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2025 WOODLOT OWNER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Presented to Peter Brown and Helen Johnston by YSC's Chris Higgins at our 2025 AGM earlier this month. 

I believe we have an excellent choice for Woodlot Owner of the Year with Peter Brown and Helen Johnston. I first met them back in the summer of 2022 when I did my first solo woodlot walk without Anne alongside me. From there we’ve been in pretty constant contact as Peter is always wondering when he can get his hands on another batch of trees.

They own a 76 acre woodlot with stands ranging from even aged and two aged in development, old growth, wetlands, and fields, offering a diversity of forest conditions.

There is a little bit of everything happening forest management related on the property. 

There are areas of field that have been planted with white spruce. And a small clearcut that was also planted with Spruce.

Plenty of road work is being done to make the property more accessible, and the beavers don’t seem to be giving them too much of an issue; although, there are five present on the woodlot (that they know of!)

Red Maple, Red Oak, and Yellow Birch seedlings have been planted in the areas that are heavy to White Ash in the event of an ash borer outbreak; this way, there will be desirable species to fill in the gaps. And each of these seedlings has been flagged and some even protected with tubing. 

There are areas on the woodlot where Peter has been harvesting the Balsam Fir, and Popple to give more growing space to his desirable crop trees, while filling in the gaps made from the harvest with more climate adaptive seedlings. 

The back of the property has many large old growth trees, namely some incredible Yellow Birch that are postcard worthy. This area has remained largely untouched other than the walking trail, providing some great habitat to a variety of plant and animal species.

As with everything, Peter is always reaching out for advice and guidance with the decisions he is making regarding forest management on the woodlot. And because of this, they are creating a forest that is going to be healthy, diverse, and climate resilient for many generations to come.

We congratulate Peter & Helen on being recognized as YSC’s Woodlot Owner of the Year!

Ducks Unlimited Canada is seeking New Brunswick landowners to participate in the Forested Wetland Stewardship Program!

The Forested Wetland Stewardship program is a free and voluntary conservation program delivered through DUC's Conservation branch which aims to conserve wetland habitats for species at risk on private lands. The four target species are Common Nighthawk, Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Canada Warbler, and Rusty Blackbird, but the conservation of wetlands benefits many species in addition to these.

Participating landowners are offered free wetland habitat assessments and are provided with maps and resources to protect and conserve sensitive wetland habitats on their working woodlots.

To learn if you’re eligible, complete the form found at the following link:

Forested Wetland Stewardship - DUC