PLC Logger's Voice - Summer 2019

Volume 13 Issue 3 | Summer 2019
A Quarterly Publication of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine

Board of Directors
Cover: T. Raymond Forest Products Inc. See story, p. 10.
Jim Nicols, President
Tony Madden, 1 st Vice President
Chuck Ames, 2 nd Vice President
Will Cole, Secretary
Andy Irish, Treasurer
Scott Madden, Past President
Aaron Adams
Kurt Babineau
Donald Cole
A quarterly publication of:
The Professional Logging
Contractors of Maine
William Cole
Tom Cushman
Brent Day
Wes Dube
Steve Hanington
Duane Jordan
Robert Linkletter
Andrew Madden
Ron Ridley
10
110 Sewall St., P.O. Box 1036
Augusta, ME 04332
Phone: 207.688.8195
www.maineloggers.com
Member Showcase
T. Raymond Forest
Products Inc.
Wayne Tripp
Gary Voisine
PLC Staff
Executive Director
Dana Doran ▪ executivedirector@maineloggers.com
Membership Services Coordinator
Jessica Clark ▪ jessica@maineloggers.com
Safety and Training Coordinator
Donald Burr ▪ safety@maineloggers.com
The Logger’s Voice
Editor and Designer
Jon Humphrey Communications and Photography
▪ jehumphreycommunications@gmail.com
Advertising
Jessica Clark ▪ jessica@maineloggers.com
Email news, notices, and correspondence
▪ jehumphreycommunications@gmail.com
24
Supporting Member Spotlight
Wallingford’s Inc.
Also Inside
4 Calendar and Updates
6 President’s Report
7 New Members
8 Executive Director’s Report
18 Annual Meeting
20 Trucking
29 Safety
36 Maine Forest Service Director
37 BMPs for Water Crossings
38 PLC News Briefs
40 ALC Updates
43 Master Logger
44 Congressional Updates
This newsletter is printed on FLO Gloss Digital Text paper
produced in Maine and donated by Sappi North America.

Event
Calendar
PLC Office, Augusta
TBD
H.O. Bouchard/Comstock, Hampden
4 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Updates
Do you have news to
share?
The PLC is always seeking
news from our Members that
showcases our industry’s
professionalism, generosity, and
ingenuity.
Send ideas to
jonathan@maineloggers.com
*Registration information pages 46-49
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019
5

From the President
By Jim Nicols
Hello Everyone
I hope everyone’s summer is off to a good start. It seems it took a while to get here this
year with such a wet and cold spring. It was a couple of weeks later than usual drying out
around my neck of the woods.
I would like to take the time to thank everyone for the great turnout for the annual
meeting. I think that we had over 200 people attend the day’s events. It was a huge success. It
was the first time in a long time that we held it in the southern part of the state. Everyone that I
talked to seemed to enjoy themselves.
Congratulations to all of the award winners. They are all so deserving and should be
very proud. I would like to thank everyone for their generosity, donating over $50,000 this
year to Log a Load for Kids. It is such a great cause to raise this money for the children, our
future. Thanks to Scott Hanington for running the auction again this year. Keep up the great
work.
One topic that keeps coming up as I talk to other contractors is the labor shortage.
Everyone is running short on people and trying to do the best they can. It is not just logging,
there are help wanted signs everywhere. I believe it could get worse before it gets better.
Hopefully it is not a battle between contractors for the very skilled workers it takes to run these
expensive machines. The third Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP) class started
in late June to train future employees for logging companies. Please do whatever you can to
support the MLOP program. Check out the school on site up in Stratton if you get a chance.
The students would be thrilled to have you go and talk to them about logging and your
company needs. Thank you to all of the sponsors and donors for the program. Without them
we wouldn’t be able to hold these classes. This year I believe we had over 50 applicants for the
16 or so open slots so there is definitely a need for more sessions. Our goal is to be able to hold
multiple classes per year.
This spring Dana was incredibly busy with representing us at the legislature, supporting
some bills and opposing others. Too many to list here. Hopefully you are getting Dana’s
weekly updates on that. If not, call or email the PLC office to get on the list so that you can be
informed and get involved.
The PLC should be moving into our new building in Augusta right beside where we are
located now sometime in July. All the renovations are nearly complete. Stop by and check it
out. It is very nice.
Lastly, I believe we had over 1000 people attend our Spring Safety trainings. This is
the first time we topped that number. They continue to get better and bigger every year. There
are many people that help with that and we thank you all.
Enjoy your summer
Jimmy
6 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Welcome New Members….…….
Contractor Members
Fortune Trucking of Washington, ME joined
the PLC as a new Contractor Member in May
2019. The company has a professional staff of 3.
For more information call Nick at 207-975-9445
or email nicktfortune@gmail.com
LJG Woodlands LLC of Fort Kent, ME joined
the PLC as a new Contractor Member in April
2019. The company has a professional staff of 2.
For more information call Lucas at (207) 834-
6329 or email luc4683@yahoo.com.
MW Trucking and Logging Inc. of Norway,
ME joined the PLC as a new Contractor Member
in April 2019. The company has a professional
staff of 4. For more information call Milo at
(207) 890-3592 or
email milowasher@gmail.com.
Pine Ridge Timber of Phillips, ME joined the
PLC as a new Contractor Member in May 2019.
The company is Master Logger certified and has
a professional staff of 3. For more information
call Vincent at 207-592-6472 or
email pineridgetimber@gmail.com
Ouellette Logging Inc. of Fort Kent, ME joined
the PLC as a new Affiliated Contractor Member
in May 2019. The company has a professional
staff of 2. For more information call Jacob at 207
-834-3839.
R.W. Day Logging of West Baldwin, ME joined
the PLC as a new Affiliated Contractor Member
in April 2019. The company has a professional
staff of 3. R.W. Day Logging is a Master Logger
certified company. For more information
call Ricky at (207) 272-6512.
Supporting Members
Dysart's Lubricants of Bangor, ME joined the
PLC as a new Supporting Member in June of
2019. The company carries a large line of
Chevron, Service Pro, and Castrol supplies.
And offers Bulk Lube and DEF Deliveries,
Packaged Goods, Lube Equipment Installation
and Loan Program, Oil Analysis and Castrol
Labcheck. For more information go to
www.dysarts.com or contact Chou Lebel at 207-
944-4360 or chou@dysarts.com.
Northeast Pellets, LLC of Ashland, ME joined
the PLC as a new Supporting Member in June of
2019. The company is a manufacturer and
distributor of Super Premium Wood Pellets. For
more information go to www.northeastpellets.net
or contact Matthew Bell at (207) 435-6230
or northeastpellets@aol.com.
Not a member but interested in
joining the PLC?
Contact Jessica at (207) 688-8195 or
email jessica@maineloggers.com
SKS Furbush Logging LLC of Smithfield, ME
joined the PLC as a new Affiliated Contractor
Member in May 2019. The company has a
professional staff of 2. For more information call
Westley at 207-431-4324.
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019
7

From the Executive
Director
The View from the Middle
By Dana Doran
“...no country can be well governed
unless its citizens as a body keep religiously
before their minds that they are the
guardians of the law and that the law
officers are only the machinery for its
execution, nothing more.” Mark Twain -
The Gilded Age
It certainly is a new day in Augusta
and the importance of the PLC as a steward
of the industry to watch over the work of
the Legislature and the Governor is just as
important as it has ever been. From my
perspective, this quote from Mark Twain is
very appropriate as without the work we do
on a daily basis in Augusta, this industry
might cease to exist or be a shell of itself if
our elected officials did not hear directly
from us.
The first priority of the PLC in
2019 was to establish relationships with the
new Governor and also help guide the new
administration with respect to their
selections for Commissioners and important
Bureau Directors. One of the most
important selections for the Governor was
the Commissioner of the Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Amanda Beal was announced in early
January to take over that position and
immediately, the PLC reached out to Ms.
Beal and began discussing the role of the
Dept. in regards to our industry. Ms. Beal
was very receptive to our input and thus far
has worked hard to ensure that she has our
perspective in mind with respect to the work
that the Dept. does on a daily basis.
The second position that the PLC
worked hard on with the new administration
was the Director of the Maine Forest
Service (MFS). Ms. Beal solicited our input
for this position and we were excited to hear
that Patty Cormier, a longtime District
Forester for MFS was appointed by Ms.
Beal to this position in early May. Ms.
Cormier was the PLC’s choice to replace
Doug Denico and we are looking forward to
working with her as she takes the reins of
the organization.
Turning our attention to the
Legislature, the first session of the 129 th
edition of this branch of government is now
in the books as it finally adjourned sine die
(without day) at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday,
June 20 th . With a sense of urgency not to
extend the session beyond the statutory date
of adjournment for the first time in three
years, many issues were carried over to
2020 and consensus was not found on quite
a few big ideas such as a bond package and
other substantial pieces of legislation.
Governor Mills has signed more
than 200 bills into law this session and
vetoed less than a dozen which is quite a
8 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

change from the last eight years. What this
means in terms of cost and benefit will play
out once these initiatives go into effect later
this year and we will know very soon the
total impact of this legislative session.
The Legislature may have to come
back in July or August to deal with any new
vetoes from the Governor as well as a bond
package, but for now, they have left town
and no more new big ideas can be taken up
at this point until 2020.
As we look forward to the future of
this industry, now is a good time to review
the damage that was done this past session
as well as the opportunities that were
created to strengthen and expand the work
you do every day.
Bond Package
Western Maine Timberlands logging underway in Brownfield in May.
Near the end of the session,
Governor Mills proposed a bond package
for infrastructure, economic development,
workforce development and
energy. The bond proposal invests $19
million to support workforce training, career
and technical education and their capital
needs. The bond package also provides $10
million in municipal energy projects, with
more efficient heating technology, and $5
million in low interest loans for clean
energy projects for homeowners in
Maine. And finally, the last pillar of
the investment package is a $105 million
transportation bond to pay for critical
upgrades in improvements to transportation
infrastructure. The Appropriations
Committee voted 8-5 in favor, with 8 D’s in
support and 5 R’s against, of the Governor’s
bill and moved it to the floor. The
Republicans announced that they would
only support a bond for transportation this
session as they felt that the final state budget
was too big and several other initiatives
such as sick time, workers’ comp. and
abortion were too costly and therefore this
was their point of leverage. On the floor,
votes were taken on a complete package
with Republicans in opposition. Thus, as a
result of not achieving 2/3 rd ’s support to
send the package to the voters in November,
the bill was carried over to 2020 and the
legislature may take up a bond package
during veto day or in a special session later
this summer, but for now, there is no bond
package that has achieved support from both
caucuses.
Sick Time
The Governor signed a bill into law
this session which requires employers with
10 or more employees, employed for more
than 120 days per year, to provide one hour
of earned leave for every 40 hours worked.
It will take effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns the 1 st session of the
129 th Legislature.
Effectively, what this bill states is
that an employee is entitled to earn one hour
of paid leave for every forty hours worked,
up to forty hours in one year of
Doran Continued Page 13
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019
9

