Hawkes Tree Farm Named 2026 Regional Outstanding Tree Farm

The American Forest Foundation, national sponsors of the American Tree Farm System, have announced the 2026 Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers. Vermont has waited a few years for a regional Tree Farmer of the Year winner, but we don’t have to wait any longer! The Hawkes Family of Bridgewater, Vermont were recently selected as the 2026 Northeast Region winners. 

The Hawkes family are 50-year Tree Farmers, with Gerry at the helm, having spent all of that time dedicated to the stewardship of their lands along with inventing and developing methods and tools to help others do the same thing. Since 1969, an extensive trail network has been developed throughout the property where none existed. Invasive shrubs have almost been eliminated without the use of herbicides, with almost constant work in stand improvement thinning, harvesting over the entire property, improving habitat with patch cuts and late season mowing. Gerry and Karen are always open to hosting and sharing about how their stewardship journey on their Tree Farm in Vermont. Congratulations Hawkes Family!

Other regional winners included the Robbins Family from Arkansas, Jerry and Portia Brown of Kentucky, and the Kesterson Brothers of Big K Ranch in Oregon. The National Tree Farmer of the Year Award will be presented in April at the American Forest Foundation’s National Leadership Conference, in Madison , Wisconsin.

For more on these regional Tree Farmer stories, visit the American Forest Foundation website