Forester Ross Morgan said he nominated Derby landowner Trevor Evans for the "Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year" award for many reasons. However, to sum it up, he said, "Trevor lives and breathes good forestry practice. He is a spokesperson for low-impact logging and integrating wildlife habitat improvement..His outreach and beliefs are an answer to Aldo Leopold's call for an American land ethic in his famous book, A Sand Country Almanac." Tree Farm is a national program of the American Tree Farm System. The Vermont Woodlands Association, an organization of private forest landowners, manages the Vermont Tree Farm program and selected Evans as the recipient of this esteemed award. Evans' property, simply and appropriately called "The Treefarm," consists of almost 1000 acres that he's acquired in bits and pieces over 28 years. Within the last 15 of those, he has planted 6000 trees, very selectively harvested wood, developed areas for wildlife habitat, and has developed the ambitious goal of returning areas of the land to what is called a "4-stage forest," where a natural progression of open space, shrubs, young trees, and mature trees exist together. Evans also joined the COVERTS (a group dedicated to helping landowners develop and protect wildlife habitat) and Vermont Woodlands Association's boards. Evans' Treefarm has also been used as the site for Forestry Lab tours and as a site for high school forestry projects. Evans is also allowing use of his land for the University of Vermont to do research on a Scotch Pine pest that is troubling that species of tree. Kathleen Wanner, Executive Director of the Vermont Woodlands Association, said there will be a tour of Evans' Tree Farm in the fall, possibly October. It will be open to the public. Evans is now moving forward for consideration for the Northeast Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer. Tree farmers who place as Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer of the year then go on to vie for the national title. The last Vermonter to have the honor was Harry Chandler of Groton. He was named National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the year in 1986