PEDEE, Ore. — Pam and Jock Dalton own more than 700 acres of timber in the lush Coast Range but consider themselves farmers.

“It’s just a longer rotation on the crop,” Jock Dalton said.

The Daltons, who operate Shady Place Tree Farm, were recently named Oregon’s Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year for 2024.

The married couple were honored for their role in promoting forest health while actively managing their land by the Oregon Tree Farm System at the Oregon Family Forest Convention in June. The convention was jointly hosted by the Oregon Tree Farm System and the Oregon Small Woodlands Association.

Collaboration is key

The Daltons said their tree farm’s success stems from strong relationships with logging contractors, government agencies and the Oregon State University Extension Service.

“We have good partners,” Pam Dalton said.

Near constant communication and collaboration allows them to be nimble with forms, hiring and harvesting.

Waiting to get organized until timber prices surge results in delays for sales and missed opportunities — and the new Private Forest Accord represents a quantum leap in the amount of paperwork.

“You should be working with a service forester even if you don’t plan to cut soon so you can have all your ducks in a row,” Jock Dalton said.

Active management

A system of all-weather roads Jock Dalton built also allows them to access their 700 acres throughout the year.

“A lot of the timber pricing in the wintertime is better than in the summer when everybody can get on their property,” he said.

The Daltons believe in active management and think it’s unhealthy to leave the forest stagnant because it will deteriorate.

They salvage trees downed by ice storms, stagger the age of stands and try to stop the spread of tree diseases, such as laminated root rot, with aggressive defensive forestry.

The Daltons have planted an experimental plot of coastal redwood, which is root rot immune, and are working with the National Resources Conservation Service and Oregon Department of Forestry to see if it grows well in Oregon.

“Depending on how well that works, it could become a permanent crop,” Jock Dalton said.

The Daltons also coordinate with the Luckiamute Watershed Council for stream monitoring and encourage wildlife with steps such as putting up bird boxes.

“But there’s a balance to that. We also have to have the leeway to harvest,” Jock Dalton said.

Ties to the forest

During World War I, Pam Dalton’s grandfather, Gustav Jahn, lost his shipyard job in Portland because of his German heritage.

He found work logging in the Coast Range near Dallas, Ore., bought cut-over land and farmed starting in 1917. Over the years, the family kept buying nearby parcels.

Their property has been approved for Oregon Century Farm status and Pam Dalton said seven generations of her family have lived in these forests.

“I feel so lucky to have this property,” she said.

The Daltons have a succession plan and keep updating it. “We don’t really want it to be sold,” Pam Dalton said.

“There’s enough acreage to maintain a good supplement income for the family,” Jock Dalton added.

But they want to share their forest, too.

Pam Dalton hopes to turn the family’s picnic area, which sits along Pedee Creek, into a site for school tours where youngsters can learn about forestry.

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