By Jennifer Whitelaw

“The best statement for what we’re doing is outside that window there,” says Mark Biser, pointing to a picture window in his living room. Outside that window is Stillwater Farm, a stunning 48-acre forest and wetland near Shelton, Washington.

From the two comfortable chairs positioned in front of the window, the way some people would sit in front of a television, Mark and his wife Beth can see the pond system they worked so hard to restore and families of wood ducks gliding by. The wood ducks, which have had a hard time thriving in Western Washington, have given the Bisers an A plus for their habitat restoration work by rapidly increasing their population.

The Bisers constructed special nesting boxes for the ducks that serve as good substitutes for the dead trees with hollowed out crevices that the ducks naturally favor. Mark makes sure the ducks return to their custom made nesting boxes each February by cleaning out any unhatched eggs and other debris. Opening the boxes without knocking first sometimes results in a flying squirrel in the face, so needless to say, Mark learned quickly to knock first.

Another important step to bringing back the ducks was to restore the plant diversity necessary to accommodate the creatures that would normally exist in a healthy forest and wetland area. The Bisers worked with state and non-profit agencies to learn about and implement strategies to reintroduce native plants. Restoring the pond system, which had been disturbed years ago to create better pasture land and then stripped of its peat layer to reconfigure the water collection system, has made a tremendous difference over the last 15 years.

“Now we have all the native water fowl at the property and even got swans visiting once,” Mark said. “We also see river otters and beavers. We want beavers because they should be here, but they love to eat my trees. The more expensive the trees, the more they like to eat them.”

The beavers have access to a smorgasbord at Stillwater Farm. Soon after embarking upon the wetland restoration efforts, Mark says that he realized “we owned a tree farm with a hole in the middle, not just a wetland,” and from there, he and Beth got serious about nurturing the forest as well.

Once he learned about the opportunity to certify Stillwater Farm’s forest, Mark realized the preparation for the certification would be minimal, because “we were already there!”
Stillwater Farm became one of the first forests certified under the Smart Wood program, which preceded Northwest Natural Resource Group’s Northwest Certified Forestry program. The certification process, said Mark, “didn’t take long,” but it validated years of effort and passion.

“I didn’t have a Northwest forest background,” said Mark. “It was rewarding and helpful to have smart folks validate that we were doing a good job.”

For the Bisers, caring for their forest in a sustainable fashion isn’t about commanding a higher price for their lumber. Apart from some small sales to help fund their restoration efforts, the Bisers have mostly just used their lumber to build a lovely home with an incredible view of their wetland and surrounding forest. All the trim, casing, cabinetry and flooring come from Stillwater Farm pine trees.

The pine cabinets in the laundry room have streaks of blue from a tree fungus, and steaks of red from root rot. Mark calls them their American wood cabinets – fitting for a Marine.
Mark’s military career and subsequent work with other government agencies and charitable group have sent the Bisers all over the country and the world. In fact, it was while they were living in Kenya that Mark decided that they had to buy Stillwater Farm.

After admiring the property while living in the U.S. and submitting an initial offer that was rejected, Mark came back to the US briefly from Kenya and camped on the property for three days. “At that point, I agreed to pay the full price.”
Mark knew the disturbed wetland property that “no one thought was valuable” was where they were meant to be. “It’s a calling. I grew up on a farm – I appreciate the values of the land, appreciate being part of the natural environment, observing the ecosystem,” he said. “We don’t worry too much about our carbon footprint here!”

The Bisers intend to spend the rest of their days at Stillwater Farm. “We want to keep it just like this,” said Mark, “but it takes more work than we thought. We thought if put it back, it would stay that way, but that approach operates against diversity. It takes work.”

Their work is appreciated by many, though. The Bisers open up their property to school, community and professional groups, including a real estate organization that wanted to teach its members how owners can add value to a forest property.
“We do this for love of the environment and the respite it provides for us, family and friends,” said Beth. “People love to come here, and they come from cities all over the country and world to stay here.”

The Bisers hope that eventually they can find another buyer who values the property as much as they do, and who is willing to put in the work. They believe this may be the best way for them to protect their legacy and protect the land for many generations to come.

Until then, they’ll continue to care for their land and enjoy the view out the window; the view of pine, Douglas fir and cedar trees, of wood ducks and other water fowl, of the occasional black bear who dares to swim across the pond, of the magnificent waterway with an island in the middle and of the American flag standing sentry in the distance.