Family forest wins Outstanding Tree Farm Award
By Melanie Torbett
One couldn’t ask for a more serene, bucolic setting for a family retreat. Down a narrow rural road in Beauregard Parish, Richard and Bobbye Meaux have crafted a quiet getaway where family and forest mesh easily. Turn down a tree-shaded avenue, pass the free-form pond and a small cabin that leads to a larger “dog-trot house,” and you’ve arrived at the heart of the Meaux compound.
It’s a place where decades of family memories have been created, enabled by decades of wise tree farming.
Over the years, piece by piece, the Lafayette couple has assembled properties whose careful stewardship has garnered Dick Meaux the LFA’s Tree Farmer of the Year award for 2010. The title recognizes a record of good stewardship of 728 acres of forested tracts that cumulatively stretch across five parishes from north to south Louisiana.
“Mr. Meaux has demonstrated an organized approach with the goal of annual harvests and sustainability,” said Steve Templin of Templin Forestry, Inc., who nominated the Meauxs for the award, and has served as their consulting forester for more than 16 years. “He is a joy to work with.”
The careful tending of the Meaux tree farm, which goes under the business name of Mo-Pol, LLC, is self-evident. The Meauxs have created an inviting “headquarters compound,” at the heart of their Beauregard Parish property near Dry Creek. In addition to the two cabins is a storage barn, a shed for vehicles and tools, a covered cook shack, a fruit orchard, horse pasture and a clay-lined fish pond Meaux built taking advantage of a naturally-occurring slough. Move outside this comfortable15-acre site and you can see that equal care has gone into the purposefully-planned forestland that abuts the home site.
Along with conducting periodic thinning and clearcut harvests throughout the years, the family enterprise has invested in regular reforestation and other work to enhance their woods. Since 1996, Mo-Pol has planted a total of 615 acres of loblolly, longleaf and slash pine on various tracts in this and other parishes.
The properties have been under a forest management plan since 1992, with tree farm certification going back to 1973; a portion of the property that was originally purchased and managed by Meaux’s father was designated a tree farm in 1960.
“My dad was a county agent in Allen Parish during the 1930s,” explained Meaux. “I went with him throughout the parish, and I remember there was lots of cutover land back then.” When Meaux and his father visited a CCC camp near the community of Reeves, the elder Meaux was intrigued by the men’s reforestation work in the area.
His interest piqued by these projects, Meaux’s father eventually put together and purchased 200 acres in separate tracts in Beauregard Parish. He began planting trees on the land, but left open a section where three live oaks stood; he and his son later added a complement of oak seedlings to create an entrance avenue. A primitive camp house made from wood reclaimed from an old sharecropper’s cabin was built on the property by Meaux’s dad in 1955.
In the meantime, Richard Meaux grew up, joined the Navy, got married to childhood friend Bobbye Pollock, and left the area. For 24 years (with academic training that included a master’s degree in oceanography), he fulfilled a host of military assignments — primarily captaining submarines, but even serving as a social aide in the White House early in his career — until retirement brought Meaux back to his home state.
Settled in Baton Rouge, Meaux got his teaching certificate, and transitioned into teaching. He spent eight years as a principal of a Catholic school in Opelousas, and later accepted the position of superintendent of the diocesan schools in Lafayette.
During these years, the Meaux family added some north Louisiana property to their forestland holdings; acquisition of acreage in DeSoto and Union parishes mostly originated with wife Bobbye’s family, the Pollocks, who hailed from the town of Bernice.
“We wound up with six tracts in five parishes,” explained Dick Meaux. The Mo-Pol tree farm currently owns 360 acres in Beauregard Parish; 80 acres in Rapides; 118 acres in DeSoto; 83 acres in Acadia; and 86 acres in Union Parish.
While their forests grew, so too did the family’s affection for the land. While providing supplemental income, the tree farm became the “go-to place” for extended family and friends’ gatherings and recreation, including hunting and building projects.
While Dick Meaux is an only child, his wife Bobbye has four brothers, whose families have long enjoyed the peaceful country retreat. Bobbye and Dick’s two children, David and Jean-Marie, now in their thirties and living in Lafayette, have fond memories of their years in this place.
“We have so much fun,” said Jean-Marie. Highly-competitive fishing tournaments attract friends and family alike, barbecues keep the cook shack busy and lively conversations around an outdoor fire pit during the winter make for popular gatherings year 'round. The property provides hunting grounds for deer, rabbits and squirrels, and a locale for skeet shooting, holiday fireworks and horseback riding.
