Low Impact Forestry- Profiles

Craig Morrison

Quaco Head
1500-2000 acres (woodland & farm)
Ecoregion - Fundy Coastal
Ecodistrict - Fundy Coastal

Craig Morrison is the third generation living on the family property at Quaco Head near St. Martins on the Bay of Fundy Coast. Throughout his lifetime of 70 years, Craig has operated a beef and grain farm and worked in the woods in the winter. "I considered the woods another cash crop of the farm enterprise." It was Mr. Morrsion’s father who advised him to buy land to build up his property of woodland to provide a winter cash generator for the farm enterprise.

Mr. Morrison's grandfather emigrated to the St. Martins area in the late 1700's to work in the shipbuilding industry which was then at it's peak. As the age of sail declined, many of the residents of the area left St. Martins for industrial jobs in the Boston states. However they held on to their property in case things didn’t work out for them stateside. As time passed, subsequent generations lost interest in those families properties so far away on the coast of the Bay of Fundy. As a result they often would consider selling the land when a good offer presented itself. This his how Mr. Morrison and his father came to acquire more than 1500 acres of land in the area. Quaco Head is in the Fundy Coastal Ecodistrict. This cool, wet climate support essentially a boreal type forest, except for the prominence of red spruce. In fact the higher plateaus consist almost entirely of red spruce. The rest of the area consists of mixtures of red spruce with white and black spruce, or balsam fir mixed with some red maple, white birch and yellow birch.

Morrison Established a Sawmill

Mr. Morrison established his own sawmill to saw whatever lumber his farm required and maybe a little more in case a neighbour needed some. In later years, the sawmill was used to saw lumber to build houses for his sons and daughters that live at Quaco Head. The mill and the woodlot are still being used. At present, two of Mr. Morrison's grandsons are cutting logs and sawing out lumber to build their own houses in the neighbourhood.

The boys recently graduated as engineers and were fortunate enough to get jobs with industries in Saint John. Mr. Morrison relates "one of the boys was telling his co-workers that he was working in a sawmill in the evenings. They asked him why he was doing that. He told them he had cut logs and was sawing the lumber to build his house. The co-workers couldn't comprehend the concept of being able to cut trees, and turn it into lumber and build a house. They told him that would be impossible. The grandson replied 'that's the way we have always done it, and that's how we are still doing it."

First Management Plant in 1956

In 1956, John Turunski, a forester then employed by the Department of Agriculture prepared a management plan for the woodlands in 1956. "John came down here and we cruised all over the woodlot for 4 or 5 days. He mapped out the different areas and made recommendations for a lot of selection harvest. It was a good plan that would allow us to continue to harvest every year and at the same time, increase the amount of wood that was growing.

Our plan was all thrown out when the budworm struck in the 1960's. A lot of those stands that John and I had cruised through were running 75% Balsam Fir. When the budworm struck they killed trees faster than we could cut them." Through the sixties he kept a crew working year round cutting the dying fir. Mr. Morrison himself hauled the wood to the Saint John pulpmills.

Cutting pulpwood and sawlogs through the winter was and still is a rhythm of the seasons that Mr. Morrison, his son John and his two grandsons still follow. Mr. Morrison and John still go to the woods and cut 75-100 cords of softwood pulpwood and about 40 thousand board feet of sawlogs every year.

Mr. Morrison remembers fondly 50 years ago when the woods and farm work were done with horses. "Those were good times, maybe the best times to be working in the woods with horses."

As farm work turned over to farm tractors, Mr. Morrison also brought the tractors into the woods for hauling wood to roadside. "We would cut four foot pulpwood and haul it to roadside. I owned a truck and we would haul five cords into the Irving mill in Saint John." The Morrisons continue to use a 2 wheel drive tractor and a homemade power trailer with a log loader to haul the harvested wood to roadside. "The tractor is small to get through the woods with and we load the wood and get it out without any damage to the ground. Except for the wheel tracks, it doesn't cause any damage to small trees.

