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GA Registered Forester
Mark D. Barnett
GA/AL Registered Forester

10800 Alpharetta Hwy.
Suite 208, #A8
Roswell, GA  30076

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Tree Farming Rock-n-Roller

By Ford Boswell
 September 1999 / Southern Loggin' Times

Since I can remember I've always had a strong affection for music. Whether it's blues or bluegrass, classical or classic rock, jazz or whatever, music is something I consider to be one of God's great gifts for soothing the soul. I've collected an assortment of records, cassettes, CDs and even live recordings of concerts I've attended. I also enjoy playing (although not very well) and collecting musical instruments, including guitars, mandolins, drums, a piano and various other noise makers--as my wife calls them.

I never thought that my interest in music and the forest products industry would have much in common, but in July, I got an opportunity to visit and interview Georgia tree farmer and touring keyboardist for the Rolling Stones, Chuck Leavell. I must admit I was extremely psyched to make the trip.

Unofficially called the sixth member of the Stones, I knew a lot about Leavell's career in music, being a fan of many of the artists he has toured or recorded with, including the Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Fabulous Thunderbirds, among others. I was very curious to see how he balanced music and tree farming. Needless to say, his life is quite an interesting combination of two worlds that seem so inherently different, but for Leavell it makes perfect sense.

Bright lights, loud guitars and perpetual jet lag. That, in a nutshell, is the life Leavell knows for several months at a time while on the road with the legendary rock band. But when all the instruments are packed away in their cases for the last time of a long tour, it's time for a weary Leavell to come home to Georgia and resume the other life he knows: tree farming.

Back home in Georgia, Leavell enjoys the more tranquil surroundings of his tree farm and wildlife preserves called Charlane Plantation (Charlane is a word derived from Charles, Chuck's real name, and his wife's name, Rose Lane).

A person growing up in the South--unless he/she lived in a cave--knows the economic importance the forest products industry holds for the region. Leavell, who spent most of sep99 01his childhood in the small college town of Tuscaloosa, Ala., got a good whiff of his future from a Gulf States paper mill bordering the town. He could hardly know then just how much the forest products industry would be a part of his later years.

This seemingly unusual balance of music and silviculture began in 1981, when 1,200 acres of farmland, located 20 miles west of Macon, was left to the Leavells by Rose Lane's late grandmother, Julia White. Shortly after, they moved to the homestead to carry on the farming and land stewardship tradition that their grandfather, A.V. White Sr., had begun many years before.

After more than three decades of recording and traveling the world with his music, Leavell now enjoys the juxtaposition of being a simple farmer. 

After the couple settled into their new home at Charlane Plantation, they brainstormed to find a suitable crop to raise on the property. According to the tree farmer, it had to be one that would fit well into his busy touring schedule (last year's Rolling Stones world tour kept Chuck from home more than five months).

On the suggestion of his brother-in-law, Alton White, Chuck agreed to begin examining the possibility of transforming the farmland into timberland. "We discussed planting cotton, Christmas trees, peanuts--you name it," he says, "but when Alton suggested planting 50 acres with trees, it seemed like a perfect fit. From that point, I became intrigued with forestry."

Soon after, Leavell took a correspondence course offered by Georgia-Pacific Corp. "I studied while touring with the Fabulous Thunderbirds," he recalls. "I'd study in hotels or on the tour bus or wherever I could."

For more than 18 years, the Leavells have labored intensively to turn more than 2,200 acres (over the years, the couple has purchased an additional 1,000 acres) of former farmland into a forestland, wildlife and shooting preserve. Since 1981, the Leavells have planted more than 50 plots (all on a planned 40 year rotation), with several species of pine and hardwood. Already, some first thinnings have taken place.

Meantime, Leavell has joined several forestry and silviculture organizations to learn more about planting and growing trees. He has also used his celebrity status to bring positive awareness to industry causes. For his efforts, he is the only two-time recipient of Georgia Forestry Assn.'s Tree Farmer of the Year award.

