Over the years, Walnut Meadows and Bill have appeared in the press a fair number of times. Here's just a few exerts from papers like the Maryland Sun, Japan Times and numerous Agricultural and Forestry articles and awards...

Award Received

Mr Bill Slagle of Bruceton Mills received the Good Steward Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation in ceremonies April 27 in Nebraska City, NE, the home of Arbor Day. Mr Slagle was honored for his multi-faced approach to land stewardship which includes black walnut trees, gourmet mushrooms, and ginseng. Mr Slagle regularly conducts seminars and provides tours of his farm, promoting wise stewardship of the land.

From the Baltimore Sun, 1999

Tree farmer has deep roots in business -- Work has earned him honors in Md., W.Va.

Bill Slagle does things differently from most people.

When it's time to prune, the 66 year old tree farmer disdains a ladder and shinnies up the trunk. He gives away the secrets of his most profitable crop -- ginseng that sells for $350 a pound. And he saves butternut trees afflicted with a canker generally accepted as incurable.

He collects speaking invitations the way the forest floor on his 200 acre tree farm collects leaves. Several thousand visitors a year tour the farms -- 200 acres in Garrett County, 90 in Preston County, W.Va. -- hike the two mile nature trail and walk through one of the geothermally heated houses his construction company builds.

Slagle's list of his activities in 1996 and last year covers 21 handwritten pages, from a farm tour for a Pennsylvanian couple to representing landowners from 16 southeastern states on the National Walnut Council board.

"My 'no' is broke," he explained recently. "I just can't say it."

From the Maryland Sun, 1999

1998 Terry Johnson Agroforestry Award WInners: Bill and Elsie Slagle

In recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the advancements of agroforestry science, adoption and practice.

The William Slagle "Walnut Meadows" farm near Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, raises black walnuts, ginseng, shitake mushrooms and other products. The Slagles' innovation is evident when touring Walnut Meadows and their willingness to teach other about their operation is reputable. The Slagles continually hold tours of their farm, make presentations at workshops, and provide one-on-one assistance to those who are interested in learning more about agroforestry practices. Their hardworking nature and warm hospitality makes a lasting impression on those who meet them.

It can be said that the farm has been good to the Slagle family and that they have been good to the land. In addition to a good land ethic, the Slagles have a knack for staying on top of "what's new", and taking advantage of an emerging product and then moving on to something else when a particular market becomes saturated. The Slagles state that agroforestry practices require intense management and that they have made a lot of mistakes along the way, but this is how they educate themselves.

As a result of their innovative nature and willingness to teach others, the Slagles have unknowingly become beneficial to the agroforestry movement. Agroforestry professionals, when speaking to groups, regularly use the Slagles and their achievements as examples to educate and encourage other landowners about the benefits of agroforestry. The Slagles are not afraid to give out their secrets. In fact, they work with Universities to help others get started. Their innovation has been recognised both locally and nationally and they continue to work with people from all over the world to promote and improve agroforestry practices.

For all their efforts in the advancement of agroforestry, we commend Bill and Elsie Slagle by presenting them with the 1998 Terry Johnson Agroforestry Award.

Signed: Keith A. Ticknor, National Forester of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Keith A. Argow, President of the National Woodland Owners Association.

From the Terry Johnson Agroforestry Award, 1998

Bill & Elsie Slagle Named West Virginia's 1998 Tree Farmers of the Year

Bill and Elsie Slagle of Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, have been selected as West Virginia's 1998 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. The announcement of their selection was made at the A. B. Brooks Forestry Symposium held in Charleston earlier this year. Andy Dick, Preston County Service Forester, was the nominating forester.

Mr Slagle, a retired vo-tech teacher, and Mrs Slagle, a nurse and teacher, own and operate a very diversified 70-acre Tree Farm in Preston County. Some of their numerous Tree Farm activities include: selective timber harvests, forest stand improvement thinnings, prunings for veneer sawtimber, access road construction, a ten acre walnut planting, a two acre paulownia planting, cultivation of seven acres of ginseng, commercial shitake mushroom production, nature trail construction, and the collection of mosses and greenery for the floral industry.

The Slagles' Tree Farm demonstrates the rewards of good planing, hard work and intesive forest management. The Walnut Meadows famr is an example of multiple-use forestry at its best. The Slagles are very active in their community and use every opportunity to communicate their Tree Farm message. Mr Slagle has given hundreds of tours of the Tree Farm operation and is always willing to show other what he has learned. He also gives presentations regarding various aspects of forest management and the production of agroforstry speciality products all of over West Virginia and across the country. The Slagles' farm has been highlighted in numerous magazines, newspapers and video productions.

The Tree Farm Program is a nationwide program sponsored by forest industry through the American Forest Foundation with the assistance of local forestry organisations, public agencies, consulting foresters and others. The West Virginia Forestry Association is the state sponsor of the Tree Farm Program.

The purpose of the Tree Farm Program is to encourage private forest landowners to manage and protect their woodlands for the continuous production of forest products with all the addes benefits of improved food and habitat for wildlife, watershed protection, and opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Tree Farm Program gives public recognitaion to private landowners, such as the Slagles, who are doing an exceptional job of managing their woodlands, thereby encouraging others to do the same.

From the West Virgina Forestry Association, 1998

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