Tyrone and Edna Williams are forest landowners at Fourtee Acres, which is located in Enfield, North Carolina. The family farm includes 195 acres total of woodland, farmland, and rental property. Tyrone and Edna own about 62 of those acres. The family farm has been in Tyrone’s family for close to 100 years and they host monthly conference calls with the heirs to keep everyone up to date. Not originally from a forestry background, Tyrone credits foresters and community members in their ability to help him fully understand the scope and worth of his land.
Key Takeaways:
[1:40] A message from Leadership Nature.
[2:20] A quick intro about Tyrone and Edna’s background.
[5:10] Tyrone shares a little bit about his family’s history and how they’ve managed to keep their land for over 100 years in the family.
[7:10] Up until five to six years ago, Tyrone was not able to say this. What happened back then?
[10:15] Tyrone shares the type of help and support he has received to help him keep his land.
[17:00] What kinds of barriers have Tyrone and Edna faced along the way?
[18:55] What role have partnerships and networking played in managing Tyrone’s land?
[25:15] How have Tyrone’s sons gotten involved in the family land?
[30:20] Tyrone has conference calls with heirs from out of state to help them get familiar with the process.
[32:15] Tyrone has a large family! During Thanksgiving and family reunions, they have about 20 to 40 family members that attend.
[35:00] What kinds of surprises has the Williams family had along the way?
[42:15] Tyrone explains what discretionary grants are and what that can mean for landowners.
[44:55] What advice does Tyrone have for other landowners?
[48:35] What advice does Tyrone have for foresters and other educators?
[50:40] Final thoughts: The goal isn’t to live forever, but to create something that will.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR)
Thomas Mitchell is a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Real Estate and Community Development Law Program at Texas A&M University. An amazing thing has happened in modern history and that’s the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. Thomas has been working for over 15 years to get a real estate partitions law updated with regards to heirs property. For decades, rightful landowners have lost their land due to unfair practices, but that has all changed now. Find out more on today’s episode.
Key Takeaways:
[1:40] A message from Leadership Nature.
[2:25] A quick intro about Thomas’s background.
[3:40] How did Thomas first get started in land retention and land rights?
[8:55] What was the process Thomas went through to change the direction of what law he wanted to practice in?
[11:55] When Thomas described to his colleague what he wanted to do, his colleague said it was career suicide.
[13:25] Thomas is so glad he didn’t listen to him because he knows he made the right decision.
[16:00] What kinds of issues do people face with heirs’ properties?
[24:25] When people have inherited property over the generations, a lot of times the property lacks clear ownership titles and that ends up creating a murky lens for the courts on who owns what.
[28:00] Real estate developers will often contact a distant relative that owns possibly 1% of the land and try to convince them to do a partition by sale agreement, and by doing this, heirs can lose their entire share.
[30:40] On top of this, the courts are using the wrong analysis to determine the worth of the land.
[38:10] What has the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act has accomplished?
[43:55] When Thomas received word his proposal was being selected, he almost fell out of his chair!
[47:25] What parts of the partition law will be changed due to this act?
[55:20] Many Americans do not make wills for their family. For African American families specifically, only 15% of them have a will.
[1:03:40] What results has Thomas seen so far?
[1:10:50] Thomas did not do this alone! He credits the network of people who have helped make this possible.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Candra Burns is the voice for introverted scientists everywhere and the owner of Talking Forests. She is a natural resource professional and unique resource for anyone in the field who wants to build their social media chops. On today’s episode, Candra talks about the importance of social media, the benefits of each social media platform, and how to find the time for it all!
Key Takeaways:
[1:05] A message from Leadership Nature.
[1:40] A quick intro about Candra’s background.
[3:40] How did Candra first get started in natural resources?
[10:20] During every school lesson, Candra would learn about a new subject but it was just the tip of the iceberg.
[14:35] What were Candra’s first few jobs like?
[20:00] Candra explains what her business, Talking Forests, is all about.
[23:40] What do foresters and natural resource professionals think about social media?
[25:40] How do young people use social media?
[27:45] How are foresters missing opportunities by not engaging with their audience online?
[30:45] What results has Candra seen so far?
[33:50] What are some of the pros and cons of each social media platform?
[41:00] If you don’t know how to use Facebook or Instagram, that’s okay, but if you’re not using LinkedIn, you’re really missing out.
[47:00] Candra explains the power of hashtags.
[50:30] How much time does all this social media stuff take?!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Email: Candra@Talkingforests.com
John Magruder is the Owner of Three Rivers Forestry and has been a consulting forester for 21 years. John earned his B.S. in Forest Science from Penn State University in 1986. Before going into private practice, John served at the Virginia Department of Forestry as the Area Forester in Essex County, for nearly 12 years. On today’s episode, John shares why it’s so important to be an involved member of the community and help educate your local representative about the importance of the work you do.
Key Takeaways:
[1:05] A message from Leadership Nature.
[1:45] A quick intro about John’s background.
[3:40] How did John get started in forestry?
[5:50] John wanted to be a chemical engineer at first, but after shadowing someone in the field, he decided he’d rather be a forester, instead.
[8:55] What was John’s first job in forestry like?
[12:10] When John was a junior in college, he and his team had to fight a forest fire for ten days.
[14:45] John highly recommends you join the forestry club at your school.
[16:15] Why did John switch from the Department of Forestry to his own consultancy firm?
[22:50] John is an active participant in political matters and has gotten involved in legislative issues related to forestry. The public needs to be educated in the importance of the work we do.
[28:25] What kinds of mentors has John had over the years?
[33:40] What types of challenges do new forestry consultants tend to face?
[41:40] John shares his thoughts about ACF and some of its benefits.
[48:15] Good leadership means you know you’re going to make mistakes, but you also know you’re going to be learning from them.
[48:45] What skills do people in the forestry profession need to be better at?
[53:50] What kinds of challenges has John personally run into as a forestry consultant?
[56:40] What leadership lessons has John learned over the years?
[1:00:40] If you’re a young forester, get involved! As older foresters retire, that knowledge will disappear.
[1:03:05] The toughest of challenges can be solved. You’ve just got to work with it.
Mentioned in This Episode: