Move over Paul Bunyan
Technology changes logging, but new program ensures old-fashioned values remain
By PAULA BARR
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Published: Monday, December 07, 2009
Updated: Sunday, December 6, 2009 4:07 AM CST
Updated: Sunday, December 6, 2009 4:07 AM CST
Paul Bunyan would be amazed.
Instead of sharp axes and hand saws, modern loggers use chain saws and specialized trucks. The cries of “Timber” have long left the woods, replaced by the rumbling and whining of machinery. While felling a tree used to take many minutes for men with hand saws, it only takes seconds using heavy machinery.
Now, a new master logger program in Missouri is designed to improve the logging industry even more, while incorporating the needs of the land and wildlife with the felling of trees. Master loggers are audited every two years and lose their certification if they do not meet all the standards.
Shannon Jarvis of Potosi is one of the state’s two certified master loggers. The other is Greg Brinkley of Piedmont.
“There are more than 800 loggers in the state,” said John Tuttle, forestry products program supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, which offers the master logger program. “There are some people who are going way above and beyond trying to do what is right. Shannon is one of them.”
* * *
Controversial cutting
* * *
Jarvis, owner of Jarvis Timber Company, was at the forefront of the movement to establish a program to improve logging policies.
“A lot of the eastern and northern states already had this program,” he said. “Unlike many other states, Missouri does not have laws that regulate logging, so anyone can go out and log however they want. This program teaches how to do that correctly and safely.”
There are several ways loggers work a forest, Jarvis explained. Some go in and cut down all the high quality trees, instead of leaving some to mature. Others choose only those with a large diameter. Some clear cut — meaning they cut down all the trees at once.
There are problems with those methods, he said. For example, taking all the high quality trees at once and leaving only poorer quality trees means it will be a very long time before the forest will again have trees worth cutting.
Choosing only those with a certain diameter does not ensure that the forest will be harvested in a manner giving younger trees the space and sunlight to grow to maturity. That can leave potentially valuable trees stunted or shaded so much that they die.
Clear cutting leaves the soil exposed to wind, rain and other elements. That can eventually strip the soil from the rock below, eliminating the forest forever.
The master loggers program teaches loggers to harvest trees properly to ensure the forest continues to prosper and to do so in the manner that best suits that property. They must develop a plan that includes measures to prevent erosion on hills, and limit damage to other trees during the logging process.
When Jarvis was young, his father told him to go to college because he believed there would be no more forests to log when Jarvis grew up.
“Now I have children, and I want to make sure that we cut in a way to make sure there will be forests when they are grown,” he said.
* * *
Dangerous profession
* * *
Logging is one of the more — some say it is the most — dangerous jobs there is, Jarvis said. When he was 21, Jarvis saw his uncle killed in a logging accident. His uncle cut a tree, but didn’t notice that when it landed on the ground, a nearby dead tree began shaking. The uncle walked to the felled tree and the shaking tree suddenly fell, right on the uncle’s head.
Jarvis uses a vehicle called a feller buncher to cut down trees rather than a chain saw as his father and grandfather did. The feller buncher has a pincer-like contraption that grabs a tree tightly and slices through the bottom of the trunk. In the feller buncher, Jarvis can weave his way through the forest to find the tree he wants to cut, then carry the severed tree to the exact location he wants to dump it. A skidder then drags the trees to a clearing, where they are trimmed and loaded onto a flatbed truck to be taken to a sawmill.
Jarvis, in a hard hat and protective overalls, demonstrated the way to cut a tree with a chain. First, he cut a wedge out of the tree on the side where he wanted it to fall. Then he sliced through the other side to within an inch of the wedge, leaving an inch-wide strip first opening. A wedge he had placed in the cut kept the tree from falling the wrong way.
The tree fell, pulling some nearby branches down. Although it landed where Jarvis had intended, it is not as accurate or safe as the feller buncher, Jarvis explained. A hand-felled tree can get caught up in branches or break other branches that later fall on loggers.
“Widow makers,” they’re called.
When Jarvis first bought the feller buncher, his father gave him a hard time about deviating from tradition.
“He stopped when I told him, ‘Your brother might still be alive if we had had one of these then,’” Jarvis related.
Tuttle knows firsthand the dangers of the business and the need for safety measures.
“In my town of about 400, I know at least five people who were killed in logging accidents,” he said. “I have several fused vertebrae and a brother of mine was struck by a tree and now is confined to a wheelchair.
* * *
Raising standards
* * *
Eighty-three percent of Missouri’s 14.6 million acres of forest consists of privately owned lands. Tuttle said the master logger program is an attempt to come up with a set of guidelines with an independent board to enforce those guidelines.
“It’s a very good move by the industry in the state,” he said.
