Krysta West, MFPC Executive Director; Michael Treat, Prentiss & Carlisle; Chris Fife, MFPC President.
Phippsburg – The Maine Forest Products Council (MFPC) awarded Mike Treat of Prentiss & Carlisle with the organization’s Doug Denico Forester Award at its 65th Annual Meeting in Phippsburg on Monday, September 22, 2025.
This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to directly apply forest management practices in a “working forest” environment on either private or public lands. Application of a broad range of silvicultural practices and the supervision of operational activities is a prerequisite for this award. The individual must demonstrate the ability to adopt emerging concepts and research results to improve forest management. The ability to incorporate other societal and biological considerations such as aesthetics and wildlife into silvicultural practices must be shown as well. The individual must have the ability to mentor other forest practitioners in forest management practices.
This year’s award, presented by Prentiss & Carlisle’s Bob Chandler, recognized Treat for over 30 years of work as a forester in a number of regions across the state. Starting his career with Seven Islands Land Company in college and working full-time in the most remote regions of Maine and then joining Prentiss & Carlisle in 2003. For the majority of Mike’s career, he was an Operations Forester where he oversaw all aspects of timber harvesting in Maine including road construction, silvicultural prescriptions, contractor management, and product utilization. He has also been involved with many other aspects of forest management including timber cruising, boundary line maintenance, forest certification, wildlife and water quality protection, and recreational management. As Chief Forester, Mike has served on the CFRU Advisory Committee, served on the board of directors of KI Jo-Mary, Inc., and filled in at various times on the SFI State Implementation Committee. Finally, over the years, Mike has worked closely with the Maine Forest Service on BMP trainings and inspections.
“Mike is a forester’s forester. As he has been known to say in the past, “to be a good forester you truly have to love the woods” – Mike loves the woods and everything they represent. When you talk to Mike about forestry, and specifically forestry in Maine, it becomes very apparent that he is passionate about this profession and has a great understanding of the industry. Mike was built to be a Maine forester and that is just what he does” said Bob Chandler in nominating Mike for the award.