L
EE - Like many loggers before him, Terry
Raymond, owner of T. Raymond Forest
Products Inc. started working in the woods
at a young age and has never really
considered another career. The truth is even if he
wanted to, he hasn’t had time. He’s too busy.
In the words of his daughter, Hollie Worster,
“He works seven days a week.” On weekdays that
means leaving the house shortly after midnight and not
getting home until 4:30 p.m. on average. He’s the first
on the job site and usually the last to leave. On the
weekends, he generally does dirt work including septic
system installations and driveways, and is never idle
for long.
No one chooses a career in logging because
they think it’s going to be easy, and while he can get
tired of it from time to time, especially in the cold and
snow of winter, he still likes being in the woods.
“My father always cut wood, and I grew right
up in the woods helping him. He bought a skidder in
1972 and I helped him through high school with that.
After I graduated in 1975 I continued working for him
until I bought my first cable skidder in 1977. I then
worked subcontracting for MacDonald Logging,
Thompson Trucking and Orland Dwelley until 1995,”
Terry said. “I always liked it, you can be your own
boss.”
T. Raymond was officially founded in 1977
and grew from that small beginning into one of the
larger contractors in the region. It has always been a
family business. Terry’s wife, Paula, worked running
the office for years until in 1998 the Raymonds started
Raymond’s Variety and Diner in Lee - a very
successful business itself that she runs to this day.
Terry’s late father, Lawrence, “Smokey” Raymond,
worked for T. Raymond Forest Products into his 80s.
Terry’s brother, Albert, worked with him when the
business first started and for many years after. His
brother, Garnet, has been with him since 1989 and
runs a feller buncher today. Hollie joined him after
graduating from Husson College in 1998 to run the
office when her mother left to run the store. Son,
Terry “Tee” operated grapple skidder during the
summers while attending school before going on to
work at GE. Other family members have also worked
for the company.
The business grew over the years and in 1990
began the switch to mechanized logging with the
purchase of a rubber tired John Deere 743 harvester.
Next came grapple skidders to replace the cable
skidders. As time went on more machines were added,
and T. Raymond has been fully mechanized for a long
10 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

T. Raymond Forest Products
Photos: Background, aerial view of T. Raymond operation underway.
Top right, father and daughter, Hollie Worster and Terry Raymond.
Bottom right, Garnet Raymond in Komatsu feller buncher on the move down a private logging road to a new
location.
time now. It currently has three mechanized crews
operating one Komatsu X430 feller buncher, and John
Deere feller bunchers, stroke delimbers, and grapples.
The company does most of its own trucking,
currently running 6-7 Peterbilts daily with more available
at the garage in Lee if needed. T. Raymond also builds and
maintains logging roads and has a grader, excavators,
bulldozers and dump trucks.
Terry has run everything over the years, “I
wouldn’t buy anything if I didn’t know how to run it,” he
said, but for many years now he’s run crane/slasher on the
logging jobs. He also likes running bulldozers, and he’s
fond of a 1997 Peterbilt truck that he’s had for many years.
At its height in the 2000s, T. Raymond Forest
Products had four crews and was about twice as large as it
is now. The company currently has 21 employees.
T. Raymond Forest Products owes much of its
success to its dedicated and reliable employees, many of
whom worked or have worked for the company for a long
time. Some of the current and past long-term employees at
T. Raymond in addition to members of the family include
the late Jeff McLaughlin, who worked 23 years running
crane and feller buncher; Jeff Rideout who has worked 22
years as a mechanic and still keep things running on a daily
basis; Mickey Day, who has driven trucks for 15 years, Jay
Worster, who has worked a total of 15 years as a delimber
operator in two stints with the company; Fred Goodwin,
who has driven trucks for 14 years; Brad Noyes, who has
worked a total of 12 years over a couple stints operating
delimber and feller buncher and Joel Campbell, who has
run grapple skidders for 12 years.
There have been ups and downs over the years.
The recession and closure of many Maine pulp and paper
mills hit T. Raymond hard just as it did other loggers in the
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019
T. Raymond Continued Page 12
11

T. Raymond Continued from Page 11 16
state. Lately the markets seem to have stabilized and things
are better than they were a couple of years ago when the
list of mills shutting down was discouraging for everyone
in the industry. Unlike many other logging contractors in
the region, T. Raymond never ventured into chipping,
which has turned out to be a good thing given the loss of
biomass mills in northern Maine.
Rising equipment and fuel costs have also been a
challenge. Route 6, which the company travels every day,
is in poor condition and hard on trucks. T. Raymond has a
good, reliable set of employees, but workers are getting
older - T. Raymond’s youngest employee is 23 but the next
youngest is in his 40s and many are nearing retirement age
or already past it. It is also hard to hire new workers. Like
just about every other logging contractor in the state, T.
Raymond finds it tough to compete with the wages drivers
and heavy equipment operators can earn in other industries.
It’s also hard to convince young people that logging is a
career they’d like to get into.
One move that has turned out to be a good one for
the company was going to work for Wagner Forest
Management Ltd. in 1995. T. Raymond has been with
Wagner ever since and it has been a good relationship.
Wagner has a high opinion of T. Raymond’s work,
its strength as a family business, and the range of
capabilities the company brings to the job, according to
Travis B. Howard, a Regional Supervisor for Wagner in
Bangor.
“T. Raymond Forest Products is a multi-faceted,
full service independent logging contractor. Much of
Terry’s crew and equipment operators have been with him
for many, many years. The crew is very experienced and
does high quality work,” Travis said, “T Raymond Forest
Products harvests and delivers to mills annually 135,000
tons of tree length round wood. Harvest operations are
mainly focused in Eastern Washington County and Central
Penobscot County. They construct, rebuild and surface
annually over ten miles of logging roads per year. Terry
himself operates many pieces of the road construction
equipment. He also grades over 43 miles of logging roads
every season and has done so for the last 20 years.”
Hollie said T. Raymond worked for Wagner in the
Katahdin Ironworks region around Brownville and Milo
until 2003 and has mainly been in Washington County ever
since, mostly in areas
around Topsfield,
Vanceboro, Waite,
Crawford, and points
in between.
Wood from
T. Raymond jobs
goes everywhere in
the state, but some of
the main destinations
include Woodland
Pulp, Pleasant River
Lumber, H.C. Haynes
yards, Verso yards,
Sappi, and Louisiana
Pacific.
T. Raymond
Forest Products
joined the
Professional Logging
Contractors of Maine
several years ago
after recognizing the
PLC was fighting for
the logging industry
on many issues,
Hollie said, and also
because of the
opportunity afforded
by the Acadia Insurance PLC Safety Group dividend
program, which rewards eligible logging contractors who
are members of the group with refunds of a portion of their
premiums if certain measures are met by the entire safety
group.
A lot has changed in the industry and for the
company since her father first began logging in the 1970s,
but one thing has never changed no matter how big the
company he founded has gotten, Hollie said.
“He’s in there every day with them,” Hollie said.
“He’ll probably never give it up.”
Loaded T. Raymond truck on the move. The company harvests and delivers 135,000 tons of
tree length roundwood each year.
12 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Doran Continued from Page 9 16
employment. Accrual of leave begins at
the start of employment, but the employer
is not required to permit leave before the
employee has been employed with that
employer for 120 days during a one-year
period. An employee taking earned leave
shall be paid at least the same base rate of
pay that the employee received
immediately prior to taking earned leave
and the same benefits as those provided
under established policies of the
employer pertaining to other types of
paid leave.
Since this is earned time, which
is what PLC employers already provide
to their employees in other forms
(vacation, sick, personal), the PLC did
object to this legislation, except the
requirement that it be provided after only
120 days of employment for new
workers.
LD 756 Benefit Increases
Workers Comp.
The Governor signed LD
756 into law on Monday, June 17 th . It
will take effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns the 1 st session of the
129 th Legislature.
The Democrats introduced 25
bills this session to reform workers’
comp. and may have achieved nothing if
certain business trade associations didn’t
attempt to compromise before they
needed to. Unfortunately, because of this
inappropriate negotiation, we were forced
to give in on the first benefit increases in
almost thirty years, but we were also
successful in creating necessary system
efficiencies that should help balance out
some of the benefit increases. That said,
the Governor gave her word that there
will be no more workers’ comp. changes
for the next seven years if she holds the
Office of Governor for that period of
time. We also want to thank the entire
Republican caucus for their help in this
negotiation. They were steadfast
supporters of our position and were
responsible for getting to the final
negotiation and an acceptable outcome.
See the charts at right for a
summary of what’s in the bill.
LD 756 System Improvements
Doran Continued Page 14
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019
13