The effort to raise the standards for loggers began earlier this year. The Conservation Department approached Jarvis, a fifth generation logger and a member of the Missouri Forest Products Association board, for help in developing a master logger program. They wanted a performance-based program, with an independent board auditing and certifying applicants.
Jarvis already had completed several of the Association’s training programs for loggers, including the professional timber harvesting training class. Even veteran loggers learn from the in-depth class, Jarvis said. He insisted it be a mandatory part of the master logger program.
Jarvis put a committee together to review other states’ master logger programs and develop one for Missouri. The committee included a wildlife biologist, saw mill owner, three loggers, Doe Run officials, owner of a paper mill and conservationists.
Some states’ program requirements were too stiff to work in Missouri, while others were too lax.
“We wanted it to be fairly strict to be credible,” Jarvis stated. “But not so strict no one would sign up.”
The organizing committee took some regulations from Maine and some from Kentucky, then created their own. They applied for Missouri’s admission to the American Logger Council, which certifies master logger programs. Missouri’s plan was certified in September.
An independent committee was established to evaluate applications from loggers who want to achieve master logger status. Applicants, who pay a fee as part of the process, have to use acceptable forest management practices. Their past projects are evaluated by the committee to see if the projects followed the requirements of the master logger program.
Those requirements are based on safety, cutting techniques, harvesting techniques and responsibility for ground and environmental protection. The committee checks to see that the loggers have implemented a safety plan with safety meetings, have kept up with their training and follow sound business processes. Master loggers must present a logging plan to the owner, and must have a signed contract stipulating details of the logging plan before they may begin work. Committee members review the logging plan and contract to determine whether the cuts were made as promised, Tuttle said.
They check to see that fewer than 10 percent of other trees had been damaged during the logging, and whether dirt barriers had been erected on slopes to prevent runoff from eroding the soil.
The committee’s decision must be unanimous for the applicant to be certified as a master logger.
The master logger requirements include a clause that protects the logger if the property owner does not like the plan.
“I look at the property and develop a plan based on the best way to log that property based on best practices,” Jarvis said. “But if the property owner insists that it be done another way, we can do it his way without losing our certification.”
Master loggers will be evaluated every two years to make sure they are following the rules and regulations. They will have to turn in contracts for every job they’ve done, and the certifying committee will choose the ones they want to inspect.
Jarvis hopes other loggers will take the program seriously and will be willing to pay the fee and meet the guidelines.
“I hope this encourages loggers to do the right thing.”
Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.
Instead of sharp axes and hand saws, modern loggers use chain saws and specialized trucks. The cries of “Timber” have long left the woods, replaced by the rumbling and whining of machinery. While felling a tree used to take many minutes for men with hand saws, it only takes seconds using heavy machinery.
Now, a new master logger program in Missouri is designed to improve the logging industry even more, while incorporating the needs of the land and wildlife with the felling of trees. Master loggers are audited every two years and lose their certification if they do not meet all the standards.
Shannon Jarvis of Potosi is one of the state’s two certified master loggers. The other is Greg Brinkley of Piedmont.
“There are more than 800 loggers in the state,” said John Tuttle, forestry products program supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, which offers the master logger program. “There are some people who are going way above and beyond trying to do what is right. Shannon is one of them.”
* * *
Controversial cutting
* * *
Jarvis, owner of Jarvis Timber Company, was at the forefront of the movement to establish a program to improve logging policies.
“A lot of the eastern and northern states already had this program,” he said. “Unlike many other states, Missouri does not have laws that regulate logging, so anyone can go out and log however they want. This program teaches how to do that correctly and safely.”
There are several ways loggers work a forest, Jarvis explained. Some go in and cut down all the high quality trees, instead of leaving some to mature. Others choose only those with a large diameter. Some clear cut — meaning they cut down all the trees at once.
There are problems with those methods, he said. For example, taking all the high quality trees at once and leaving only poorer quality trees means it will be a very long time before the forest will again have trees worth cutting.
Choosing only those with a certain diameter does not ensure that the forest will be harvested in a manner giving younger trees the space and sunlight to grow to maturity. That can leave potentially valuable trees stunted or shaded so much that they die.
Clear cutting leaves the soil exposed to wind, rain and other elements. That can eventually strip the soil from the rock below, eliminating the forest forever.
The master loggers program teaches loggers to harvest trees properly to ensure the forest continues to prosper and to do so in the manner that best suits that property. They must develop a plan that includes measures to prevent erosion on hills, and limit damage to other trees during the logging process.
When Jarvis was young, his father told him to go to college because he believed there would be no more forests to log when Jarvis grew up.
“Now I have children, and I want to make sure that we cut in a way to make sure there will be forests when they are grown,” he said.
