Terry Peters is a fourth generation timber harvester and timberland owner with more than 3,000 acres in northern Wisconsin. He got his start by following his father, Howard, on logging jobs as often as he could. Peters also spent time working in his grandfather’s sawmill. Like his grandfather and father, Peters has passed the timber tradition along to three of his sons: Cody, Corey, and Jamie. As Howard Peters says, the family has “sawdust in the blood."

Terry Peters is committed to keeping his business both economically and environmentally sustainable. Every parcel of land is part of a comprehensive plan that involves harvesting timber with considerations for habitat improvement, wildlife and water quality management.

Peters has made a commitment to using resource management techniques that promote the production of less common timber species such as cedar, hemlock and white pine alongside the more common aspen and soft maple. This diversity not only expands Peters’ product range, but it also helps support an array of plant and wildlife habitats.

“Terry is a timber producer who demonstrates his strong conservation ethic on his own land, as well as throughout the region,” wrote Michele Wheeler, Bad River Watershed Association Executive Director, in her letter of recommendation.

Peters’ leadership and outreach within the community include serving on the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute Advisory Board and as a charter member of the Bad River Watershed Association. Peters is a featured speaker at the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center and also speaks to Northland College students about timber management. He also regularly participates in the Children’s Miracle Network’s “Log A Load for Kids” program.

“Being the Leopold Conservation Award winner is almost beyond words,” said Terry Peters. “It’s for me, it’s for my family, it’s for my company, it’s something nobody can take away, and it’s something I’ll always be very, very proud of."