Doran Continued from Page 136
LD 1459, An Act To Expand Application of the
Maine Agricultural Marketing and Bargaining Act of
1973 to Harvesters and Haulers of Forest Products. On
Friday, June 7, 2019, the Governor signed this bill into
law. It will take effect 90 days after the Legislature
adjourns the 1 st session of the 129 th Legislature. Prior law
provided authorization for farmers to join cooperative
organizations and requires handlers of agricultural products
to bargain in good faith with such organizations because
agricultural products are produced by numerous individual
farmers and the marketing and bargaining position of
individual farmers will be adversely affected unless they
are able to join together. This new law recognizes that
market forces that affect the marketing and bargaining
position of individual farmers similarly affect the
marketing and bargaining position of individual harvesters
and haulers of forest products, and it expands application of
the Maine Agricultural Marketing and Bargaining Act of
1973 to include harvesters and haulers of forest products.
It is unclear at this point what impact this legislation will
have, but at a minimum, it provides the opportunity for
contractors to discuss prices without the threat of an antitrust
violation. The PLC will be reviewing this legislation
over the coming days and weeks to determine the impact it
will have on the membership.
LD 420, An Act to Amend the Maine Exclusion
Amount in the Estate Tax. This bill would have reduced
the estate tax exclusion amount to $2 million from $5.7
million for estates of descendants dying on or after January
1, 2020 and would have removed the annual adjustment for
inflation of that exclusion amount. This would mean the
Maine estate tax rate, ranging from 8% to 12%, would be
incurred by estates valued over $2 million.
With the help of our membership, a united front
from Republicans and some brave Democrats in each body,
the PLC was successful in defeating this nonsensical
legislation this session. The Maine Senate voted 19 to 12
to defeat LD 420 after the House had defeated the bill
earlier in the week. Following our successful vote in the
Senate, Senator Libby (D-Auburn (moved to table the
bill. From there, the Senate Democrats moved to report the
bill back to the Tax Committee to carry it over into next
session. While we don’t like that move, the fact is, they
were defeated this session, and they could reintroduce a
similar bill next year anyway.
Your phone calls and outreach paid off. I believe
this bill would have sailed through if we hadn’t made the
combined effort to find some Democrats to support our
position. Senate Democrats who supported us
are: Senators Mike Carpenter from Aroostook, Jim Dill
from Penobscot (he told me his loggers weighed in
heavily!), Mark Lawrence of York, Erin Herbig of Waldo,
Louis Luchini of Hancock and Bill Diamond of
Cumberland County.
LD 1494 An Act To Reform Maine's Renewable
Portfolio Standard. This bill increases the percentage of
supply sources for retail electricity sales in the state that
must be accounted for by new renewable capacity
resources from 10% to 50% by 2030. The PLC had been
working with a consortium on this bill since June 2018 and
supported it throughout the process. This legislation will
bring sustainability to the volatile biomass market with
long term contracts and it will also help grow markets for
low grade wood (pellets and chips) with the introduction of
thermal renewable energy credits. The legislation is now
on the Governor’s desk and she is expected to sign it. The
legislation will stabilize and grow the wood energy sector
significantly in Maine for years to come and it should bring
stability to biomass for the long term.
LD 1698, An Act To Create Jobs and Slow
Climate Change by Promoting the Production of
Natural Resources Bioproducts; This bill provides a tax
credit for the production of renewable chemicals by the
conversion of renewable biomass from the forest, farms,
the sea or solid waste. The credit is equal to 7¢ per pound
of renewable chemical produced in the State, 9¢ per pound
of renewable chemical produced in the State if the taxpayer
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department of
Economic and Community Development that the
contractors hired or retained by a landowner to harvest
renewable biomass used in production of the renewable
14 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

chemicals are 3rd-party certified by the Northeast Master
Logger program or successor program and at least 50% of
the contractors' employees are residents of the United
States or 12¢ per pound of renewable chemical produced in
the State if the taxpayer demonstrates to the satisfaction of
the Department of Economic and Community Development
that the contractors hired or retained by a landowner to
harvest renewable biomass used in such production are 3rdparty
certified by the Northeast Master Logger program
and at least 75% of the contractors' employees are residents
of the United States. This bill passed the House and Senate
unanimously, was approved by the Appropriations
Committee and is on the Governor’s desk where she is
expected to sign it into law.
LD 912 An Act to Establish the Wood Energy
Investment Program. This bill would create the Wood
Energy Investment Program within the Efficiency Maine
Trust, to be funded by money left over from the biomass
stabilization program and the Stored Solar contract. It
requires the trust to use funds from the fund, if there are
any, to provide incentives and low-interest or no-interest
loans for new wood-derived thermal energy or
cogeneration projects. It requires that the trust consult with
the Finance Authority of Maine, when appropriate, in the
development of any Wood Energy Investment Program
incentives and the distribution of money from the wood
energy investment fund. The bill passed both the House
and Senate and was sent to the Governor for signature.
Unfortunately, the Legislature used the Stored Solar money
for other purposes, so this would have created a program
with no funding. In a strange twist of events on the last day
of the session, the Governor asked the Legislature to recall
the bill and carry it over to 2020. She did not want to sign
the bill as written as it did not include a source of funding
for the new program. We took this as a positive sign that
perhaps she actually wants to try to fund it through a
supplemental appropriation in the next legislative session in
2020. Stay tuned for more on this bill in 2020.
LD 261, An Act to Restrict the Authority for
Posting of Roads, proposed to do three things: 1) impose
a restriction on a public way being posted for more than 6
weeks at a time unless written justification to continue the
restriction is made publicly available before the end of the
6-week period; 2) exempt commercial trucks from size and
weight restrictions for vehicles on a public way during any
period when the temperature is below 31 degrees
Fahrenheit (no more water in the cracks); and 3) impose
restrictions that prevent a commercial entity from operating
the entity's vehicles on the public way where it is
headquartered or where it is conducting its business
activities. The PLC testified in support of the legislation,
but the Transportation Committee asked the PLC to work
with the Maine Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) on
resolving the issues without legislation this session. The
committee voted ONTP but will sent a letter to MDOT
which directs them to take action on a whole list of new
items to help correct the issues that PLC members have
with road postings. MDOT will report back to the
Transportation Committee in 2020 on the work that they
have accomplished.
LD 1301, An Act Regarding the Confidentiality
of Investigations by the Bureau of Forestry, This bill,
which was a PLC priority, makes all complaints and
investigative records of the Department of Agriculture,
Conservation and Forestry related to violations of the
forestry laws confidential during the pendency of an
investigation. The bill provides exceptions to allow
disclosures to department employees and other agencies
and otherwise as determined warranted by the
Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
The provision or disclosure of investigative records of the
Department of the Attorney General to a Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry employee
designated by the commissioner does not constitute a
waiver of the confidentiality of those records. A person
who knowingly or intentionally makes a disclosure in
violation of this provision commits a civil violation for
which a fine not to exceed $1,000 may be
adjudged. Commissioner Beal from the Dept. of ACF
asked the PLC to eliminate this bill for the time being to
allow the new Director of the MFS to create a formal policy
Doran Continued Page 16
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019
15

Doran Continued from Page 156
which will effectively substantiate what is in this bill. The
PLC agreed and will work with Director Cormier to ensure
this policy development takes place.
LD 1156, An Act To Create the Small Business
Savings Account Program. This bill, which was a PLC
priority, establishes a Savings Account Program for Small
Businesses which would allow small businesses to make pretax
contributions to qualifying savings accounts. The bill also
establishes that withdrawals from the savings accounts are
taxable when utilized for the business. The PLC testified in
support of this legislation and worked with the bill sponsor
and the Maine Department of Economic and Community
Development on a revised version of the bill during the
session. The bill sponsor presented what he thought was a
final version to the committee, but Maine Revenue Services
still found issues with the bill that they wanted rectified
before moving forward. Since it was so late in the session,
the committee voted to carry the bill over to 2020 and move
forward with it next year in final form.
LD 1498, An Act To Provide Equity for
Commercial Vehicles on Roads and Bridges in Maine. A
PLC priority bill this session, current law allows certain
commercial vehicles at Canadian weight limits that are
higher than those in this State to travel from the United States
-Canada border to certain points in this State. The PLC
testified in favor of the bill and also told the Committee that
if they are not interested in increasing gross and axle weights,
that they should eliminate the higher weight tolerances on
three bridges for Canadian trucks. The Committee carried
the bill over to next session and asked the Maine Dept. of
Transportation to conduct an economic impact study this fall
on the current exemption. The study will review how the
exemption is hurting Maine loggers and truckers, what
getting rid of the exemption would do to the mills that benefit
and how are heavier weights impacting the roads and
bridges.
LD 1540, An Act Concerning Timber Harvesting
on Public Lands and in State Parks, Historic Sites and the
Restricted Zone of the Allagash. A PLC priority this
session, this bill amends and enacts provisions regarding the
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry,
Bureau of Parks and Lands' management of timber
harvesting on state property under its jurisdiction, including:
1. requiring the bureau to report on the State's actual and
potential forest inventory status and needs, including the
need for a sawmill or other forest products processing facility
to be located in the state; 2. requiring contractors harvesting
timber at state parks to be established businesses in the state,
requiring contractors to be Master Logger certified, requiring
contractors to own 50% of their own equipment to be used on
the job, requiring contractors to have workers’ compensation
insurance, and requiring all timber to be purchased by the
contractor under a stumpage sale instead of service contracts;
and 3. requiring forest products harvested, unless used by the
state parks, to be sold to a sawmill or other forest products
processing or manufacturing facility located in the State to be
processed or manufactured at the facility. The PLC testified
in favor of the bill because it believes strongly that
contractors should benefit from harvesting on public lands
and Master Loggers should be recognized for their
work. Similar to LD 1301, Commissioner Beal from the
Dept. of ACF asked the PLC to eliminate this bill for the
time being to allow the new Director of Parks and Lands to
investigate these issues and determine the best path forward
to assist with these issues. The PLC agreed and will work
with Director Cutko to ensure this policy development takes
place.
In summary, this was a long and arduous legislative
session as there were over 1,800 bills printed and heard in
front of committees. As a result, there was a lot of work for
the PLC to push forward initiatives that could help our
industry and push back upon those that would not. However,
at the end of the day, the session could have been a lot worse
in terms of raising the cost of doing business and hurting this
industry for the long run. There were also a lot of bills that
will help raise the bar for this industry and the rightful place
of loggers and truckers in Maine was not only protected but
was expanded as a result of the work that the PLC does in
Augusta. Being in the middle in Augusta can have its
challenges, but it is exactly where the PLC needs to be.
Have a great summer and please do not hesitate to
reach out to me if you have any questions on what transpired
this session or what is on the horizon.
Dana.
16 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 17

