The $10,000 award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land.
Firth, who owns and operates Firth Maple Products and founded the Foundation for Sustainable Forests, was revealed as the award recipient at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg on January 6.
Click Here to watch a video on award winner Troy Firth.
Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states.
In Pennsylvania, the award is presented with The Heinz Endowments, Horizon Farm Credit, and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.
Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others to consider conservation opportunities on their land.
In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.
Pennsylvania landowners were encouraged to apply, or be nominated, for the award. Nominations were reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders from Pennsylvania.
About Troy Firth
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
Those words from Aldo Leopold ring true for Troy Firth as he walks through a forest.
Born into a family of loggers, early on Troy worked in sawmills and the woods.
He grew unsatisfied seeing forests left degraded by severe harvests, and efforts to take only the best trees.
The prevailing practices of the time were threatening the local ecosystem and compromising the long-term health of the local timber economy.
At that same time, Troy’s conservation ethic was being influenced by reading Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry.
He came to see that forestry done right is an observational science that attempts to mimic nature.
He acquired his first forest land in the 1970s, and has since purchased about 7,000 acres. Through decades of care and diligence, Troy’s forests thrived as he built a business that provides rural jobs and a unique model for the timber industry.
In addition to lumber, Firth Maple Products is Pennsylvania’s second largest maple syrup producer.
Its humble beginnings took shape when Troy began tapping maple trees while living on his family’s dairy farm.
The 160-acre farm’s rolling terrain proved better for growing trees than crops. Troy also found that logging and maple syrup pair well, both seasonally and for managing a workforce.
Troy says, “A bad logger goes to the woods thinking of what he can take out. A good logger goes to the woods thinking of what he can leave.”
In addition to his unconventional “worst first” approach to selecting timber for harvest, he removes trees by doing the least possible damage to others left standing.
The same care is given to the forest floor to not disturb soil, vegetation, and wildlife habitat.
To foster tree species and age diversity, Troy uses an approach akin to the Femelschlag technique or gap silviculture.
Small group selections, no larger than a few acres, are harvested to create canopy gaps where the forest understory stocked with native species allows for natural regeneration to occur.
This approach attracted the attention of conservation biologists and avian researchers who conduct a multi-year study of songbird diversity in forests Troy manages.
Troy subcontracts with four teams of Amish loggers who use horses instead of mechanical skidders. This minimizes damage to the forest floor, allowing the understory to recover quickly.
Troy was demonstrating horse logging at a field day about 25 years ago when he met one of his conservation idols, Wendell Berry.
“When Aldo Leopold was writing “The Land Ethic” and worrying about “the apathy of private timber owners,” he was thinking of the need for foresters like Troy,” Berry wrote in his letter nominating Troy for the Leopold Conservation Award.
Troy and his late wife, Lynn, founded the Foundation for Sustainable Forests in 2004 to protect forested ecosystems and highlight sustainable forestry practices.
He remains determined to see the organization serve as a regional model for other conservation-minded landowners.
To date, Troy has had a hand in the conservation of 2,250 acres of working forests, with more gains on the horizon, including the generous bequest of his own lands.
While Troy’s career may sound idyllic, his lived experience is far from it. He has been unfairly criticized for not having what others say is a “realistic” approach to industrial timbering.
Yet, his 45-year career is proof that forestry can be both economically profitable and ecologically nurturing.
Click Here to watch a video on award winner Troy Firth.
Accolades
“The Leopold Conservation Award honors landowners whose exceptional stewardship demonstrates how responsible land management can benefit both the environment and future generations,” said Tom Truitt, CEO of Horizon Farm Credit. “We are pleased to continue partnering with the Sand County Foundation on this award, which aligns with Farm Credit’s mission of ensuring the long-term success of rural communities and agriculture.”
“Troy Firth is part of the reason that Pennsylvania is a national leader in conservation and sustainable forestry,” Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “Troy’s care of soil, water, and forest resources embody Aldo Leopold’s vision and ethic of environmental stewardship, and business practices that respect the land and ensure that it will be there for generations to come.”
“Troy Firth’s selection as the recipient of the 2024 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award not only showcases his remarkable career, but also highlights the diversity of agriculture in the Commonwealth,” said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman. “Forestry is often overlooked when people think of Pennsylvania’s farm economy. Troy has built a business that provides quality timber and maple syrup while adhering to the principles of stewardship and conservation championed by Aldo Leopold, and like other past recipients of this award, has shown himself to be an innovator who is eager to share what he has learned with his neighbors and others seeking to replicate his success. Farm Bureau congratulates Troy on his achievements and is proud to join in celebrating them.”
“These award recipients are examples of how Aldo Leopold’s land ethic is alive and well today,” said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and CEO. “Their dedication to conservation is both an inspiration to their peers as well as a reminder to all how important thoughtful agriculture is to clean water, healthy soil, and wildlife habitat.”
“As the national sponsor for Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award, American Farmland Trust celebrates the hard work and dedication of the award recipients,” said John Piotti, AFT President and CEO. “At AFT we believe that exemplary conservation involves the land itself, the practices employed on the land, and the people who steward it. This award recognizes the integral role of all three.”
Among the many outstanding Pennsylvania landowners nominated for the award were finalists: Jim Hershey of Elizabethtown, and Maple Valley Cattle Company of Meyersdale. Read more here.
The 2023 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award was presented to Myers Family Farm of Spring Mills. Read more here.
Click Here for other past award recipients in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award is made possible thanks to the generous support of American Farmland Trust, The Heinz Endowments, Horizon Farm Credit, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Sand County Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Myers Family Farm, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, and The Nature Conservancy.
Resource Link:
-- PA Land Trust Assn. Honors Troy Firth, Stroud Township With Conservation Leadership Awards [PaEN]
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