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The Maryland Tree Farm Program and the MD. Dept. Natural Resources-Forest Service would like to announce that The Self Revelation Church of Absolute Monism (Skyview Farm) has been selected as the St. Mary’s County Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year for 2012.  The American Tree Farm System is a nationwide program that encourages private forest landowners to be the best stewards of the land while they do an effective job of growing trees as a crop, with the added benefits of improved wildlife habitat, watershed protection, clean air, outdoor recreation and aesthetic value. For more than 70 years the American Tree Farm System has been giving forest owners the tools they  need to keep their forests healthy and productive. The first Tree Farm was established in 1941 in Washington State.

The Self Revelation Church of Absolute Monism owns 205 acres and has been a certified Tree Farm for 26 years.  They received recognition for thinning 72 acres of Loblolly pine for pulpwood, completing a selective thinning in a stand of hardwoods, harvesting a stand of mature pine and keeping their trail system and boundary lines maintained. The Skyview Tree Farm provides recreational opportunities such as trail riding with horses and fox hunting.  Most of the work on the Tree Farm is completed by contractors and church members.  The property has been used for tours in the past to educate the public about the importance of sound scientific forest management practices. Skyview Farm was also the named as St. Mary’s County Tree Farmer of the Year in 1994.