The PLC of Maine 24th Annual Meeting
Record 51,866 Raised!
O
XFORD - The Professional Logging
Contractors (PLC) of Maine held its 24th
Annual Meeting Friday,
April 26, raising $51,866
for Children’s Miracle Network
Hospitals in Maine and presenting
awards to businesses, individuals,
and legislators from across Maine
for their outstanding contributions to
the logging industry.
The meeting was held at a
new location this year, the Oxford
Casino & Event Center at 777
Casino Way, Oxford, ME. and
included a morning meeting of the
membership. The morning events
were followed by a luncheon with
President of the Senate Troy
Jackson and Speaker of the House,
Sara Gideon as speakers. A social
hour in the afternoon was followed by the annual PLC Log
A Load for Maine Kids Auction, then the annual PLC
Dinner and Awards Ceremony. Second-district
Congressman Jared Golden of Lewiston was the featured
speaker for the evening.
The $51,866 raised for Children’s Miracle
Network Hospitals in Maine was a new record for the PLC
event, topping the previous record of $46,311 set in 2018.
“Our Annual Meeting is a time to reflect, a time to
celebrate and a time to plan for the future,” PLC Executive
Director Dana Doran, said. “The PLC has made important
strides on behalf of loggers, forest contractors, and forest
truckers over the past year and stands ready to continue its
work on behalf of the industry for years to come. Our
members should be proud of what
they have accomplished this year, and
especially proud of what was
accomplished here for the children
tonight.”
The Annual Meeting is one of
the PLC’s major fund-raisers for the
Log A Load for Kids Foundation to
benefit Children’s Miracle Network
(CMN) Hospitals. Last year total PLC
fund-raising for the cause exceeded
$122,000
The PLC and the Northern Light
Health Foundation (formerly Eastern
Maine Health Systems Foundation)
have raised more than $1 million for
Children’s Miracle Network Family, the
Log A Load since 1996. Eastern
LeClercs, at the PLC Annual Meeting.
Maine Medical Center in Bangor is a
Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and includes a
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that has received support for
years from the PLC’s Log A Load efforts.
In 2019, the PLC is expanding its Log A Load
campaign by partnering with the Barbara Bush Children’s
Hospital in Portland to offer a second annual golf
tournament in southern Maine (Sept. 6 at Lake Kezar
Country Club in Lovell) in addition to its longstanding
tournament in northern Maine (Sept. 20 JATO Highlands
Golf Course in Lincoln). All funds raised will be disbursed
equally between Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital and
Eastern Maine Medical Center.
14 18 Professional Logging April Contractors 26, 2019 - Oxford of Maine Casino & Event Center, Loggers Oxford, Serving ME Loggers Since 1995

PLC Awards 2019
PLC Logger of the Year Award: This award
recognizes a PLC Logging Contractor for their
commitment to the sustainability of the industry
and logging as a profession. The winner is:
Kimball & Sons Logging
PLC Impact Award: Each year, the PLC
recognizes someone from the public sector who
has demonstrated a commitment to the logging
industry and made a significant impact for its
improvement. This year the award goes to two
individuals. The winners are:
Maine State Representatives Nathan
Wadsworth and Michelle Dunphy
Acadia Insurance Safety
Award: This award is given to
a company that continuously
demonstrates safety throughout
their business. The winner is:
PLC President’s Award: This award is
presented to an individual or organization
within the PLC which has had a significant and
positive impact on the PLC and the logging
industry in Maine. The winner is:
Melanie Campbell (Cross Insurance)
PLC Community Service
Award: This award is
given annually to a PLC
Member, Supporting
Member or affiliated
organization that has
demonstrated a significant
commitment to giving back
to their community. The
winner is:
Scott Hanington
Chopper One Inc.
PLC Supporting Member
Award: This award is
presented to a PLC
Supporting Member that
has demonstrated an
unprecedented commitment
to logging contractors in
Maine. The winner is:
Acadia Insurance
Congratulations to all 2019
Award Winners
The Logger’s Voice ▪ ▪ Summer Spring 2019 15 19

Photos
Top: Chaffee
Transport, LLC in
Clinton, ME.
OWNERS: Pleasant River Lumber
YEAR FOUNDED: 2016
ADDRESS: 162 Hinckley Road, Clinton, ME 04927
PHONE NUMBER: (207) 426-8588
Below: Pleasant
River Lumber Trailer
ready to roll.
Opposite: Chaffee
truck in Clinton.
EMPLOYEES: 35
TRUCKS: 28
AREA OF OPERATION: East Coast of the United States,
particularly Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts
SERVICES PROVIDED: Hauling roundwood, lumber, wood
byproducts including bark and chips and sawdust, trash,
cement blocks, bricks, and more.
PLC FOREST CONTRACTOR SINCE: 2016
20 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

WHY DID THE COMPANY JOIN PLC: Owner Pleasant River Lumber, a PLC Preferred
Supporting Member, saw membership for Chaffee as an additional way to support the PLC.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES THE COMPANY WOULD LIKE PLC TO WORK ON:
Educate the public about trucking, its importance, and safety rules for the road. Work to ensure
taxes collected from trucking go where they were intended - to support roads, infrastructure and
other things the industry needs.
Trucking section Continued Page 22
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 21

Trucking Industry News...
FMCSA Updates ELD FAQs...
Recently, FMCSA made the following updates to
the ELD Frequently Asked Questions. The question below
has been revised (updates are in bold).
What must a driver do if there is an electronic
logging device (ELD) malfunction?
If an ELD malfunctions, a driver must:
1. Note the malfunction of the ELD and provide written
notice of the malfunction to the motor carrier within 24
hours;
2. Reconstruct the record of duty status (RODS) for the
current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive
days, and record the records of duty status on graph-grid
paper logs, or electronic logging software, that comply
with 49 CFR 395.8, unless the driver already has the
records or retrieves them from the ELD; and
Continue to manually prepare RODS in accordance with 49
CFR 395.8 until the ELD is serviced and back in
compliance. The recording of the driver’s hours of service
on a paper log, or electronic logging software, cannot
continue for more than 8 days after the malfunction; a
driver that continues to record his or her hours of service
on a paper log, or electronic logging software, beyond 8
days risk being placed out of service.
The question below is a new addition to the ELD
FAQs:
When should a driver use paper logs or
electronic logging software if an ELD malfunction
occurs?
A driver should only use paper logs, or electronic
logging software, or other electronic means to record their
HOS if the ELD malfunction hinders the accurate
recording of the driver’s hours-of-service data (i.e., 10/11,
14/15, 60/70 hours; or 30 minute).
Learn more here: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours
-service/elds/faqs
22 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

FMCSA Launches Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
Website...
FMCSA has launched a new website with
information about the Commercial Driver’s License Drug
and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Visit https://
clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov to learn more about how
CDL drivers and their employers will be required to use the
Clearinghouse beginning January 6, 2020. You will be able
to sign up for email updates.
Canadian Revenue Agency Notice of Fuel Charge
and Registration Requirements...
A new fuel charge, administered by the Canada
Revenue Agency (CRA), was introduced as part of the
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.
The fuel charge is expected to be effective April 1,
2019 for the provinces of Manitoba, New Brunswick,
Ontario and Saskatchewan and July 1, 2019 for the
territories of Nunavut and Yukon.
The attached informational bulletin, provided by
the CRA, details the fuel charge plan. IFTA, Inc. is
forwarding this bulletin to provide jurisdictions with
information to assist their carriers. It will also be posted on
the IFTA Inc. website.
The registration materials are available at:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/
excise-taxes-duties-levies/fuel-charge.html
Unified Carrier Registration Online Service…
This service allows Maine based individuals and
companies that operate commercial motor vehicles in
interstate or international commerce to register their
business and pay the annual UCR fee based on the size of
their fleet. Brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing
companies are also required to register and pay a fee equal
to the lowest fee tier. Companies providing both motor
carrier services as well as broker, freight forwarder or
leasing services are required to pay the fee level set at the
motor carrier level.
Roadside enforcement period began April 1,
2019. You can access the payment portal at Maine
BMV here:
https://apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/ucr/index.pl
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 23

PLC Supporting Member Spotlight
Logging chokers coming off the line at
Wallingford’s New Hampton, NH facility.
O
AKLAND - Wallingford’s Inc. is a company
with operations and facilities on two
continents, thousands of dealers, and a thick
catalog of products marketed to customers
across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Yet this leading international wholesaler of tire
chain, logging, and industrial supplies started out small,
with its roots in logging and snowmobiling in West Forks,
Maine.
John “Jay” Wallingford, President and CEO of the
company, remembers growing up working for his late
father, Richard Wallingford, who had a large logging
operation using horses before cable skidders came along to
replace them. His father never lost his love of horses after
the days of logging with them were done, and many recall
him as one of the best draft horsemen in the United States
- he and his horses still hold the world record for the
largest load ever pulled by a two-horse team.
“He was a lifelong logger up in West Forks so I
was born and raised in logging. I always liked it because I
always had a job,” Jay said, recalling starting out as a
young boy cleaning horse stalls and progressing over the
years to hooking tongs from a cable crane loading logs,
and eventually building logging roads with heavy
equipment, always appreciating the ability to earn some
money for clothes. “I was the best dressed person in my
class.”
Being in West Forks, the Wallingfords were also
24 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