Forest Floor Covered in Deep Moss

The cool moist Fundy shore allows moss to build-up to quite a depth compared to the surrounding regions. Balsam fir regenerates prolifically here because the long tap root of its seedlings allows it to penetrate thick moss, making it the most significant species on Morrison’s woodlot. Spruce has short tap root which means it readily establishes in areas with little moss such as along skid trails or in mineral soils around up-rooted blown-down trees.

Mr. Morrison's philosophy for managing balsam fir is quite straight forward -"when it is big enough - cut it!" Mr. Morrison estimates that about 75% of the standing timber on his woodland is balsam fir, which will often display stain and rot at 50 - 60 years of age. Once the trees get mature they should be cut, is his advice. Regenerating cut-over sites is not a concern, "As long as the area is not too big it will seed in and be growing another crop in no time."

"I Don’t Believe it is good to Spray Poisons"

Over the years Mr. Morrison has had several woodlot management plans which he admits he uses as a guideline, but does not necessarily follow to the letter. "The people that have done up the management plans have been very knowledgeable, well meaning and competent with their work. But when we are working, we may see a patch that is going to go down and be lost, so we go there and get it, although it may not be scheduled to be cut at that particular time."

The budworm infestation created areas "where nothing is growing but ferns." Mr. Morrison would like to see these fern pasture growing trees but explains that the fern cover chokes out and prohibits seedlings from becoming established. "They say I could spray to kill the ferns then plant. But I don't want to spray. I never had to in the woods or when I farmed. I don't believe it is good to spray poisons, so I won't do it."

Bakeapples a Plenty

Besides continuing to provide the family with lumber and income from wood sales the woodlot hosts a wide variety of wildlife species, both plants and animals.

"One unique plant that we have on one of our barrens is Bakeapples. It is a kind of a berry and it is made into a jam. My father used to pick a lot of them. Every time my wife has hot biscuits, I think we need some Bakeapple jam to go with them. We also have a lot of cranberries that grow along the edges of the fields. They provide us with a wonderful food as well."

The woodlot is also a family recreation area. Mr. Morrison has built a fish pond and a camp along side of it so that he and his wife can enjoy the nature that the woodlot offers.



