2019 Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year

The North Carolina Tree Farm Program named the Cherokee Scout Reservation the 2019 North Carolina Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year at its annual meeting on Oct. 17 in Mt. Gilead. The award recognizes the Reservation’s leadership in the conservation community and its commitment to practicing and promoting sustainable forest management on their woodlands in Caswell County. The Cherokee Scout Reservation is part of the Old North State Council, Boy Scouts of America.

The Cherokee Scout Reservation began actively managing its woodlands in 2006 and since then has converted degraded forests to healthy productive forests through intensive focus on restoration. The Reservation now serves as an excellent example of how to practice forest stewardship. Audubon North Carolina recognized the Reservation for its effort in creating and enhancing songbird habitat, and the Forest Stewards Guild has designated it a Model Forest.

The Cherokee Scout Reservation is uniquely positioned to have a lasting impact on forest stewardship through its engagement with natural resource professionals and young people who have an interest in the outdoors. It has hosted numerous forestry field tours for groups including N.C. State University forestry students and the Southeast Regional Forest Stewards Guild. It also educates countless scouts who use the forests for environmental education, forestry, soil and water, and other related merit badges.