Al and Ida Meyer have managed their Johnson and Brown county woodlands for 52 years; Al is the Charles Deam Stewardship Award winner.
Al Meyer of Johnson County owns more than 500 acres of forestland in Johnson and Brown counties and has, with his wife Ida, actively managed their forests for 52 years.
Because Al demonstrates outstanding forest stewardship on his land, he was awarded the annual Charles Deam Stewardship Award. Deam was the state's first appointed forester.
Meyer has planted hundreds of thousands of trees, constructed several ponds for recreation, wildlife and fire protection, allowed his property to be used for research by the U.S. Forest Service, and conducted periodic harvests of mature timber.
He was a founder of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association, the Hoosier Heartland Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Johnson County Park System, and the Johnson County Park Tree Farm.
Through the years he has promoted care and management of natural resources, and his property served as a tour site for the National Association of State Foresters annual meeting, the IHLA annual Farm Forestry camp, and the annual DNR Conservation Education Camp for teachers.
He initiated a Smokey
Bear coloring contest, hosted the forest management demonstrations and initiated
planting a 36-acre community forest and a 10-acre "gene bank" planting
for the Indiana Nut Growers Association, both in Johnson county.
