Along the Street: Gentleman Logger named Outstanding Tree Farmer
LeLand Payne, who farms 111 acres in the Kutch Creek Drainage near Yamhill, is being honored as Yamhill County’s Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year.
A third-generation land owner, Payne was born and raised on Kutch Mountain. The site was covered with trees when the family settled there. It was cleared for pasture, but has since reseeded itself and turned into a magnificent forest.
Payne worked as a logger for much of his life. According to Nicole Wood, his daughter, he was referred to as a “Gentleman Logger” because of his extreme care and love of the land.