on Athol Road.
- Follow Athol Road 1.7 miles to North Orange Center and continue .2 miles on Main Street
- Turn right on Creamery Hill Road and follow 1 mile and turn left onto Tully Road
- Follow Tully Road 1+ miles to Big Tully Tree Farm (opposite 450 Tully Road)
Mass & SAF Forester Continuing Education Credits are being applied for.
Hope to see you on the 28th!