The Spokesman Review Lasting memorials Celebration Forest helps mourners create a long-standing remembrance in honor of their loved ones Becky Kramer - Staff writer SANDPOINT -- Dennis Clark strolls across 10 acres north of Sandpoint on a brilliant autumn day. Neat rows of dark green conifers contrast with the yellow foliage of cottonwood and alders. Above the ridge line, the sky is a smoky blue. This is the image of Idaho that Clark is marketing to funeral homes across the country. For $49 to $149, mourners can purchase a tree in memory of a loved one and have it planted on private land in North Idaho. Clark, a wholesale nursery owner from Herron, Mont., started Celebration Forest five years ago. The company has sold and planted about 200 memorial trees since its inception, mainly to East Coast customers. "I think the appeal is the permanency of the tree," said Jeff Young of the International Order of the Golden Rule, an association of 1,200 independent funeral homes working with Clark to market the trees. "Floral gifts are temporary, and the trees will last a lifetime." At $49, the trees are comparable to most funeral flower arrangements, said Heidi Stockton, Celebration Forest's director of marketing and sales. And unlike programs that give vague promises of replanting areas burned by wildfires, or reforesting the West, purchasers can actually come to the site and check on their trees, she said. A Reno, Nev., casino owner showed up with a vanload of exotic dancers two weeks ago to see the maple they bought in memory of a co-worker. They were touched to see the faint scarring on the bark, where a buck had rubbed the velvet off his antlers, Stockton said. "Tree-planting rituals have been around since the beginning of time," she said. "They span many cultures and religions." Conifers run $49, and oaks and maples are $149. For an extra $35, purchasers get a twig and a picture of the tree. The company will replace trees that die within the first two years. The program seems to strike the deepest chord with people from heavily populated areas on the East Coast, Florida and California, Clark said. They like the idea of a memorial that creates shade and oxygen, and provides habitat for deer, coyotes, bear, moose and hawks. "We're creating a forest preserve," he said. The idea for Celebration Forest took root a decade ago. A woman whose son had died called Clark, a state forester at the time. Her son had loved the Idaho outdoors, the woman said. Could a tree be planted in his memory? Clark dedicated a tree to the woman's son, but it was one of thousands planted annually on state-owned forest land. "I'm not sure I could take her back to that particular tree," he said. Clark started envisioning a memorial grove, where families could picnic and walk on paths under the trees. The first memorial tree was planted in 1996 on former pasture land. Most of the early sales came from the company's Web site, www.celebrationforest.com. Clark figures there's room for 2,000 trees on the 10 acres. The company is exploring the marketing potential for pet memorials, scattering of ashes, and milestones such as weddings or the birth of a child. When the planting site is full, Clark said he will donate the land to a nonprofit group, with the stipulation that records are maintained and the trees aren't harvested. Celebration Forest is already toying with the idea of another memorial grove in Massachusetts or upstate New York, closer to the majority of its customers. "The market isn't big locally," Clark said. "If people want a tree, they just put one in their back yard." Copyright © 1997 - 2008, Celebration Forest. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.