With so many visitors to accommodate, the Meauxs decided a few years ago that they needed more room than the original small cabin provided, even though they had improved it through the years. What evolved was a unique “dog trot house” that is the centerpiece gem of the compound.
It was built three years ago, using wood harvested from the property, cut by a portable sawmill brought on site, explained Dick Meaux. The floors, walls and decorative trim that give the house its rustic look come from pine, oak, cypress, catalpa and sweet-gum trees that once stood on the property. Some of the trees were felled by a tornado that ripped through the area a few years ago.
It was the Meauxs’ family consensus to build an old-fashioned Southern cabin that included wide front and back doors to allow cross-ventilation through the house. Dick and Bobbye found an authentic 19th century design they liked at the LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge and closely replicated that style.
“It’s lived up to every dream we had,” smiled Bobbye Meaux. With an upstairs dormitory-style room and two downstairs bedrooms, the house is equipped with enough beds to sleep 15, with floor room for many more. Most of the rest of the house is given over to screened and open porch space. “It’s built to throw people outside,” laughed Dick Meaux. “I would eat every meal outdoors if I could.”
This sweet retreat has been one by-product of the “financial flexibility” that forestry has afforded the Meauxs, said Dick. Dubbing himself as a “conservative conservationist,” Meaux says he has always enjoyed the outdoors, going back to Boy Scout days in his youth, and is glad to be involved in the natural stewardship inherent in tree farming.
“You are producing something that is a crop, and it’s useful.” His plan for the farm follows best management practices for wildlife, soil and water conservation measures, such as streamside management and preservation of hardwoods in low, wet areas. Periodic thinning, prescribed burns and final harvest operations have been conducted throughout the years.
From the beginning of their work together on the tree farm in the mid-1990s, says forester Steve Templin, “Dick had a good idea what he wanted to do.” The result, he says is “a very productive, highly-maintained forest for the family to move into the next generation.”
Remembering their early planning work, Meaux offers compliments to his forester who has helped guide his management decisions.
“I was so impressed with Steve,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in him.” Meaux has continued to add to his knowledge of forestry throughout the years; he is a member of the LFA, as well as the Southwest Louisiana Forestry Association, and is on the state Stewardship Advisory Committee. His property is designated as a Stewardship Forest.
The labor to maintain the timberland and family compound represents a shared effort. Improvement projects, including brushing, fencing and fire lane maintenance is accomplished by Meaux, his forester and locally-contracted workers, as well as family members. Meaux has made it a habit to hire local high school boys and work with neighbors on various projects around the cabin compound and in his forestlands.
“He’s very good about communicating with his neighbors,” said Templin. “It’s minimized problems he might have had.”
The Meauxs’ two children, who share such fond memories of fun times at this family retreat, look forward to future family ownership and use. “We are the third generation to enjoy this property,” said son David. Decisions about projects are often family-centered, pointed out his father. “We try to make it as collaborative as possible.”
I would love to think that 20 years from now, we would still be getting together here; we would like to keep that going,” said daughter Jean-Marie.
With the dual advantages of being a family playground as well as a sound investment that has stood the test of time, the Meaux’s tree farm continues to be a remarkable example of what good family forestry looks like.
(Melanie Torbett, a writer and editor in Alexndria, is a forest landowner and frequent contributor to Forests & People magazine.)
Morgan Logging Wins Honors Again
By Janet Tompkins
Kenneth Morgan suprised himself that he has chosen logging as his career but even more surprising to him is how much he enjoys it. That makes this year’s award as Louisiana’s Outstanding Logger even sweeter.
After getting his forestry degree from Louisiana Tech in 1993, he worked in forestry, managing 150,000 acres for a forest products company. Six years later he returned to G.W. Morgan Logging with an office in Saline, working with his father. Eventually he and his sister Sherry became co-owners of the business when his father retired.
“I thought I’d do more with the (forestry) consulting and less with the equipment,” Kenneth said. “But I found that I really enjoy the work, the equipment, the men on the crew.”
It wasn’t as if he was unaccustomed to the job. Growing up, he worked for his father, Jerry Morgan, who was named the Outstanding Logger in 1995. And his grandfathers on both sides of his family were loggers as well as his uncle, Mickey Hawkins. “I’d worked other jobs, but there’s a different mindset in the logging community. It makes you proud to work alongside other hardworking people.”
