DEMING, Wash. — Bob Barker started his career as a logger. Now, he's responsible for the creation of an entire forest.
As it turns out, Barker is pretty good at growing things.
“It was a very rewarding thing to do," the 93-year-old said.
Barker bought land in rural Whatcom County in the 1990s to plant and harvest trees. In that first year, he lost nearly 4,000 saplings to voles, which are mouse-like rodents.
“The voles had enjoyed this new element in their diet," Barker quipped.
But Barker learned about a federal program called the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program that pays people to conserve land and preserve plant life.
After taking care of his vole problem, Barker started planting again. He estimates he and his trusty spade planted 50 trees an hour.
Over the next 25 years, Barker planted 30,000 trees, most of them all by himself, over 71 acres.
“To come out in the morning and plant a few hundred trees and come back the next year and see their existence on the property is pretty exciting," he said.
The land was once pasture filled with blackberries and roaming cows from neighboring farms.
The transformation from pasture to forest has brought the land alive. The endangered Oregon spotted frog is now being seen on the property's ponds and puddles. Wildlife cameras on the property have captured bobcats and families of cougars.
“What we've done here is not made it any worse for the animals," explained Barker. "Once you know they're here, you can do things to try to make it better for them."
Barker and his family were recently honored by the Washington Tree Farm Program as 2022's Washington Tree Farmers of The Year.
“They could not be more deserving and have a wonderful story of hard work, adjustment of plans, and persistence that led to the conversion of 70 acres of marginal pasture into a forest, and creation of some important habitat,” said Dave New, the organization's chairman. “I can tell you from experience, this is a difficult task."
As they walked in Barker’s beloved forest, his son-in-law, Dave Tempero, marveled at the living legacy being left for future generations.
“These were all planted by Bob,” said Tempero. “There's a tremendous amount of work to plant the forest and have the trees grow.”
He added, "The trees right now are kind of in their adolescent years where they're really absorbing a lot of carbon which is great for the environment."
As for the future of the forest, Barker said the plan is for the land to stay in the family and continue to be preserved.