Liz Schneider has a personal and a professional connection to windbreaks.
“I grew up on my parents’ farm in Fort Morgan, and when I was a kid, I was sent out to water trees,” said the conservation technician who oversees the West Greeley Conservation District‘s annual seedling tree sale.
Schneider wanted to teach agriculture, graduating in 2014 from Colorado State with a major in soil and crop science with a minor in soil conservation. This is her 10th year with the district.
About 10,000 trees and scrubs were ordered online this year by 315 customers. Last year, about 250 customer placed orders for about 5,000 plants.
“It varies year to year,” Schneider said. “Usually, when there is a down year of orders, it follows a big year of sales. There’s been years when we have sold around 20,000. The busy years are when people are installing more windbreaks and conservation projects.
“Or if they’ve lost trees to disease. Or rabbits eat them.”
Racks containing trays of tree and shrub orders are ready for customers on May 12. The papers attached to the trays list customer’s name, contact information, sale items, and pickup date and time. (Ed Otte/Special to the Greeley Tribune)Rocky Mountain juniper, ponderosa pine, Colorado blue spruce, Austrian pine, Scotch pine, bur oak and native shrubs are the biggest sellers. They are acquired from several “mom-and-pop” tree farms and some larger suppliers.
Prices range from $3 for a small tube tree to $45 for a five-gallon potted tree. Schneider described the sale as “a service to provide low-cost seedling trees to our landowners.”
Some of the trees require 50 years to grow to maturity.
“You aren’t planting them for yourself,” Schneider said. “You’re planting them for the next generation.”
Terri Crouch of Nunn picked up an apple tree, Colorado blue spruce and lilac bushes on May 12 at the conservation district barn in east Greeley. (Ed Otte/Special to the Greeley Tribune)This year’s inventory was delivered in early May to the district’s farm one mile southeast of Linn Grove Cemetery in east Greeley. Customers began picking up their orders on May 12.
After the sale period ends in late April, customers are notified of the day and time to pick up their prepaid orders.
“Before we went to this system, too many people arrived at the same time,” Schneider said. “They honked their horns and tried to cut into the the line of cars. It was a mess.”
Some customers “buy one tree to plant in what little yard they have while larger landowners purchase 1,000 trees to install windbreaks.
“Windbreaks are so important especially out in the Plains where there’s no protection for livestock and rangeland property from harsh weather conditions,” she said. “They also protect buildings and help with wildlife habitat. And they provide privacy.”
Conservancy districts were established following the Dust Bowl devastation in the late 1920s and 1930s.
Congress enacted the Soil Conservation Act of 1935 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the legislation designed to combat soil erosion and preserve natural resources. The Colorado Legislature established districts in the state in 1937.
According to Schneider, the West Greeley district, which covers 1,390,000 privately owned acres and 260,000 federal- and state-owned acres, was established in 1948. It is funded by a property tax mill levy.
One of 74 districts in Colorado, it also operates Houston Gardens in north Greeley.
In addition to the annual tree sale, district personnel conduct conservation presentations at schools and partners with 4-H, FFA, Scouts and homeschool students.
Houston Gardens assistant coordinator Tony Casas moves a Colorado blue spruce in the conservation district barn in east Greeley. (Ed Otte/Special to the Greeley Tribune)“Growing up on a farm, I knew the work we did,” Schneider said. “When I was at CSU, I learned how important it is. Farmers are the best stewards of the land. The programs we do with kids help send that message.”
Although the sale attracts new landowners, “I recognize our repeat customers,” Schneider said. “A lot of people do windbreak work with whole families. Husband, wife and two or three kids. It’s a bonding experience.”
Another family activity doesn’t involve trees.
“Windbreak people like fruit-bearing shrubs. Native plums, golden currants, chokecherries, elderberries,” Schneider said. “They collect the fruit to make jams.”
— Ed Otte is a former editor of the Greeley Tribune and a former executive director of the Colorado Press Association.
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