into snowmobiles, and by high school, Jay was heavily into
racing them. He graduated from high school in 1970, then
graduated from Unity College with a degree in criminal
justice in 1972 and returned to West Forks with no clear
idea of what he wanted to do. His father happened to be
planning on building a new garage for his logging business
and Jay and a friend took on the job and built it. Jay at that
time was racing for a company out of Quebec and needed
to keep a lot of parts on hand, and so they got the idea of
putting in a showroom in the garage and selling
snowmobiles and parts for them. This led to the founding
of R.L. Wallingford and Son.
The showroom had not been in existence for long
when one day a station wagon
pulled up to the garage in West
Forks and a man named Dave
Tilton got out. Tilton and his
brother Steve were the founders
of Tilton Equipment Co., which
was the U.S. importer of
Jonsered chain saws. He was
looking for dealers to sell them.
The Wallingfords recognized an
opportunity.
“So suddenly we
became the third Jonsered dealer
in the entire country,” Jay said.
“So with the advent of the
chainsaws that ultimately led us
to logging supplies, and as I
learned more on the logging
supply side I just saw a
wholesale opportunity. There
was some risk involved and I
approached my father and said
look, I’d like to go in this
direction. I’d like to buy your
interest out and liquidate the
retail assets and raise the money
to build the company that is now
today Wallingford’s
Incorporated.”
His father agreed. That
was in 1975, and that is how the
company began. But to fully
understand Wallingford’s growth and influence since those
early days, you have to consider the company’s innovation
in identifying or developing products to meet needs in the
logging industry, not just here in Maine, but worldwide.
The list of innovations introduced by
Wallingford’s over the years is a long one, but it starts with
the J1 choker system, a real game changer developed by
the company that launched Wallingford’s on its way to
larger success.
Introduced in the early 1970s, the J1 provided an
easy and affordable fix for converting the chain choker
systems used on cable skidders to cable chokers that were
Cable being coiled before button installation at
Wallingford’s New Hampton, NH facility.
more suited to the needs of Maine loggers skidding loads
of small diameter softwood. It sold then, and it’s still a big
seller today in regions like the Appalachians where cable
skidders remain in common use.
More innovations followed (see sidebar), and more
success with them.
The influence of Wallingford’s is evident when
you look at the list of products developed by or adopted by
Wallingford’s and then at other products on the market
today produced by competitors, Jay said.
“You’d be hard pressed to find one that hasn’t
been copied,” Jay said.
As the company grew,
Jay hired a business manager,
Bob Hirschfield, to administer it
and went on the road full-time
handling sales. Bob today is a
partner in Wallingford’s,
owning 49 percent of the
company while Jay retains 51
percent.
Wallingford’s remained
in West Forks for several years
until changes in federal trucking
regulations led to a loss of daily
freight service to the area,
forcing the company to move
south in the early 1980s.
Wallingford’s relocated
its main base of operations to
Pembrook, New Hampshire.
Later it moved to Tilton, and
still later to New Hampton
where it remains today. Jay
chose to stay in Maine, focused
on regional sales, and in 1986
he founded BABAC® Traction
Products - a pioneering U.S. tire
chain manufacturer notable for
its development of the U-
Form® stud.
“With the advent of the
grapple skidder as opposed to
the cable skidder, the imported
case hardened chains just weren’t working, they were
breaking, so we thought we needed to come up with
something new and different, which is what we did,” Jay
said of BABAC® .
BABAC® still manufactures its products at a
plant right in Winslow, Maine. A tour of the facility shows
several innovations and procedures that can’t be shared in
this article due to the competitive nature of the industry,
but which increase efficiency, quality, and customer
service. Efforts to improve conditions for workers are an
important part of the company’s approach, as are testing
and tracking of products and components used in them and
Wallingford’s Continued Page 26
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 25

Wallingford’s Continued from Page 25
a system flexible enough to produce specialized orders for
customers with specific requests, Justin Wener, Plant
Manager, said.
“We have testing requirements so that we know
the component is good before it gets into production. We
have traceability, we have quality control, and we can
design anything that you want.” Justin said.
Manufacturing for Wallingford’s is concentrated
at the plant in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where
workers efficiently turn out chain and cable products. The
factory is a beehive of activity, with production rolling,
freight moving in and out, and the offices upstairs
coordinating everything. Worker pride in the products is
evident when you talk to employees there, as it is
throughout the company.
The headquarters for Wallingford’s is still in
26 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Maine, at a modern, attractive office located in Oakland.
There, a team of a dozen sales, marketing, and information
technology specialists coordinate the massive job of
getting the quality products Wallingford’s manufactures or
is the distributor for - like Clark Tracks, GB Bars, and
Nordchain - to a network of more than 3,000 dealers,
distributors and OEMs(original equipment manufacturers)
across North America and Europe while constantly seeking
new dealers and opportunities.
The current office is a far cry from the days when
Jay was effectively the entire sales staff for Wallingford’s,
working out of a home office. He later moved to a house
on Oak Street in Oakland as sales staff grew, then to the
current Kennedy Memorial Drive location in the early
2000s.
While Wallingford’s maintains a presence in the
field and will do whatever is necessary to serve its dealers
and customers, one key to success and expansion has been
the move to inside sales Jay said.
That decision is one he made after traveling across
the country to meet with a dealer in Ohio. He flew to
Pittsburgh, rented a car, drove out to the meeting, and sat
down and began talking with the dealer, but every time the
phone rang the dealer stopped and picked it up. He realized
then the phone was a far more effective way to reach
dealers than the expensive and time consuming practice of
face to face meetings, Jay said.
Since then, the progression of communications and
marketing online has been dramatic, and today
Wallingford’s sales team still travels to see dealers and talk
to customers, but not on a daily or weekly basis.
The move to inside sales also allowed the company
to expand beyond the Northeast, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
across the rest of the U.S., Canada, and eventually Europe.
The company added distribution facilities in the
Netherlands in 2009, Edmonton, Alberta in 2012, and
Montreal, Quebec in 2016.
Today Wallingford’s continues to build on its
success by staying on top of industry needs. When the
company identifies a need, it searches the globe for a
product to meet it and if successful becomes the wholesaler
for that product. If no product exists, Wallingford’s
Wallingford’s Continued Page 28
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 27

Photos
Background, Wallingford’s headquarters in
Oakland, ME.
At left, Wallingford’s New Hampton, NH
facility.
Wallingford’s Continued from Page 27
development team goes to work to design and manufacture
one. The company retains a strong focus on forestry related
products.
Over the last five years, Wallingford’s has taken
on new products including Clark Tracks, GB Harvester
bars, Carlton saw chains, Ballantine hot saw teeth, and has
just launched a whole new
line of harvester chains
called Orbit..
The logging industry
is hard on equipment, and
things that break frequently
or wear out sooner than they
should don’t last long in the
market. Wallingford’s
knows this and devotes a lot
of time and resources to
making sure the products it
distributes are tough,
reliable, and work the way
they are supposed to. That
includes testing materials used in products even before
they go onto the factory floors, strong quality control
procedures and tracking of components, and extensive
field testing of finished products - often right here in
Maine with Members of the Professional Logging
Contractors of Maine (PLC).
A strong relationship with Maine loggers over
many years first led Wallingford’s to join the PLC in 2015,
as well as a desire to do more to support them after seeing
the challenges that were hitting the industry. Since then
Wallingford’s, a Preferred Supporting Member, has been a
strong partner with the PLC and stepped up in support of
PLC efforts from Log A Load for Maine Kids to the
Mechanized Logging
Operations Program. It has
also offered PLC Memberonly
discounts on products.
“Our biggest thing
with PLC Members is, we
want to support them, we
want them to obviously use
our products, we want to try
and save them some money,
and we want to give them
good service,” Jay said. “If
they want to buy our
products they can buy from
us or they can go to the
dealers but in either case it’s going to be at a savings for
them and hopefully at a level of service that they like.”
Meanwhile, Wallingford’s will continue to build
on its strong foundation in Maine logging and ingenuity to
remain a leader in logging supplies not just here, but
across the
world.
Wallingford’s New Hampton, NH facility.
28 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

SAFETY
STARTS
WITH ME
2019 Safety and Fleet Training
Presented by:
SAFETY
STARTS
WITH ME
S
pring of 2019 marked a new level of success for PLC Safety and Fleet Trainings, bringing training to a record 13
locations across Maine and setting a new record for numbers of companies and employees served.
When all was said and done PLC brought Safety Trainings to 109 companies and 709 employees. Fleet Training
served 36 companies and 247 employees. Feedback has been extraordinarily positive and the PLC is already
looking ahead to even more opportunities to help our industry, lower risk, and provide relevant, cost-effective training.
This free training is a benefit of membership and provides practical, hands-on instruction on a wide variety of
topics to improve individual and company safety.
Many thanks to our instructors who gave their time and expertise to these efforts. Thanks also to our generous
sponsors for the trainings. Interested in future trainings or sponsorship opportunities? Email jessica@maineloggers.com
or call (207) 688-8195. *pictures below of Safety and Fleet Trainings in Fort Kent, Stratton, and Milford.
Alex Labonville, Sales Manager
Cell: 207-233-4801
www.labonville.com
Ask about special PLC of
Maine member only discounts!
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 29

