North Forkers tend best tree farm in the West

For a half-century, Duke and Naomi Hoiland have been tending their forest up Trail Creek in the North Fork with an eye toward stewardship, wildlife and conservation.

When a mountain beetle outbreak in 1970 killed most of the lodgepole pine on the 80-acre spread, the couple built a cabin from logs.

"All we had was a chainsaw and antique hand tools," Duke recalled. "Everything built around here was made with mature lodgepole pine."

The spread is part of the American Tree Farm system and the Hoilands were named Western Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year, by the American Forest Foundation, a non-profit group that promotes sustainable, healthy private forests.

Over the years there has been select thinning of the land, some to reduce the threat of wildfire, some to make better wildlife habitat and some timber harvest as well. The spread is home to a variety of trees, including stands of mature larch and Douglas fir with lush green meadows beneath them, home to elk, deer and grizzly bears, to name a few four-legged inhabitants.

"Last year I saw 23 grizzlies," Duke said. "So far this year I've seen nine."

The Hoiland's care for the land with help from Paul McKenzie, a forester and land resource manager of F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber.

The family acquired the spread when the original homesteader lost it to taxes after World War II. Naomi's grandmother, Ruth A. Coan, bought it and it has stayed in the family since. The old homestead cabin still sits on the property, used for storage.

Duke grew up in Idaho, worked in the woods and on a steam-powered sawmill for 18 years. He went on to get a college degree and taught American history and physical education. Noami was a teacher as well for 37 years. They spent summers up Trail Creek for decades and then moved there permanently in 1993 and made a forest plan. In 1997 they joined the tree farm program.

The place is about as off-grid as one can get. Just a few miles from the Canada border up the worst section of the North Fork Road, the snows in winter are measured in feet. Not only is there no power, they don't own a phone. If they need to contact someone in an emergency, they use two-way radios.

Trail Crek runs below the house, home to endangered bull trout. It's not unusual for an above-mentioned grizzly to waltz through the spread. They have bear spray holders on all their equipment. Duke had an accident the other day. A saw snapped off the top of a can of spray on an ATV. It got bear spray all over his fuel cans.

"Every time I fill them up I get that spray on my hands," he said with a smile.

At 81, Duke is as active as a man 30 years younger. Living in the woods all your life will do that to you.

"Their efforts also focus on passing on their land better than they found it, motivating their grandchildren and others in the community to love and care for the forests as well, to ensure the values of our woodlands and its management make it to the next generation," Elizabeth Bender of the American Forest Foundation said.

The Hoilands have three children, Juli Johnson, John and Tom Hoiland, and several grandchildren.