Agriculture and Art for a Healthy Forest

Works of Wyoming will be presenting a new artist, Leroy Jons, in our gift store in a couple of weeks. Check him out. Mr Jons has been a part of the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) organization for many years. One of their initiatives is to partner with small businesses to find ways to harvest the beetle killed pine that has devastated our Rocky Mountain forests. The beetle-killed pine trees are obvious as you drive through the Medicine Bow National Forest west of Laramie. Leroy decided to do his part as an artist to upcycle and sustain our beautiful forests on a small but creative scale. He will be a really fun and energetic addition to our online store. He is using that pine to make old west style birdhouses and market them. We are fortunate to have some of his one-of-a-kind pieces. Once again, health and art meet. In this case, using diseased pine for art helps encourage a new and healthy forest.