Registrations for this tour are required and must be received by 5 pm on Thursday, Aug 17.

The Bell family will host the 2023 Linn County Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year tour.

This event will honor Neal and Valerie Bell along and their son Damon Bell.

Three generations of the Bell family, from left, Damon, Ruben and Neal Bell, calculate the board footage of a tree at a July 6 outing at Rod and Ann Bardell’s tree farm. Photo credit Larry Mauter

The 110-acre ridgetop tree farm near Scio has been managed by the Bells for more than 50 years. Their forest consist of natural stands and converted agricultural lands. Neal Bell has been recognized as an innovative landowner for many years. He was invited to be part of the initial Master Woodland Manager (MWM) class in the early 1980s and was Linn County’s Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year in 2007.

Tour stops will cover reforestation, species selections in a changing climate, commercial thinning, salvage logging, roads, and record keeping.

Neil and Valerie’s son Damon just graduated from the most recent Master Woodland Manager class for Linn County land owners. He and his sister are co-owners of a tree farm adjacent to Neal and Valerie’s.

To register for this event, email Nicole at Nicole.masonmartin@oregonstate.edu or leave a message on her cell phone 541-713-5000. Please let us know of any special dietary needs.