by Dan Breen

For some people, many of us, ten million is a challenging number to quantify and imagine. Bruce Wakeland’s experience with the number is tangible. He planted ten million trees as a forester in Northern Indiana. “It is an advantage. It gives you an advantage in perception of numbers and size. It is a mind boggling number ten million,” says Wakeland.

Bruce Wakeland is a story teller who frequents the Wild Rose Moon in Plymouth, Indiana. What I did not expect when I spoke to him was to learn the depth of his experience as a forester and his commitment to ecology in Northern, Indiana. At the end of this article you can find Bruce Wakeland’s short story, “Spaceship Landed Here.”

Graduating from college Bruce Wakeland took a job with a local tree farm. He was sent to the owner’s property in Stake County to shear Christmas trees. He discovered the property was for sale, so he purchased forty acres in 1973. On this property he built his home, established his business as the first Consulting Forester in Northern Indiana, and laid the ground work for what was to become the Starke County Forrest. He later purchased more property surrounding his home and began to convert 90 year old farmland into a sustainable forest.

Wakeland’s proudest achievement is in managing 330 acres of forest land. The majority of the property he owns or manages directly surrounds his home. In 2011 he donated 129 acres to Starke County to be held as a forest. The Starke County Forest is one of only two self-sustaining state woodlands in Indiana. The forest contains five miles of hiking trails, a marsh, an observation deck, and prairie land. Wakeland gave the property to the county early out of a love for the forest and his desire to act as a steward in its early years.

When Wakeland bought the 129 acres forming the Starke County Forest it was mostly farmland. He planted trees on the property in 1985. In 1990 he converted his favorite spot into a pond. The section of property was always wet. Soon the frogs and water fowl became attracted to the pond. Water lilies returned whose seeds lying dormant in the muck. The property and the forest has become a refuge for wildlife and those seeking a little escape to nature.

Bruce by the pond at Starke County Forest

“You can have a beautiful property that is great for the environment, ecology, wildlife, water and air quality. You can have this environmentally sound forest land and make good money at the same time,” says Wakeland. The Starke County Forest is designed to sustain itself financially for years to come by allowing select timber harvesting where the proceeds are returned to the maintenance of the forest.

Wakeland believes the maintenance of woodlands is one of the most lucrative uses of land in Indiana. He says properly planting and guiding the growth of forest allowing periodic harvesting at a profit is important to keeping it as woodland giving back to the ecology of the whole. Wakeland explains when land changes hands money is involved. If the woodland is not capable of producing revenue for the owner you run the risk of a wonderful forest being converted into farmland, a golf course or a housing project. He continues to explain, “When a forest has economic value we can keep our forests. That is what I am trying to show here. I gave the forest to the county because it gives people the opportunity to come out and enjoy nature.”

Wakeland wrote an article about his investment property and his careful study of the economic use of the land for The Association of Consulting Foresters Magazine. The article supports his premise proper stewardship of the forest is a wise economic investment supporting sound ecology. Wakeland begins, “Thirty-seven growing seasons ago, in January of 1980 and at 31 years of age, I purchased a 16-acre parcel that included a 4-acre cornfield and 12 acres of woods. My primary purpose was a long-term timber production investment. I also decided to track the growth of the timber and the cost and income from sales, so that someday I could write an article such as this,” from the Consultant 2018. You can read the whole article describing specifically how he improved the woodland and farmland by clicking the link below.

https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/AFFA/AFFA0017/index.php?startid=38#/38

1950s era saw mill on Wakeland’s property where processes wood for use on his property

Wakeland was inspired to tell stories about his life as a forester because of his involvement with the National Chestnut Society. At one of their national meetings a story teller taught the foresters how to tell stories. Wakeland is the Chairman of the Restoration Committee of The American Chestnut Society and founded the Indiana Chapter. You can listen to Wakeland talk about Chestnuts and the future of the tree by clicking on the recording below.

At PAN-O-PLY we are looking to find the best in Michiana. “We encourage creativity, adventure and a lust for living an artful life.” Bruce Wakeland is an example of that lust for an artful life. It is evident in the awards he has received as a forester like The National Field Forester Award and the John F Datena Distinguished Forester Service Award by the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Association. It is alive in his home where the furniture and ceiling beams are reshaped from the forest surrounding him. It is most evident in his dedication to a life of ecology. It is evident in his stewardship of the woodland he has raised and sustained.

Beams made from black walnut and ceiling made from tulip harvested from Wakeland’s property

Bruce demonstrating the use of the carriage for the saw mill. This mill was used to cut boards to form buildings on his property and the beams previously pictured.

Bruce Wakeland can be heard telling stories about his life and experience as forester at The Wild Rose Moon open mic nights.

Visit the Starke County Forrest 10655 Division Road, Know Indiana.

Space Ship Landed Here

By Bruce Wakeland

Short Story

Tom, I think a space ship landed here!

Tom was a forester who worked for me for 22 years. It was late spring 1986 in a large woods south of Warsaw, Indiana. Tom and I were doing a woodland inspection to formulate management recommendation for the owner. We were walking through the middle of the woods when we spotted an area of sun light reaching the forest floor just ahead. We headed toward the light to see what was going on. What we found was an area where everything was freshly dead. The dead area formed a near perfect circle on the ground about 50 feet across. All the plants on the forest floor were wilted, turning brown, and losing their leaves. This circle of death formed a stark contrast to the lush green of the surrounding area which had a dense cover of spring flowers. Tom and I both became involved in trying to figure out what caused this circle of death. Looking up, we soon realized that it was actually a cylinder of death. Everything directly above the dead area on the ground was also dead, including the tops of the trees within the circle, and branches of other trees that simply reach into the cylinder.

We started to eliminate possible causes. Did someone dump or spill herbicide? No, there were no woodland lanes or equipment tracks, and we were out in the middle of large woods. Did a crop duster aircraft spill herbicide from above? No, liquid falling from above would not form such a perfect cylinder pattern. And besides, herbicides are selective, and everything within this cylinder was dead. Maybe it was lighting? We looked and looked for, and did not find, any sign of a lighting strike on any of the trees. For such a large area of death it would have to of been a big strike, and for a perfect cylinder to form, the tree would likely be right in the middle of the cylinder.

We were running out of time and ideas, and that is when I said,” Well Tom, I think a space ship landed here.” We took one last look around before getting back to work, and that is when I found it, the clue we needed. Right in the middle of the cylinder of death, on the back side of a 10-inch diameter pole sized pignut hickory tree, was a fresh lighting strike. It was hidden under the bark, and the only reason I found it was I taped the tree with my Biltmore stick. As soon as I heard the sound of lose bark, I knew we had it.

Our theory goes like this. It was a thunder storm with a lot of rain about a week before. A big bolt of lightning struck this tough little hickory tree in the middle of the cylinder. The lighting discharged down the hickory into the very wet ground creating steam. The heat of the steam is what did the killing. The wind must have been calm, allowing the ball of steam to rise straight up, killing everything above in this near perfect cylinder of death. I have seen the results of hundreds of lighting strike and what they can do to trees, and no two have been quite the same. This one is one of the strangest.

If you do not like our theory, you are welcome to believe that a spaceship land there.

Bruce Wakeland's Gift of The Forest