blake
Life Member
NEWS:
From the IDNR:
State Forest Nursery to Plant 150 Millionth Seedling April 25
Posted: April 14, 2009
AMES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources' State Forest Nursery will plant its 150 millionth seedling on April 25, and the public is invited to an open house to celebrate the event.
The open house is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2404 South Duff Ave., in Ames, and will feature seminars on tree selection and planting, riparian buffers, insects and disease, wildlife problems and habitat, and woody biomass and fast growing selections. Each seminar will last 20 to 30 minutes and be offered once in the morning and once in the afternoon during the open house.
The ceremonial 150 millionth seedling will be planted by Gene Hertel, who was the first trained nursery manager and later became State Forester. There will also be a walking tour of the nursery and seedling beds. A free lunch is available and each person who comes to the open house may take home a free seedling.
"Our hope is that people who come would buy a seedling packet to plant for Earth Week and Arbor Week," said Roger Jacob, manager for the State Forest Nursery. Wildlife packets are available for purchase for the backyard [$20] and for the acreage [$90].
The State Forest Nursery has been providing conservation seedlings to Iowa landowners since the 1930s when it was part of Iowa State University. The nursery was transferred to the Iowa Conservation Commission in 1942.
Since 1942, no other seedling has sold as well as black walnut. "It's the most valuable for lumber for all sorts of uses and it grows all over Iowa," said Jacob. The oaks seedlings are a close second.
Production at the State Forest Nursery has changed over the years to meet what was required by Iowans.
"In the early years, it was almost all conifer production because the thought was in order to restore the old crop fields, farmers had to occasionally plant them with conifers so the fields could recover from all the crop production. But since fertilizers became so popular, the practice has changed," Jacob said.
Over the last five years, seedling sales have been declining from 5-1/2 million down to 1-1/2 million.
The open house is sponsored by Iowa Tree Farm Committee, Iowa Wood Industry Association, Nina Upchurch Studio, Kiernan Construction, Hickory Park and Van Wall John Deere. No state funds were used for the open house.
