About Us

As an avid outdoorsman, hunter, conservationist and student of the land, I designed this business to cater to nearly every need that a land owner/manager may face.

   

   I started this journey with a chainsaw and a log skidder. One of my first jobs of timber that I cut on my own was on my home farm of 371 acres in Westford Township, Richland County, Wisconsin. On the 40 acre parcel where I grew up, there was a stand of Sugar Maple that had never been harvested. The giant old maple trees were dying off and being replaced one by one with bitternut hickory, ironwood and elm. Some of these are fine trees but in our area, they die at a fairly young age due to disease. Wanting to continue to manage for Sugar Maple, as well as improve wildlife and deer habitat, my father and I put a management plan together that required an overstory removal harvest, followed by TSI (Timber Stand Improvement) and scattered tree planting.

   

   The day came when I was to start harvesting those beautiful old trees, so I loaded up and headed to the woods. As I approached the first maple that was marked to be cut, I was overcome with memories. Memories of playing war underneath of those trees with my brother as kids, memories of my first squirrel hunt with my dad where I had taken two squirrel from that very canopy, memories of the long thoughtful walks through the woods talking to God when life became complicated. Those memories turned into thoughts as I heard the old windmill over the hill howling in the wind. That windmill was built by my great-great-great-grandfather, Herman Seep, who homesteaded the farm in 1854. Those towering maple trees were certainly over 150 years old and most likely bore witness to the erection of that windmill, as well as my family's beginning in this beautiful driftless area. A deer then jumped from her bed about 50 yards from me and the sound of brush cracking brought me back to reality. My excitement about the timber harvest grew into a feeling of loss, for lack of a better term. At that moment I realized what kind of responsibility came along with wielding a chainsaw for a living. 

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   I completed the harvest as planned and it is currently regenerating just like we had wanted. Over the years we have seen so many new species that came for the young forest habitat and watched how the deer have adjusted and benefitted from the project. We also left many old maple trees standing so they can continue on with the story, as the squirrels stay warm in their holes and openings.

 

   As excited as I am about what we helped to create, the recognition of responsibility is something that has never left me and it is now built into the mission of the business. At Old Northwest, every tree we harvest, every blade of grass that is cut, and every seed that is planted is driven by a plan, a goal and a dream- as we do our best as land managers to understand where we've been, where we are, and where we are going.