County Life Marshall Vol. 1 Issue 3 | Page 12

Carney says more and more people are showing an interest in tree farming. “You don’t have to live on site and maintain a tree farm the same way you do a cattle farm,” said Carney. “Some people want to live in the city but keep their farm. Some people are interested in conservation or preservation or aesthetics and this is a good option for them.” Carney said that more hardwoods are grown in the southeast than anywhere in the world and the demand from places like Asia is growing. On Mulliniks’ property, a variety of hardwoods are now thriving. There are cherrybark red oak, wild black cherry, swamp chestnut oak and shumard red oak. He’s experimented with alternating species because he’s learned that a natural fit exists between different species that encourage each other to grow. He’s learned some on his own and some with the help of experts to come up with a winning formula for healthy trees. Mullinik said he feels like he’s helping return the land to its natural state because it was once a dense forest. When land grants were handed out to settlers, they cut down the trees so they could farm. They couldn’t feed their families on acorn nuts. Over time, the land was over farmed and became degraded by cattle and eroded by water. Trying to reverse a 10 10 century of farming practice has been a challenge, but Mullinik says the work has been worth it. “It’s the meaning of life really,” he said. “It is our basic human responsibility to preserve. We have to understand we are part of an ecosystem. While development is necessary, so is preservation and conservation.” He says a lot of people don’t realize that middle Tennessee is extremely well-watered geography and few places are better suited for growing. He also points out that conservation easements, like the one he has chosen to enact, actually raises his property values and all those around him. It would be easy to use monetary gain and tax benefits as the reason for planting hardwood trees but it’s obvious money isn’t what motivates Mulliniks. There are a lot easier ways to make money than planting thousands of trees and dealing with multiple government agencies. “I just ask one thing of my children in return for all the harvestable trees,” said Mulliniks. To test how well his message has been received by his children, he asked his nine-year-old daughter what that one thing is that he wants from them. “To plant a new one when we cut one down,” answered Annabelle promptly. And there’s your legacy.