		*Craig Morrison* Quaco Head 1500-2000 acres (woodland & farm) Ecoregion - Fundy Coastal Ecodistrict - Fundy Coastal
Craig Morrison is the third generation living on the family property at Quaco Head near St. Martins on the Bay of Fundy Coast. Throughout his lifetime of 70 years, Craig has operated a beef and grain farm and worked in the woods in the winter. "I considered the woods another cash crop of the farm enterprise." It was Mr. Morrsion’s father who advised him to buy land to build up his property of woodland to provide a winter cash generator for the farm enterprise. Mr. Morrison's grandfather emigrated to the St. Martins area in the late 1700's to work in the shipbuilding industry which was then at it's peak. As the age of sail declined, many of the residents of the area left St. Martins for industrial jobs in the Boston states. However they held on to their property in case things didn’t work out for them stateside. As time passed, subsequent generations lost interest in those families properties so far away on the coast of the Bay of Fundy. As a result they often would consider selling the land when a good offer presented itself. This his how Mr. Morrison and his father came to acquire more than 1500 acres of land in the area. Quaco Head is in the Fundy Coastal Ecodistrict. This cool, wet climate support essentially a boreal type forest, except for the prominence of red spruce. In fact the higher plateaus consist almost entirely of red spruce. The rest of the area consists of mixtures of red spruce with white and black spruce, or balsam fir mixed with some red maple, white birch and yellow birch. Morrison Established a Sawmill Mr. Morrison established his own sawmill to saw whatever lumber his farm required and maybe a little more in case a neighbour needed some. In later years, the sawmill was used to saw lumber to build houses for his sons and daughters that live at Quaco Head. The mill and the woodlot are still being used. At present, two of Mr. Morrison's grandsons are cutting logs and sawing out lumber to build their own houses in the neighbourhood. The boys recently graduated as engineers and were fortunate enough to get jobs with industries in Saint John. Mr. Morrison relates "one of the boys was telling his co-workers that he was working in a sawmill in the evenings. They asked him why he was doing that. He told them he had cut logs and was sawing the lumber to build his house. The co-workers couldn't comprehend the concept of being able to cut trees, and turn it into lumber and build a house. They told him that would be impossible. The grandson replied 'that's the way we have always done it, and that's how we are still doing it." First Management Plant in 1956 In 1956, John Turunski, a forester then employed by the Department of Agriculture prepared a management plan for the woodlands in 1956. "John came down here and we cruised all over the woodlot for 4 or 5 days. He mapped out the different areas and made recommendations for a lot of selection harvest. It was a good plan that would allow us to continue to harvest every year and at the same time, increase the amount of wood that was growing. Our plan was all thrown out when the budworm struck in the 1960's. A lot of those stands that John and I had cruised through were running 75% Balsam Fir. When the budworm struck they killed trees faster than we could cut them." Through the sixties he kept a crew working year round cutting the dying fir. Mr. Morrison himself hauled the wood to the Saint John pulpmills. Cutting pulpwood and sawlogs through the winter was and still is a rhythm of the seasons that Mr. Morrison, his son John and his two grandsons still follow. Mr. Morrison and John still go to the woods and cut 75-100 cords of softwood pulpwood and about 40 thousand board feet of sawlogs every year. Mr. Morrison remembers fondly 50 years ago when the woods and farm work were done with horses. "Those were good times, maybe the best times to be working in the woods with horses." As farm work turned over to farm tractors, Mr. Morrison also brought the tractors into the woods for hauling wood to roadside. "We would cut four foot pulpwood and haul it to roadside. I owned a truck and we would haul five cords into the Irving mill in Saint John." The Morrisons continue to use a 2 wheel drive tractor and a homemade power trailer with a log loader to haul the harvested wood to roadside. "The tractor is small to get through the woods with and we load the wood and get it out without any damage to the ground. Except for the wheel tracks, it doesn't cause any damage to small trees. Forest Floor Covered in Deep Moss The cool moist Fundy shore allows moss to build-up to quite a depth compared to the surrounding regions. Balsam fir regenerates prolifically here because the long tap root of its seedlings allows it to penetrate thick moss, making it the most significant species on Morrison’s woodlot. Spruce has short tap root which means it readily establishes in areas with little moss such as along skid trails or in mineral soils around up-rooted blown-down trees. Mr. Morrison's philosophy for managing balsam fir is quite straight forward -"when it is big enough - cut it!" Mr. Morrison estimates that about 75% of the standing timber on his woodland is balsam fir, which will often display stain and rot at 50 - 60 years of age. Once the trees get mature they should be cut, is his advice. Regenerating cut-over sites is not a concern, "As long as the area is not too big it will seed in and be growing another crop in no time." "I Don’t Believe it is good to Spray Poisons" Over the years Mr. Morrison has had several woodlot management plans which he admits he uses as a guideline, but does not necessarily follow to the letter. "The people that have done up the management plans have been very knowledgeable, well meaning and competent with their work. But when we are working, we may see a patch that is going to go down and be lost, so we go there and get it, although it may not be scheduled to be cut at that particular time." The budworm infestation created areas "where nothing is growing but ferns." Mr. Morrison would like to see these fern pasture growing trees but explains that the fern cover chokes out and prohibits seedlings from becoming established. "They say I could spray to kill the ferns then plant. But I don't want to spray. I never had to in the woods or when I farmed. I don't believe it is good to spray poisons, so I won't do it." Bakeapples a Plenty Besides continuing to provide the family with lumber and income from wood sales the woodlot hosts a wide variety of wildlife species, both plants and animals. "One unique plant that we have on one of our barrens is Bakeapples. It is a kind of a berry and it is made into a jam. My father used to pick a lot of them. Every time my wife has hot biscuits, I think we need some Bakeapple jam to go with them. We also have a lot of cranberries that grow along the edges of the fields. They provide us with a wonderful food as well." The woodlot is also a family recreation area. Mr. Morrison has built a fish pond and a camp along side of it so that he and his wife can enjoy the nature that the woodlot offers.