"Trees are America's most valuable resource, and I want to do my part to ensure that the public understands that fact," he says. Thanks to his accomplishments and role as a spokesman for GFA, Leavell has been cited by National Arbor Day Foundation, Georgia Conservancy and many other conservation organizations, and the University of Georgia, where the Leavells sponsor a conservation-related scholarship.

Leavell has even teamed up with Stihl to promote chain saw safety awareness. The chain saw manufacturer approached Leavell with the idea after company officials read an article about the Leavell's tree farm in the New York Times. 

In addition to benefiting from the couple's forestry commitment, Charlane Plantation also receives intensive wildlife management, resulting in some of the best hunting in Georgia, according to Leavell. The couple shares their grandparents' love for entertaining and hunting and feel a strong sense of tradition in their heritage. The Leavells, along with plantation managers Steve and Maritsa Bell, proudly extend an invitation for folks to come and experience their old home place. There are cabins and lodges for lease where visitors can hold family gatherings or other special occasions (catering is also available).

With more than 1,700 acres of hunting land, a charming, fully restored 1850s guest house (Bullard House) and other accommodations, Charlane Plantation is a place that guests will want to return to year after year.

Leavell says there are three real passions in his life: his family, his trees and his music. Currently, he has no intentions slowing down in music, but he knows that when he does, he'll have plenty of time to devote to his tree farm, wife and daughters. For the Leavells, that means more time to enjoy a large part of their history and a large part of their lives. For them there will be no greater satisfaction than seeing the fruit of their labor materialize into tall Georgia pines.

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 1998   Atlanta Journal & Constitution

Longtime rock 'n' roll musician ponders forestry, state politics

Chuck Leavell has released his first solo recording -- a CD of Christmas-and holiday tunes called "What's in That Bag?"

Leavell has played keyboards with the best of them -- from the Allman Brothers to the Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton.  Leavell put together that CD during breaks in the Stones' latest "Bridges to Babylon" tour, which ended in September.

The new CD reunited Leavell with Phil Walden's Capricorn Records, once the label of the Allman Brothers, which was founded in Macon and is now based in downtown Atlanta.

Leavell, who lives and works on a tree farm in Middle Georgia, is in between the Stones' tour that ended in late September and the group's next tour, which begins with rehearsals in January, And he is plan­ning his second solo venture. "It's a solo piano project of mostly original material," Leavell said Monday. "I'll be working on that during the Stones' tour and during the break."

But Leavell doesn't stop there. He also is writing a book on forestry. Leavell is the official spokesman for the Georgia Forestry Association and was named Georgia's tree farmer of 1998.

"I want to paint a picture to people on how important this resource is and hopefully wake people up to the fact that we need to manage it intensely for the next 100 years," Leavell said. "A balance needs to be found between using this resource, preserving trees for aesthetic reasons and making sure we put back into the ground when we use it.

Leavell and his wife, Rose Lane, inherited a tree farm in Twiggs County south of Macon from her family. He has 1,900 acres and hopes to acquire more. He is an active proponent of the sustainable forestry initiative, and proudly states Georgia has led the country in reforestation since 1982.

At 46, Leavell expects to be a tree farmer long after he's hung up his "rock 'n' roll shoes."

I've seen people that work outdoors when they are stiff in their 80s and 90s," he said.  "I believe I'll be riding a horse when I'm 100 years old, walking in the forest and watching the sunrise."

So how long will he live the life of a rock 'n' roll musician?

"That's an unknown," said Leavell, borrowing from what Mick Jagger usually says, "We are in an unknown territory. No one would ever have thought it would have gone on this long."

When Leavell slows down his music career, he said he could very well enter Georgia politics.

"I wouldn't mind considering that option at some point and time," he said. "If I can find compromises between Mick and Keith [Richards], then maybe I can find a way in the future to find compromises on other more important matters."