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Jason Darling of Darling Forestry, LLC in Mason, Mich., has been named the 2022 Stewardship Forester of the Year – an award given at the annual meeting of the Michigan Association of Consulting Foresters.
Darling was given the award in February to recognize his customer service to woodland owners, work with local school forests and assistance to other consulting foresters.
The Stewardship Forester award recognizes the important role of 150 private-sector foresters who serve Michigan’s 400,000 family forest landowners.
Darling has written almost 250 forest management plans since 2013. His clients use their plans to achieve goals and do projects in the woods such as planting trees or harvesting timber to improve wildlife habitat. Forest management plans provide an excellent return on investment. A landowner can use a plan to create income with a timber sale or lower property taxes in the Qualified Forest or Commercial Forest programs.
Darling obtained his forestry degree from Michigan State University in 2008 and now serves as the president of MSU’s Forestry Alumni Association. He began his career in the public sector working for both the USDA Forest Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources, but he loves working directly with family forest landowners and running his own business. Darling credits his success to training and mentorship from other consulting foresters including Dennis Good, Tom Jacques, Terry Manty, Todd Miller, Lloyd Martindale and Jerry Grossman.
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Darling has numerous credentials to document his professional skills and help landowners enroll in forestry programs. He is a member of the Association of Consulting Foresters and the Society of American Foresters, a Michigan Registered Forester, a Tree Farm Inspector, a Technical Service Provider and a Qualified Forester. He also serves on the Michigan Tree Farm Committeeand leads the Forest, Wildlife and Habitat working group for the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program. If you own woodland property, a consulting forester like Jason can help you achieve your goals to manage, protect and enjoy your forest. Carla (Boyd) Erlewine is one such client, working to improve her woods. She inherited family property from her mother six years ago. Now she and her husband, Phillip, are primary stewards of the family forest. The Erlewines hope their two daughters and grandchildren will be the fifth and sixth generations to enjoy and manage their family’s woods, water and wildlife in Mecosta County. The Erlewines’ son-in-law Derek Shiels, stewardship director at Little Traverse Conservancy, connected them with Darling, who, in 2020, wrote a forest stewardship plan to help them identify goals and take good care of their 166-acre woods. Carla and Phillip used their plan to enroll in the Qualified Forest Program to lower their property taxes. Now Jason and the Erlewines are working with Biewer Lumber and Roger Bazuin & Sons Logging to harvest mature red pine and mixed hardwoods to accomplish their goals to improve wildlife habitat, remove diseased beech trees and grow healthy trees for better timber production in the future. Their red pine logs went to Biewer Lumber in Lake City, hardwood sawlogs to Silver Leaf Sawmill in Elmira and pulpwood to Packaging Corporation of America in Manistee. |
“We had many offers to sell timber over the years, but we wanted to work with someone we knew and trusted,” Carla said. “Jason listened to our concerns and was very patient in explaining everything to us. He did a great job marking the harvest and connecting us to loggers and sawmills we also trust.” Phillip, who promotes recycling in Mecosta County and enjoys cutting firewood, is excited to start cutting up leftover tree tops after the harvest is over.
Dennis McDougall, with USDA Forest Service, appreciates Darling’s work too.
“Relationships between foresters and landowners are at the heart of successful private forest management,” he said. “By listening to the landowner’s vision for their property, the forester develops a unique management plan designed to achieve that vision. Foresters like Jason help landowners understand and navigate the unfamiliar world of timber markets and government programs to enable them to make sound decisions about their land. It is great to see younger folks like Jason entering into the forestry profession and helping private forest landowners get the help they need for years to come.”
The Forest Stewardship Program is funded by the USDA Forest Service and administered in Michigan by the Department of Natural Resources. All partners are equal opportunity providers and employers. For more information, email Mike Smalligan or call him at 517-449-5666.
DNR COVID-19 RESPONSE: For details on affected DNR facilities and services, visit this webpage. Follow state actions and guidelines at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to Michigan.gov/DNR.