Morgan has much praise for the hard-working people on his two crews. G.W. Morgan Logging has 10 men in the woods (including Kenneth) and eight truck drivers. He also uses two contract trucks. He downsized from a three-crew job when the downturn in the economy came.
“One good thing has come out of this recession,” said Morgan. “The men value their jobs more and I value them more.”
J.R. Conlay, a crew foreman who also runs the cutter, has 34 years experience in the business. “This is more like a family than a job,” he said. Steven Brown is foreman of the second crew. Morgan said the stable and experienced crews make the job go smoothly.
Brent Deen, Chopin forest manager with Roy O. Martin Lumber Company, said his company sees Morgan as invaluable due to his varied background. “His degree in forestry gives him a unique perspective,” said Deen. “He helps us to get out in front of issues before they become problems.”
Kenneth made the change to Martin six years ago. “We can produce a lot of different products for Martin and not be stuck to one facility,” he said. “We can shift production from one day to another.” During this visit to a logging site in Red River Parish, there were trucks headed to the Chopin plywood plant, to Colfax Creosote plant and the IP mills in Campti and Mansfield.
Kenneth exhibits other qualities that make the job run smoothly even in tough times:
• Flexibility - Morgan has been trying out some back hauling with other loggers to minimize the empty loads his trucks face. Rain hampered the process when other cooperating jobs had to shut down, but he was still hopeful that the process could still be productive for them.
• Innovative - He had recently purchased a processor head that measures the logs to the specified length and the worker was still finessing its operation to get the most production out of it.
• Cautious - Morgan is studying the biomass market that everyone is talking about but will wait for those markets to develop and prove themselves.
• Experienced - Looking out on this 30-year-old mixed pine and hardwood site his crew was harvesting, he talked about the site index which was very high (more than 100), the streamside management zones that he was working around and the way the rains had settled the dust yet not stopped the harvest. His years as a land manager help his work as a logger.
Sherry Morgan, part owner in the logging business, said they strive to take care of the men while taking care of business. It wasn’t a hard decision to invest in the busness with her brother. “I watched these log trucks rolling out all these years and I do see it it as a future for our family.”
Jerry Morgan visited the Saline office for the logging business, which was the home where he grew up. Now in its third generation, the continuation of G.W. Morgan Logging pleases him. “There is a pride factor when your children want to take over a family job,” he said. “Kenneth is open to new ideas and he’s a hard worker.”
“What was most impressive to me about Mr. Morgan’s operation was the order and workman-like manner that dominated the logging site,” said Mike Dawson, Kisatchie District Ranger who was part of the judging team. “Each sequential action of cut-to-deck-to-load was well coordinated, with very little wasted motion.”
“What impressed me most about Kenneth’s logging operation is the organization of his job and the maintenance and condition of his equipment, a very efficient operation,” said Mark Martinez of Timber-Mark, Inc. Martinez was the 2009 Outstanding Logger who also participated in the judging.
Leading the judging team were Drs. Mark Gibson and Clyde Vidrine of Louisiana Tech’s School of Forestry.
The Morgan crews are also safety conscious. They have their monthly safety meetings and they are particular about the equipment. “We provide the tools to be safe,” Morgan said. His foreman Conlay agreed. “We keep the equipment up. We fix it when it needs fixing– not just making do.”
Morgan also gives the truckers an incentive bonus of $150 per quarter if they have a perfect driving record. “I give them an incentive to get everything right.”
Morgan said the business challenge today is trucking. “You have to get small enough for lean times and large enough to make a living.” He’s seen all sides of the business-from his days working at a DeQuincy sawmill to being the land manager for a company and now the logging contractor.
He doesn’t fret about the weather, the global economy or the local situation. “It’s just the way it is,” he said. “I just try to capitalize on the situation that is.”
Morgan’s wife Rebecca teaches dance at Northwestern State University and takes classes there as well. Born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, she was unfamiliar with logging before their marriage, but she is very proud of her husband. “He’s seen all sides of the business and that can only be an advantage,” she said.
Their 18-year-old son Preston sometimes works the skidder but his plans include LSU-Baton Rouge and possible dentistry career. Their daughter Sidney is 14.
(Janet Tompkins has been the editor of Forests & People magazine since 1994.)