For many years, Dennis Clark, a professional forester for the State of Idaho, was asked by friends and family members to plant trees as memorials for their loved ones. He would plant the trees on state land, however, he would not be able to tell the families the exact location of their tree. After years of thinking of better ways to plant memorial trees, Dennis and his wife, Cherry, came up with the plan for Celebration Forest. Celebration Forest would serve two purposes. First, family members would be able to locate their memorial tree because all of the trees would be planted in designated areas and assigned a grove number. Each grove number would consist of a column and row number for easy access. Second, these areas would then be filled with healthy, strong trees to create permanent forest preserves that would be protected forever from harvest and development.   In 1995, Dennis and Cherry put their plan into action by purchasing 10 acres of environmentally important land 10 miles north of Sandpoint, Idaho. They developed a grid system of column and row markers and assigned each plot a grove number. When this was finished, they officially opened the Bear Butte Grove for Celebration Forest. In 1999, Heidi Stockton came on board as Director of Marketing and Sales to handle the influx of orders, and in 2001, the company incorporated. Today, Heidi is President of the company and is in charge of marketing and sales, and Dennis Clark is the Vice President and professional forester who oversees the health, planting and maintenance of the forest.   Celebration Forest is currently creating the Bear Butte Grove, a permanent forest preserve situated in the beautiful mountains of north Idaho. When this area approaches completion, we will look to other areas in the United States to start another preserve. Our mission is to eventually have a protected forest preserve in every state in the U.S., as well as forests around the world. We establish a forest preserve by purchasing environmentally important land, such as ecologically damaged sites, riparian areas and land bordering wetlands. We then reforest these areas when customers purchase a memorial tree. All of our memorial trees are raised and cared for in a controlled nursery environment. When the Spruce and Pine trees are 2-3 feet tall and the Maple and Oak trees are 6-12 feet tall, they are planted in the forest preserve and given a grove number. To ensure quality control, each tree is supervised and carefully monitored year-round by our professional forestry team, led by Dennis Clark. The forest is open year-round, including weekends and holidays, for families to visit their tree. The best time to visit the forest, however, is spring, summer and fall. In the winter, the snow can sometimes be too deep to walk through the forest. Eventually, the Bear Butte Grove and future Celebration Forest groves will be donated to a nature preservation organization that will protect the land and ensure that the forests are held in perpetuity and never used for harvest or development. The dedication records of each tree will also be donated to select museums located throughout the U.S. so future generations will have access to their ancestor's memorial tree information forever.    In recent years, several companies have emerged to sell memorial trees. Celebration Forest is different from all the other programs in a very significant way. Our program is designed for friends and families to be able to watch their actual memorial tree grow. The other companies have what we refer to as "somewhere" programs. They charge for a tree dedication and tell people their tree will be planted on certain state or federal lands. These public lands are already reforested by the government with tax dollars and most of these areas are replanted for future timber harvest. When you commission a tree at Celebration Forest you are helping to create a permanent forest preserve that will never be harvested. Your tree is planted on a designated location so future generations can come to the forest and see the tree. We care for each tree to assure that it becomes established and care for each customer as a member of our Celebration Forest family. "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." -- Aldo Leopold BBBOnline Reliability Program Copyright © 1997 - 2008, Celebration Forest. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.