Governor LePage highlights forest stewardship efforts

October 1, 2014

For more information contact: John Bott at: 207-287-3156

Presents 2014 Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award to the Chadbourne Tree Farms

Augusta ? Governor Paul R. LePage presented Chadbourne Tree Farms, LLC with the prestigious 2014 Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award at a Blaine house event. The prestigious award recognizes people or organizations that stand above their peers to further forestry, forests, or forestland conservation in the state of Maine. Started by the Maine TREE Foundation in 2004, it is the only award in Maine that recognizes stewardship of the working forest. Representatives from several organizations were on hand, including the Maine TREE Foundation.

?Maine?s working forests are a vital part of our past, present, and future economy,? said Governor LePage. ?I am pleased to publicly recognize Chadbourne Tree Farms for their leadership in promoting exemplary management of our working forests.?

Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Commissioner Walt Whitcomb and Sherry Huber, Executive Director of the Maine TREE Foundation also commended the Chadbourne family for their lasting impact on Maine?s forest. The DACF Commissioner and the Maine TREE Foundation choose award recipients.

?The Chadbourne family?s sustainable forest management, going back centuries, is an outstanding example of how the Maine forest continues to be productive,? said Commissioner Whitcomb. ?Chadbourne Tree Farms professionals manage both natural and planted trees to ensure a sustainable, long-term supply of quality white pine logs. Their pruning techniques have refined for decades to the produce the high quality logs sought by mills. The company also serves as an example for others providing public access to private lands for outdoor recreational opportunities like hiking, fishing, hunting, trapping and snowmobiling.?

Named after one of Maine?s longest contributing professional foresters, the Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award is the only award in Maine that recognizes stewardship of the working forest. Started by the Maine TREE Foundation in 2004, the award is given periodically, but no more than annually.

Previous Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award Recipients:

-Austin H. Wilkins (2004) -Pingree Associates & Seven Islands Land Company (2005) -No award given (2006) Sherry Huber & John Hagen (2007)
-Roger Milliken Jr. & Baskahegan Company (2008) -Jensen Bissell & Baxter State Park Scientific Forest Management Area (2009) -Prentiss & Carlisle Company (2010) -Robbins Lumber Company (2011) -Robert Linkletter & the Linkletter Family (2012) -Maine Tree Farm Committee (2013)

Chadbourne Tree Farms, LLC is a forest products company that has its origins in 1634 when William Chadbourne came to America from Devonshire, England under contract to build a sawmill. He built a water-powered sawmill in South Berwick, Maine that is thought to have been the first sawmill in America. Several generations have continued the family tradition, making Chadbourne Tree Farms what it is today, a producer of high quality white pine logs for sawmills and quality forest products including veneer, sawlogs and pulpwood.

The Maine TREE Foundation was founded in 1989 to provide Maine people with accurate information about the forest resource. The foundation sponsors several education programs, including: Long Term Education About Forests (LEAF), Project Learning Tree (PLT), the Maine Tree Farm Committee, and the Certified Logging Professional program.

For more information about the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, go to: http://www.maine.gov/dacf