* * *
Dangerous profession
* * *
Logging is one of the more — some say it is the most — dangerous jobs there is, Jarvis said. When he was 21, Jarvis saw his uncle killed in a logging accident. His uncle cut a tree, but didn’t notice that when it landed on the ground, a nearby dead tree began shaking. The uncle walked to the felled tree and the shaking tree suddenly fell, right on the uncle’s head.
Jarvis uses a vehicle called a feller buncher to cut down trees rather than a chain saw as his father and grandfather did. The feller buncher has a pincer-like contraption that grabs a tree tightly and slices through the bottom of the trunk. In the feller buncher, Jarvis can weave his way through the forest to find the tree he wants to cut, then carry the severed tree to the exact location he wants to dump it. A skidder then drags the trees to a clearing, where they are trimmed and loaded onto a flatbed truck to be taken to a sawmill.
Jarvis, in a hard hat and protective overalls, demonstrated the way to cut a tree with a chain. First, he cut a wedge out of the tree on the side where he wanted it to fall. Then he sliced through the other side to within an inch of the wedge, leaving an inch-wide strip first opening. A wedge he had placed in the cut kept the tree from falling the wrong way.
The tree fell, pulling some nearby branches down. Although it landed where Jarvis had intended, it is not as accurate or safe as the feller buncher, Jarvis explained. A hand-felled tree can get caught up in branches or break other branches that later fall on loggers.
“Widow makers,” they’re called.
When Jarvis first bought the feller buncher, his father gave him a hard time about deviating from tradition.
“He stopped when I told him, ‘Your brother might still be alive if we had had one of these then,’” Jarvis related.
Tuttle knows firsthand the dangers of the business and the need for safety measures.
“In my town of about 400, I know at least five people who were killed in logging accidents,” he said. “I have several fused vertebrae and a brother of mine was struck by a tree and now is confined to a wheelchair.
* * *
Raising standards
* * *
Eighty-three percent of Missouri’s 14.6 million acres of forest consists of privately owned lands. Tuttle said the master logger program is an attempt to come up with a set of guidelines with an independent board to enforce those guidelines.
“It’s a very good move by the industry in the state,” he said.
The effort to raise the standards for loggers began earlier this year. The Conservation Department approached Jarvis, a fifth generation logger and a member of the Missouri Forest Products Association board, for help in developing a master logger program. They wanted a performance-based program, with an independent board auditing and certifying applicants.
Jarvis already had completed several of the Association’s training programs for loggers, including the professional timber harvesting training class. Even veteran loggers learn from the in-depth class, Jarvis said. He insisted it be a mandatory part of the master logger program.
Jarvis put a committee together to review other states’ master logger programs and develop one for Missouri. The committee included a wildlife biologist, saw mill owner, three loggers, Doe Run officials, owner of a paper mill and conservationists.
Some states’ program requirements were too stiff to work in Missouri, while others were too lax.
“We wanted it to be fairly strict to be credible,” Jarvis stated. “But not so strict no one would sign up.”
The organizing committee took some regulations from Maine and some from Kentucky, then created their own. They applied for Missouri’s admission to the American Logger Council, which certifies master logger programs. Missouri’s plan was certified in September.
An independent committee was established to evaluate applications from loggers who want to achieve master logger status. Applicants, who pay a fee as part of the process, have to use acceptable forest management practices. Their past projects are evaluated by the committee to see if the projects followed the requirements of the master logger program.
Those requirements are based on safety, cutting techniques, harvesting techniques and responsibility for ground and environmental protection. The committee checks to see that the loggers have implemented a safety plan with safety meetings, have kept up with their training and follow sound business processes. Master loggers must present a logging plan to the owner, and must have a signed contract stipulating details of the logging plan before they may begin work. Committee members review the logging plan and contract to determine whether the cuts were made as promised, Tuttle said.
They check to see that fewer than 10 percent of other trees had been damaged during the logging, and whether dirt barriers had been erected on slopes to prevent runoff from eroding the soil.
The committee’s decision must be unanimous for the applicant to be certified as a master logger.
The master logger requirements include a clause that protects the logger if the property owner does not like the plan.
“I look at the property and develop a plan based on the best way to log that property based on best practices,” Jarvis said. “But if the property owner insists that it be done another way, we can do it his way without losing our certification.”
Master loggers will be evaluated every two years to make sure they are following the rules and regulations. They will have to turn in contracts for every job they’ve done, and the certifying committee will choose the ones they want to inspect.
Jarvis hopes other loggers will take the program seriously and will be willing to pay the fee and meet the guidelines.
“I hope this encourages loggers to do the right thing.”
Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.
Digg This!
Story Paging
Next storyPrevious story
Ads by Yahoo!
Free 2010 Credit Scores
All 3 Reports & Scores. Monitoring & Alerts. Instantly & Online
www.FreeCreditReportsInstantly.com
Member Center
E-mail updates