Lead with Safety
By Donald Burr
PLC Safety & Training Coordinator
safety@maineloggers.com
Today I am going to talk about safety
leadership. The more I learn about the art of being safe
the more I see that it is a mindset or sometimes referred
to as a culture and sometimes the biggest step is a
simple one - it is often said that showing up is 80% of
the work, well that goes for safety leadership too. As
we went all around the state conducting the PLC safety
trainings I purposely was paying attention (why because
you are never too poor to pay attention) to the crews to
see what level of safety awareness each company had.
Talking to owners, foremen, and the operators, I could
pick up on how they dealt with safety. Certainly, every
company gets a high five for sending the crews to spring
safety training, but what was the commitment? Many
were there to check the box (how many times did I hear
“if I sign my name now can I go home?”, and at many
levels I understand this but with a little more investment
not only can you check the box but you can stand on the
box and raise awareness in your company.
I have quoted many times in my career, Major
Dick Winters of the “Band of Brothers” mini-series
based on his experience in Europe during WWII. He
says that “Leaders lead the way.” Now when it comes to
safety this could not be truer. In the companies that I
see that take safety seriously the owners and foremen
are right there in the classes asking questions, relating
experiences and helping to move the safety ball forward
down the field to a safer company. We see this playing
out when we ask an operator a question and his owner
the same question and we get good answers that are
similar. A sure sign of a company that has safety as a
culture. Not just in words but in deeds. Not just
checking the box but blowing the box up and taking it to
the next level. The difference between compliance
training and training that looks at compliance as the base
line to be stood upon, not a bar to be reached up to.
I have observed too many times to count that an
operator goes to a training and brings back an idea that
they learned at training and the owner/foreman says,
“we don’t do that here.” Said flat out with nothing to
back it up, just “we don’t do that.” It would different if
they said, “we don’t do that because we do this and we
find it works better,” and have a decent educated
discussion. Shutting down a different safety idea has a
huge effect on the crew. Not to say all new ideas are
good, and let’s be fair, some new ideas suck, but never
engaging with your crew and participating in training,
the “safety ball” will never move or be taken seriously.
This has a two-pronged effect on the crews: One it stops
any ideas being shared, which stops the crews from
thinking and being safe starts with thinking. Two, you
will miss good ideas just because, “we don’t do that
here”.
We had a contractor come for the first time to
one of our trainings this year after sending his crew for
multiple years. His comment is worth hearing. “I had
no idea what I was missing by not joining my crew
here.” I personally sat through all the trainings this year
one day or another and at the very last training where I
learned how workmen’s comp. costs work and how it
does not take long to see how an accident culture
(opposed to a safety culture) can cost a company its
profit margin or the new equipment margin. Bottom
line, nobody wants to see anyone hurt and no company
wants to spend money on insurance and one way you
can reduce this for your company is for you and your
foremen to train, participate, engage, and lead with your
crews from the front. “Leaders (owners & foremen)
lead the way.”
30 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Ted Clark, CLCS, Loss Control Consultant, Acadia Insurance
Quarterly Safety Meeting: Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke
As we work our way out of a long spring and into the
hot and humid months of summer, it is important to take a
moment and review the hazards of working outside in hot
weather and to remind ourselves of the signs and symptoms
associated with heat related illnesses including Heat Exhaustion
and Heat Stroke.
Your body’s primary mode of cooling is through sweat.
When sweat evaporates from your skin surface it pulls heat along
with it making it an extremely effective method of cooling. As
long as you are adequately hydrated and heat dissipation can keep
up with your body’s heat production, your core temperature
should remain normal. When the heat dissipation is not able to
keep up with heat production, you could become a victim of a
heat related illness. It is critical to quickly recognize and treat
these symptoms to prevent serious injury or death.
Heat Exhaustion
Symptoms:
Heat exhaustion is caused by dehydration from sweating
and generally results in a core body temperature that is either
normal or slightly elevated. The patient will be awake and
display a normal mental status. The patient will often complain
about nausea, headache, and weakness and will continue to
sweat.
Taking a medical history can be helpful here and will
often identify inadequate food and fluid intake as well as a
decreased urine output.
Treatment:
Early recognition of the symptoms and treating them
quickly is important because heat exhaustion can escalate rapidly
to heat stroke.
The principle of treatment is simple: Stop the fluid loss,
replace the lost fluids and move the patient to a cooler area.
Generally, oral replacement of fluids will be adequate but try to
avoid the temptation to give too much water because that can
backfire and cause further problems. Electrolyte drinks such as a
sports drink, or food, will help replenish salt that was depleted
during sweating and is vital to rehydration. Do not give the
patient salt tablets as they can cause stomach irritation and
vomiting. If the patient is vomiting, an IV may be necessary but
you may also be able to rehydrate by giving fluids frequently, in
small amounts.
It may take up to 12 hours to rehydrate a patient back to
normal. If symptoms persist, evacuation to medical help will be
necessary.
Heat Stroke
Symptoms:
Heat stroke is a major problem that requires immediate
medical treatment. Essentially, your body has lost its ability to
cool itself and the core temperature has become dangerously
elevated, causing damage to the nervous system and other vital
organs. This may or may not be preceded by heat exhaustion.
You will notice an altered mental status that is persistent. Urine
output has likely decreased and will be brown or red in color.
Often times, but not always, the patient will stop sweating
completely.
The patient’s condition will be getting worse and, if not
treated, will lead to death.
Treatment:
While fluid replacement is critical, your top priority
must be lowering the core temperature. Cease all physical
exertion and remove the patient from the hot environment.
Medical help and aggressive cooling is required. Immersion in
cool water is ideal but if not possible, other forms of rapid
cooling may be effective. Removal of unnecessary clothing can
also be helpful in reducing the body’s core temperature.
Watch for improved mental status as an indicator that the core
temperature is beginning to improve to more normal levels. Once
the core temperature is being effectively treated, it is critical to
begin replacing fluids as outlined earlier.
Prevention
Hydration:
While working outside in the heat, it is easy for fluid
loss through sweat to go unnoticed until it is too late. Therefore,
it is critical to maintain adequate hydration throughout the
summer months. The CDC recommends 1 cup of water for every
15-20 minutes if you are working outside less than 2 hours. If
sweating longer, a sports drink with electrolytes should be added.
It is also critical to avoid drinks with high caffeine, alcohol, or
sugar because these can further dehydrate you.
Rest Breaks:
Acclimatization will be different for every employee
therefore, rest breaks should be taken as the individual begins to
feel heat discomfort. As temperature, humidity and sunshine
increase, frequency of breaks in cool, shaded areas should be
increased.
Acclimatization:
As you spend more time in the heat, your body will
gradually adapt to the stress. Because of this, it is important to
increase the exposure over 7 to 14 days, allowing employees to
fully acclimatize. The CDC recommends allowing workers who
have not spent a lot of time in the heat spend no more than 20%
of the usual duration of work in the heat on day one and no more
than a 20% increase each additional day.
Conclusion
Logging in today’s heavily mechanized world is a great
benefit because many employees get to spend a great deal of their
time being productive in a climate controlled cabin. Even with
the large majority of their time spent in the cab, employees will
occasionally have to spend time on the ground, walking,
inspecting equipment, and performing maintenance to machinery.
During the summer, this time on the ground can be dangerous
due to heat exposure. It is important that employees are aware of
the signs for heat related illness and the first aid measures to take
in order to properly treat someone showing these signs. Armed
with this information and a heavy dose of prevention, employees
can be more productive and safe while working in the woods.
Acadia Insurance is pleased to share this material with its
customers. Please note, however, that nothing in this document should
be construed as legal advice or the provision of professional consulting
services. This material is for general informational purposes only, and
while reasonable care has been utilized in compiling this information, no
warranty or representation is made as to accuracy or completeness.
*Meeting sign-in sheet on the back! Cut along dotted line to left to detach this section. 31

*This sign-in sheet is intended to be used with the quarterly Safety Training Topic on
page 31. Refer to the cutline on page 31 when removing it from the magazine.
32 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Personal Protective Equipment and Safety Training: Getting the Attention It Should?
By Erika Scott
NEC Deputy
Director
How many times have you seen the boss coming,
only to realize that you forgot your hearing protection in
the shop? What about the days when your safety glasses are
protecting your truck’s center console, instead of your
eyes? You could be thinking right now, “Yup – that
happens more than I’d like to admit,” or, “No way – we run
a tight ship, and everyone wears their personal protective
equipment”.
Many factors contribute to a safe logging
operation, and personal protective equipment (PPE) and
safety training are critical components of the overall plan.
In what’s called the “Hierarchy of Controls” (Figure 1)
these are the last lines of defense, but often the ones we
have to think about most. Logging has come a long way
from the way your grandfathers and great-grandfathers did
things, with much of the work operated from a snug cab
filled with joysticks, toggle switches, and heat/AC (when
you’re lucky). But the reality is that today’s loggers are still
exposed to a lot of dangers.
The use of PPE isn’t just a sensible thing to do.
Often, it’s required by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), dependent on your job task or
role. (OSHA made these requirements after heaps of injury
reports and investigations showed PPE would have
lessened or spared someone from injury). Initial results
from our project, the Maine Logger Health and Safety
Study, suggest that Maine loggers may not be as vigilant
about PPE usage and safety training as they should.
Almost 400 Maine loggers have been a part of the
Maine Logger Health and Safety Study, a project of the
Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety in
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (NEC), a non-profit
research group. Many of you reading this may be involved
in the project. So far, nearly 400 loggers have given their
feedback through an initial survey, and about 300 continue
to participate. See figures 2 & 3 for more about the loggers
involved. In addition, more than 80 Maine loggers received
Figure 1. Hierarchy of Controls
(https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy/default.html)
Figure 2. Study Snapshot
NEC Continued Page 34
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 33

NEC Continued from Page 33
free health exams through the project
when offered at three PLC safety
trainings and at the Loggers’ Expo this
spring. Additional free health exams
will be available next spring as well.
Trainings: minimum
requirements. OSHA says that
employers should be holding safety
meetings at least once a month, or more
often, if needed (see Focus on OSHA
Standards). Preliminary results from
the Maine Logger Health and Safety
Study’s initial surveys show that 59%
of respondents said they had safety
training in the past three months. That
means that over 40% said they didn’t
have safety training in the last three
months. Looking into this further, it
appears the rates of safety training are
different depending on company size,
ranging from 28% for sole operators to
nearly 80% for companies with more
than 50 employees.
It makes sense that larger
companies have the resources to
regularly hold safety trainings/
meetings, but if you’re part of a smaller
crew and don’t regularly “talk safety,”
consider adding a tailgate training or
just holding a conversation about safe
practices at least one a month. This
would be a great time to review your
emergency action plan, even if your job
site hasn’t changed.
Speaking of emergency action
plans, a positive finding from the study
was that over 80% of respondents said
their company has an emergency action
plan for the jobsite, and that it is often
reviewed every time the jobsite
OSHA Training Standard
1910.266(i)(11)
FOCUS ON OSHA
STANDARDS
"Safety and health meetings." The
employer shall hold safety and health
meetings as necessary and at least each
month for each employee. Safety and
health meetings may be conducted
individually, in crew meetings, in larger
groups, or as part of other staff
meetings.
1910.266(d)(1)(vi)
The employer shall provide, at no cost
to the employee, and assure that each
employee who works in an area where
there is potential for head injury from
falling or flying objects wears head
protection meeting the requirements of
subpart I of Part 1910.
1910.266(d)(1)(vii)
The employer shall provide, at no cost
to the employee, and assure that each
employee wears the following:
1910.266(d)(1)(vii)(A)
Eye protection meeting the
requirements of subpart I of Part 1910
where there is potential for eye injury
due to falling or flying objects; and
1910.266(d)(1)(vii)(B)
changes.
For PPE, usage varied
depending on the person’s job role.
Two thirds of respondents said their
employer provided eye protection and
about 70% said their employer
provided a hard hat. The research team
still needs to dig into the data more to
tease out the job roles where that type
of PPE is needed.
More information from the
project will be available in the coming
months. The Maine Logger Health and
Safety Study’s purpose has been to
identify how NEC can most effectively
work with the Maine logging industry
to improve worker safety and health.
Learn more about the study by
visiting http://www.necenter.org/
forestry/research/ or its Facebook page
@MaineLoggerHealthandSafetyStudy.
All individual data is kept strictly
confidential and results are only
reported as summaries. The NEC is
committed to working in partnership
with logging companies and
stakeholders to improve health and
safety in a non-regulatory way.
Need ideas for safety meeting
topics? Using NIOSH’s FACE
Investigations can be a starting point
for a conversation on safety, based on
logging fatalities from around the
country. Visit https://www.cdc.gov/
niosh/topics/logging/ and find FACE
under the ‘Resources’ section. Trying
to better understand the OSHA rules
for logging? Visit their page at https://
www.osha.gov/SLTC/logging/
index.html.
A Higher Standard
You know your company holds itself to a higher standard of timber harvesting Prove you are a cut above with
Master Logger Certification
masterloggercertification.com
34 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Mechanized Logging Operations Program Summer 2019 underway
Fifteen students began classes June 24 in the Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP), which has
launched its latest three-month hands-on training course in the woods of Western Maine. Students enrolled in the
post-secondary training program will spend weeks harvesting timber using mechanized logging equipment and
gaining experience unavailable in any other training program in Maine and neighboring states. The students are
based at PLC Member Pepin Lumber in Stratton. This summer’s class will be the third since the program launched
in 2017. Graduation for the class will be held on Sept. 19.
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 35

Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine welcomes
Patty Cormier as new Director of Maine Forest Service
In May, the Professional Logging Contractors (PLC)
of Maine welcomed the news that veteran District Forester
Patty Cormier of Farmington had been named the new
Director of the Maine Forest Service.
Cormier, who has more than 30 years of experience
as a forester, replaced Douglas Denico, who had served in
the post for the past 8 years. Dana Doran, Executive Director
of the PLC, said Cormier is well known to the PLC and its
members through her work as a district forester and as a
representative of the Maine Forest Service.
“We believe that Ms. Cormier is a terrific choice to
lead the agency as she is objective, mission driven, has
integrity, values the agency and its people and will ensure
that the Maine Forest Service assists the logging industry
Q & A
Patty Cormier
with its success,” Doran said. “We have always found her to
be a professional in her dealings with the PLC and its
members and we look forward to a strong working
relationship with the agency.”
“Professional loggers in Maine need the Maine
Forest Service to work as a partner with them for the
betterment of our working forests and the rural communities,
loggers, and truckers who depend on them. We are confident
that Ms. Cormier will bring competence, experience, and
fairness to this task,” Doran added.
Below, Ms. Cormier answered a few questions from
the PLC about her plans, background, and approach to the
job. We thank her for taking the time to speak with the
PLC.
a matter of keeping that balance.
How do you see your role and the role of Maine Forest
Service when it comes to supporting Maine’s logging
industry and the forest products economy?
Maine Forest
Service
Director
What can you tell us about your experience and background
related to Maine’s logging industry?
During part of the 10 years I worked at Georgia Pacific out of
Baileyville, I was a Landowner Assistance Forester and hit the
ground running in the position working with multiple logging
contractors with all ranges of equipment, through every aspect of
harvesting on private lots and company ground. The acreage of
these lots ranged from 10 to 5000. This was where I really got my
ears wet, and through the school of hard knocks learned the
perspective of the logger, the challenges loggers face and the
good work that can be gained by everyone working together and
respecting each others knowledge base and strengths. It was
also a lesson on markets and the sometimes-fickle nature of
landowner expectations. I especially appreciated the one logger
who would cook me shrimp on his manifold when he knew I was
going to visit the job. This was a great spring board for working as
a District Forester for MFS for 20 years. In that role came the
regulatory side of things as well as educating and assisting
loggers and landowners on forest management, the laws etc. It
was always very satisfying to have a logger call before going on a
job to get my advice; I took that as a compliment. I so respect the
job loggers/contractors and all the employees involved in the
logging business, it isn’t easy, and I certainly felt it wasn’t my
place to make it any more difficult and that trying to always find
that balance of on the ground reality in logging when dealing with
the laws can be a challenge. I just want to assure anyone on the
logging industry, I am an advocate for you and the forest; It is just
“The MFS has a long history of protecting Maine’s forests from
wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, poor forest practices and
providing timely information to help foster informed decisions.
These various MFS activities focus on having Maine’s forests
more enjoyable, productive, healthy and well managed.” This is
off our website. I see our role as keeping the forest engine
running if you will. There are many pieces to the puzzle that
makes up the Maine forest Industry and I will do everything I can
to facilitate who needs to get with who to expand the industry.
The Maine logging industry is part of our brand of the past,
present and future. A big part of that is we will continue our
outreach to landowners about working with their land, we need to
get across to landowners that it is not a scary event, it should be a
satisfying one that employs resource professionals such as
loggers to achieve their goals. This is all adds to the supply part
of things. A question that always needs to be reviewed is are we
treating everyone fairly in the regulatory side of the house. Our
role is to try to intervene with any issues first to assist with
compliance. I also see my (MFS) role as supporting the
entomology staff to monitor the insect invasions that have the
potential to affect all aspects of forest uses from the forest
products industry to recreational uses, to support the forest
protection folks with respect to protecting Maine’s forests from
fires and to support the management staff in their efforts of logger/
landowner/forester education. It is all connected and we all have
a dog in the fight, as you said, forest products industry/logging
industry is Maine and we all need to fight for it.
What can our industry do to work with you to strengthen
Maine’s forest economy for the benefit of our rural
communities and forest health?
36 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

This biggest thing we could use at MFS is everyone’s help with is
ideas and suggestions, we can’t be everywhere at all times, so if
there are ways for us to help with the industry that we don’t’ know
about, let us know. What are we not addressing? What groups can
we get together that we haven’t thought of? Let’s work together on
this. Another way to help is we are looking at substantial cuts to
Federal funding to private and state forestry initiatives. These
initiatives allow for us to reach out to landowners who hold the
wood supply, and educate and advocate for good forest
management practices, which in turn helps the logging and forest
products industry as well as other uses of the forest. If folks would
reach out to their delegation and inform them of how these cuts
affect them, it would all help. If everyone out there enjoying the
woods for their business, their own woodlot, recreation, anything,
for folks to be vigilant and report sightings of the invasive insects so
that we can react quickly. As with most organizations we have lost
positions and are doing much more with less, so guidance from our
clients (i.e. the public) is imperative.
I want to slip in a reminder to those in the logging business, that
logging jobs are a form of communication, what is your job
communicating to the person driving to the polls to vote on forestry
issues?
What is your top priority for Maine’s forests?
I have a few top priorities in mind, but being new on the job, I’m still
formulating. My top one at this point is to make sure all users of the
forest are represented by us, making sure that the right people are
at the table as we formulate programs and policies. Another is to
ensure that we have the best data and information to be ready for
the insect invasions whether we are talking Emerald Ash Borer or
Spruce Budworm. Another priority is looking into how we collect
data concerning forest resources, are we consistent and on the
right track? Another is to make sure we are budget balanced with
making sure our clientele is served and employees have what they
need to work efficiently and safely.
Would you commit to meeting with our PLC board members at
some point this year to hear directly from Maine loggers on the
issues they face and the needs of the industry?
Absolutely, not only do I welcome that, I need that.
Do you have other thoughts you’d like to share with our
members?
It is my hope that anyone with any connection to the forest, whether
that is someone in a town park to the big woods, that they think of
the Maine Forest Service as a branch of government that they trust
and look to for solid answers for their questions or concerns with
regards to all things forest. We have a solid crew here at MFS,
when you look at the range of what makes up the organization, it is
impressive; from Foresters to Rangers, Pilots, Aircraft Mechanics,
Entomologists, Pathologists, Forest Inventory Specialists,
Biometrician, Urban Forester, Stewardship Forester, Water Quality
Specialist, Computer Specialists and support staff.
If you are willing, share one interesting fact about yourself and/
or your family that our members would be unlikely to know.
I was the axe throwing champ for one year on the woodsmen's
team at Orono, now I probably wouldn’t be close!
Water
Crossings
By Tom Gilbert
Water Resources
Specialist
Maine Forest Service
the Maine Forest Service BMP manual for step by step
instruction on installing a crossing that complies with the
minimum 25-year flood event standard.
It is also recommended that crossings span a
stream channel, sized to 1.2 times the bankfull width of the
channel, on any stream channel that contains fish. This is to
ensure that your crossing does not become a barrier to fish
and will not inhibit the flow of water or debris during
extreme storm events. The minimum 25-year flood
standard will be smaller than the recommended 1.2
bankfull standard.
Properly installed water crossings preserve water
quality, protect your investment in the crossing, and reduce
future maintenance costs. Recent findings in the 2016-17
Forestry BMP Use and Effectiveness Report, released by
the Maine Forest Service in spring of 2018, show a spike in
instances of sedimentation at crossing structures during
installation and closeout activities. Below are a few tips to
ensure protection of your crossing as well as water quality.
Keep in mind that most permanent crossings
should be designed for at least a 25-year flood event. This
is the minimum standard in any organized town. Reference
BMPs for all stream crossings
1. Install water diversions on the approaches to
disperse runoff into adequate filter areas, preventing it from
entering the stream channel. Adequate filter area width
varies depending on percent slope, but in no case should it
be less than 25 feet.
2. Maintain a bed of slash over exposed soils on
approaches within the filter area, ensuring that it remains
effective throughout the harvest and adding additional
Water Continued on Page 38
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 37

Water Continued from Page 37
material when needed.
3. Minimize work during wet weather or when the
soil is saturated.
Temporary crossings
1. Install any temporary, portable bridges at an
adequate height above water level (about 3 ft.), allowing
for high flows.
2. For temporary bridges, use sill logs to protect
stream banks and to create a stable bearing surface for the
bridge to rest on.
3. During closeout, make sure to lift the crossing
before attempting to relocate, being carful not to allow
loose soil to fall into the stream.
PLC News Briefs...
Permanent crossings
1. If possible, build crossings when streams are
dry or at low water.
2. If excavation is necessary during periods of
regular or high flow, temporarily divert the water using
coffer dams and pumps while installing the crossings.
3. Design bridges using closed decking to
minimize the amount of material that falls through the
deck and into the stream.
4. Armor side slopes on both sides of the crossing
using rock that is angular in shape, preferably no bigger
than a basketball. There should be no exposed soil along
the side slope of the road-stream
crossing.
Thank you to Milton CAT for hosting the PLC
Board in May for a meeting with Chris Milton and
Pat Weiler to talk about Weiler’s acquisition of CAT
Forestry Equipment. Thanks as well to Milton CAT
for your partnership on the MLOP program and we
are excited to have both Milton CAT and Weiler
supporting Maine’s professional loggers.
In May the PLC released a new video describing the impact
and importance of the logging industry on the Maine
economy and the PLC’s work to strengthen and sustain it.
The video, “Maine’s Professional Loggers: The Root of
Maine’s Forest Economy” has gotten a great reception and
we encourage you to view and share it. It is available on
YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=MBHwgVY1FG8&feature=youtu.be
The PLC was at May 10ths 7th Grade Outdoor Careers Fair
in Hinckley organized by Maine's Department of Agriculture,
Conservation, and Forestry and Jobs for Maine Graduates.
Talked to many future loggers at this event!
38 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Great to see so many of our
members, supporters, and friends
at the Northeastern Forest
Products Equipment Expo in
Bangor May 17-18! Thanks for
stopping by our booth!
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 39

