Soon after getting married, my wife and I decided to move from Fort Collins, Colorado, back to New York state. We wanted to raise our children close to family that lived in Buffalo, and after crafting a list of the pros and cons of New York state versus Colorado, it was an easy decision for us. We love New York.
New York has much to offer, including a resilient economy, cultural diversity and environmental qualities that are second to none. The freshwater paradise of the Finger Lakes region, the mountains of the Adirondacks and the different forest types that blanket our state are a few of the natural resources we enjoy. I’ve always wanted to own a small forest.
We were lucky to find a home with enough space for my wife’s horse to live with us (don’t get me started about the horse) and enough trees to practice my passion — forest management. I love working and playing in the forest. I like using power equipment and heavy machinery to manage the forest and preserve the beautiful white and red oaks.
I like tapping the sugar maple to make maple syrup. I, too, like using a chainsaw to cut down the trees that are less desirable for me, such as the hop hornbeam that seems to rob soil nutrients from the oak trees, or mangled white pine trees that were damaged by the catastrophic ice storm in the early 1990s. I am happy to have a home in a forest.
I am fortunate, and privileged, because I learned about forest management while attending Colorado State University. Many landowne.
