Meet the folks operating Michigan's oldest family-owned tree farm

The Dilleys have been devoted land managers since 1931.
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Aug. 9, 2017

This is a short update from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources about private forest lands. We hope that this information will help you manage, protect and enjoy your forest.

Meet the folks operating Michigan’s oldest family-owned tree farm

Members of the Dilley family show their tree farm signs. In 1931, Rom and Myrtle Dilley bought 10 acres along the White River in Newaygo County and built a log cabin with a water view, all for an investment of just $1,800.

The sandy soils were degraded because of the history of exploitative logging, destructive forest fires and poor agricultural practices in previous decades. The Dilleys started planting trees to restore the land and forests and to provide shade and cover for the White River’s trout and other species.

They planted red pines along the river to shore up the bank and jack pines on the upland soils to stabilize dry, erodible sand. They also maintained a few acres of prairie grasses to provide habitat for the endangered Karner blue butterfly. Their son, Newton, and his wife, Ann, bought adjoining land in the 1960s.

Almost 90 years later, the 100-acre Dilley family forest is thriving. The soils are healthy, and the Dilley Tree Farm is now the oldest continuous family-owned tree farm in Michigan.

The American Tree Farm System started in 1941 to show that private landowners could be good stewards of their forests with minimal government regulation of private property. Michigan joined the national Tree Farm program in 1949, and Rom, Myrtle, Newton and Ann Dilley enrolled their beloved family forest in 1954, just two years after Ann and Newt were married. Tree Farmers are forward-thinking landowners who love to plant trees to restore the land and forests.

The 34,000-acre Hiawatha Sportsman’s Club in the Upper Peninsula joined the Tree Farm program in 1952, although it is a corporate nonprofit landowner.

Rom and Newt Dilley were avid fishermen and posted signs along the White River in 1935 asking other anglers to practice catch-and-release fishing and to fish with flies because “large hooks kill baby trout.”

Newton’s family also became anglers and passionate stewards of the river. Newton often would have his three children walk along the river collecting trash. The Dilleys worked with Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists to install structures to stabilize the stream banks and to provide fish habitat.

The Dilley family honored Newton on his 90th birthday in 2013 by establishing the Newton Dilley White River Fund at the nearby Fremont Area Community Foundation to promote the protection of their treasured natural resource.  Newton was still fishing and planting cedar trees along the banks of the White River a few weeks before he died in 2015.

The third generation of Dilleys is now managing the family tree farm and caring for the river. Newton and Ann established a trust to pass their forest to their three children: Cameron, Deborah and Abby. They continue the family tradition of occasional timber harvests to improve wildlife habitat and actively protecting the water quality and fish habitat in the White River.

The Dilleys hired professional foresters in 1996 and 2014 to help them develop and update a Forest Stewardship Plan to evaluate their forest and to set long-term goals for forest management and protection.

The family is evaluating several options to lower their annual operating costs and to permanently protect their family forest. They are considering enrolling in the Qualified Forest Program to lower their property taxes, as well as developing a conservation easement with the Land Conservancy of West Michigan. It would protect the forest, wildlife and water resources.

The Michigan Tree Farm Committee is partnering with the DNR, Trout Unlimited and the United States Forest Service on a new project called Forests for Fish to show how forests, more than any other land use, provide abundant clean water and quality fish habitat.

“My Dad was a lifetime member of Trout Unlimited and he loved his tree farm and the White River, so he would have been a really good spokesman for Forests for Fish,” said Abby Dilley. 

Forest certification through the American Tree Farm System shows how private forest landowners provide sustainably sourced commodities like wood and paper that people use every day. They also provide clean water, recreation and wildlife.

The Dilleys have a cherished, four-generation tradition of being progressive stewards of their private forest adjoining public waters so that everyone in Michigan is able to enjoy the White River for generations to come.

Meet passionate landowners and innovative tree farmers like the Dilley family at a conference for forest landowners in Tawas Sept. 22-23. This conference, called Great Forests Make Great Lakes, is sponsored by the Michigan Forest Association and the Michigan Tree Farm System. The agenda and registration form is attached to this email or you can register online at www.MichiganForests.org. 

Important dates

Questions? 

To learn more about programs available to assist private forest landowners, or to find the DNR service forester in your area, go to www.Michigan.gov/PrivateForestLand. Any questions or comments about this email can be sent to Mike Smalligan at smalliganm@michigan.gov or 517-284-5884.

/Editors' note: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Suggested captions follow. 

Dilley family 2013: Ann, Miles, Abby, Cam Dilley and Mary Mulhern near the memorial stone commemorating their family forest. The orange Tree Farm sign was given to Rom and Newton in the 1960s by the Department of Conservation.

Dilley family 2017: Celebrating the “Newton Dilley White River Fund” in 2013 (photo credit: Fremont Area Community Foundation)./ 


The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

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