The N.H. Tree Farm Program has announced that Charles and Mabel Niebling of Boscawen have been named the 2021 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year.

The Nieblings purchased their 67 acre tree farm in 2001; it has been under a written forest management plan since 2003.

Certified tree farms range from 10 to 10,000 acres and must have a written management plan that documents how the owner will actively manage the property in a sustainable manner. The four pillars of the Tree Farm program are wood, water, wildlife and recreation – each of which is improved and sustained on a tree farm.

The Nieblings’ multi-pronged management plan focuses on maintaining and improving the overall quality of timber and forest products, protecting water quality of wetlands and riparian zones, creating a diversity of wildlife habitats for game and non-game species while conserving native plant species, and providing a recreational resource to enjoy the property for hiking, bird-watching, hunting, snowmobiling and horseback riding.

Additionally, the Niebling Tree Farm is managed to maintain soil productivity, protect unique or fragile natural areas as well as historic and cultural features, and conserve the property’s scenic quality.

Located at the north end of Boscawen, the tract has been the site of multiple “Friday Forestry” group meetings of forestry industry professionals – industry leaders, foresters, logging contractor and other Tree Farmers.

The nomination for the Niebling Tree Farm noted that “Charlie ‘walks the walk,’ tirelessly pursuing forestry improvements to his Certified Tree Farm which he is eager to share and explain. His passion for Tree Farm is infectious."

“Charlie is widely renowned for working long days in his woods at every opportunity, year-round and has instilled this ethic in his family and in his advocacy for Tree Farming in the greater New Hampshire forestry community.”

”It is certainly an honor to be recognized among so many dedicated New Hampshire forest stewards who have received the Tree Farm of the Year award over the years,” said Niebling. “This has been a labor of love for me and my family; our commitment to the land is simply to leave it better than we found it 20 years ago.”

There are 1,450 certified tree farms in New Hampshire, totaling 500,000 acres.

The New Hampshire Tree Farm Program is co-sponsored by the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, the Granite State Division of the Society of American Foresters, the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests, the N.H. Timberland Owners Association and UNH-Cooperative Extension. It is based on the American Tree Farm System and is operated by volunteers through the New Hampshire Tree Farm Executive Committee.

For more details about the New Hampshire Tree Farm Program, visit nhtreefarm.org.