As [She] Sees It: May 2019
“The Future of Logging Depends on our Youth”
By Chrissy Kimball, Kimball & Sons Logging
Editor's Note: This month's As We See It column was
written by Chrissy Kimball of Kimball & Sons Logging of
Poland, Maine. In light of the recent introduction of the
Future Logging Career Act and the release of the report
commissioned by PLC of Maine, we thought Chrissy's original
blog post offers an inspiring message on the future of logging.
Kimball & Sons Logging has graciously given us permission
to share this column.
Hey there! It’s Chrissy, the supporting actress of
Kimball & Sons Logging and Trucking. I tend to be busy
raising the “sons” part of the operation but I wanted to take
the opportunity to write a little bit about the articles I have
been reading lately regarding the recent study conducted by
the PLC of Maine siting low pay as a barrier to our industry
and also the bill that Angus King and Jared Golden are
introducing, Future Loggers Career Act.
I have actually never been more excited and
optimistic about the forest products industry in our state.
Perhaps that’s because I am a glass half full kind of person.
There is amazing technology on the brink of revolutionizing
how forest products can be used. Researchers in our very own
state are working on technology to covert biomass into jet
fuel. There is nanocellulose from wood products which are
fibers that can be used in textiles and medical products, pulp
and paper mills are moving away from print media and into
packaging products, and wood products can even give us
cellulosic sugars which can be used as a preservative in foods!
With all of this technology coming down the pipes,
we can’t forget that if there are no loggers and no truckers,
these products can never go into production. As evidenced by
the study conducted by the PLC of Maine, it is no secret that
the logging contractors in Maine struggle to keep up with
paying competitive wages. Trust me, it is not because we are
keeping it all for ourselves. In order to keep great employees,
we might even pay them MORE than we make as the owners.
I’m just being honest here.
However, I do know that there is a ton of work being
done on our behalf and I see a future for our industry that
includes competitive wages and benefits for our employees
coupled with the enjoyment that comes from working with a
family owned business. While we may not currently be the
highest paying gig in the area, there are other amazing benefits
to working in the woods for a small company. The
camaraderie in the woods is superior to any other type of
work, the views from your “office” are always amazing, and
there is nothing more invigorating than a beautiful sunrise
from the woods! We are the kind of employer that cares if
your children are sick, we would attend your wedding, and we
truly care if you are happy in your job because we will do
anything within our power to keep you. In a small business, a
good employee is certainly not “replaceable”.
We frequently brainstorm about the best ways to
grow our company and are often paralyzed by the fear of
being unable to find quality help. The problem being, margins
are tight, and it’s expensive to train someone from the ground
up but I believe it is an investment we must make. Everybody
wants someone who already knows how to do the job. Well,
it’s not going to happen. I know there are young people who
would be interested in this profession if we could give them a
chance and actually teach them. Since the beginning of time
we have all heard “kids these days…….” followed by some
rude comment about how they don’t do this and they don’t do
that. I get it. Technology, education, and policy have changed
everything, but I still hold the optimism that our youth are
teachable if given the appropriate mentor. The future of the
forest products industry is in our youth and if we continue to
sweep them under the rug as some useless gamers sitting in
their parent’s basements then they will BE exactly what we
expect them to be. When I did my mindless scroll through
Facebook this morning, I came across something not so
useless that made me excited enough to sit down and write
this.
Angus King and Jared Golden are introducing a bill
to allow 16 and 17 year olds to be allowed to work in the
heavy equipment in the woods. Forget virtual reality, that IS
reality! Part of the problem as I see it, is that we shelter our
youth from all danger. It is much safer to play a game cutting
down trees that it is to actually go learn how to cut the tree!
We have 2 young boys and a third on the way. They are
naturally obsessed with logging. Randy tells me stories of
when he was very young and his dad would have to bring him
and his brothers to the woods and they would ride in the
skidder all day with him, play in the woods, and occupy their
own time… often times unsupervised. Can you imagine
“Nowadays”? What kind of parents would we be if we put our
children in that kind of harm’s way?! They must be better off
at daycare where they color pictures and make arts and crafts.
I think most of us want our children to grow up and be able to
actually DO something. Not fear failure. Not fear risk, be it
physical, emotional, financial, or otherwise. We are fortunate
to be able to teach our kids to respect the equipment and its
dangers. They understand how to stay safe in the woods. My
6 year old recently purchased an old hack saw at the local flea
market with his earned $2 so we can do some logging at
home!
My long winded point here, is that not all hope is lost.
I think our society is recognizing that faulty policy and over
protecting our youth is driving them to uber safe careers,
sitting behind a desk and leaves no one behind to do the work.
I am inspired by this introduction of the bill by Angus King
and Jared Golden because I am hopeful it reflects a paradigm
shift in our society to treat children as capable of learning and
maintaining their own safety without the need for constant
protection from danger. It is time we, as adults, mentor our
children again. Let them participate, learn, scrape their knees
a bit and then and only then will we improve our work force
for the future.
Chrissy Kimball is with Kimball & Sons Logging of
Poland, Maine. Kimball & Sons Logging provides Maine
landowners with quality timber harvesting. For more
information, visit https://www.kimballandsons.com/
40 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

While much of the time your State, Regional and
National Logging Organizations are busy working at the local
State and Federal level on policy issues that impact your
businesses, their work does not end there, not by a long shot!
Oftentimes logging associations are also engaged in training,
safety and transportation issues, to name a few. They are also
ensuring that the well-intended thoughts of others outside of
the logging industry who believe that they are working in the
best interests of the logging industry are actually having a
positive impact and not just another cost to the price of doing
business.
In 1994, members of the American Forests and Paper
Association rolled out a program titled the Sustainable
Forestry Initiative. At the time, it appeared to be a great idea
with one exception, they forgot to invite the logging
businesses to the table. That was the impetus that brought
logging contractors together 25 years ago in St. Louis,
Missouri: the need to have a voice of our own representing
the issues that are important to loggers.
Over the past 25 years, loggers have come together in
any states that did not have a trade association either as a
stand-alone organization or under the umbrella of a State
Forestry Association. Working together, loggers have
addressed workman’s comp insurance rates, truck weights on
state and county roads, ad valorem and sales tax exemptions
for logging equipment and supplies, and other on-the-ground
issues away from Washington, DC and State Capitol buildings
As We See It June 2019
“It’s Not All Politics”
By Danny Dructor
that have a real impact on their businesses.
The American Loggers Council recently welcomed
the Ohio Logging Standards Council as the newest voting
member to our Board of Directors. As of this writing, we are
working in Pennsylvania to assist professional timber
harvesters to form an organization that would work in the best
interests of their logging workforce in the state and tackle
those issues that are important to loggers.
We believe that all States with commercial timber
harvesting operations should be organized through
membership in either a state or regional logging association
and that there is truly not only strength in numbers, but also
the wisdom of many of our peers, both past and present, that
can prevent us at all levels from reinventing the wheel when it
comes to looking for ways to accomplish goals. Next stop,
Bangor Maine! We are “Loggers Working for Loggers!”
The American Loggers Council is an 501(c)(6) not
for profit trade association representing professional timber
harvesters throughout the United States. For more
information please contact the American Loggers Council at
409-625-0206, or americanlogger@aol.com, or visit our
website at www.amloggers.com.
We Support Maine Loggers
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 41

In today's political environment, getting things done
in Washington D.C. is difficult, if not impossible. Yet the
American Loggers Council is making progress in this divided
116th U.S. Congress. Why? Loggers understand the
importance of building relationships. When it seems every
idea these days is framed in partisan terms, our ability to build
relationships explains why both the Future Logging Careers
Act and the Safe Routes Act have now been introduced with
bipartisan support.
Relationships are key, both in our personal lives and
our professional lives. Loggers are drawn to the ALC because
they see the value of building and maintaining relationships
with other loggers across our nation. Loggers also see the
value of having good relationships with the equipment
manufacturers and others that help make our industry
possible. We take the same approach to Capitol Hill, as
evidenced by another year of record attendance at our 2019
D.C. Fly-in.
The ALC has long-valued our relationship with
Congressman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, the only forester
in the United States Congress and past recipient of the ALC
President's Award. Bruce is not just another politician seeking
our votes or campaign donations, he is a true friend and
advocate of our industry because he understands what we do
and why we do it. Recently we were pleased to endorse his
introduction of the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2019. We
also provided a statement of support that was included in his
office's press materials.
Congressman Westerman has introduced past
versions of the Resilient Federal Forests Act in previous years,
and was instrumental in passing this legislation through the
U.S. House of Representatives multiple times. Though it has
previously stalled in the U.S. Senate, some minor components
of this comprehensive legislation has been adopted through
federal spending measures. Yet there are still areas that are in
need of attention in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic
wildfire and help prevent the loss of lives and property as
witnessed last year in and around Paradise, California and
other Western States.
The Resilient Federal Forest Act continues to build
on the bipartisan support that Congress has agreed to in the
past that would allow expedited environmental reviews on
areas of the forest where there is degradation of wildlife
habitat, wildland urban interface exposure to life threatening
wildfires, and overall improving the health of our nation’s
federal timber lands. The Resilient Federal Forest Act also
proposes an alternative to litigation in the form of arbitration
where litigants bring alternative management options to the
table rather than just offering up “no” as a solution. Our
national forests are one of this country’s greatest assets.
We believe that members of Congress should be
concerned about the overall health of those forests and the
need to restore and improve those forests as quickly as
possible by giving the US Forest Service and other agencies
all of the tools that they need to accomplish that task.
As We See It July 2019
“Relationships Matter”
By Danny Dructor
Congressman Westerman could easily spend his time
focusing on other issues that are important to his district, such
as health care. Yet he continues to introduce comprehensive
forest management reforms because he believes in our ability
to restore these federal lands back to health. This is one
benefit of our relationship with Congressman Westerman, and
we must reciprocate. Even if you don't have a federal forest
within your working circle, please tell your own federal
representatives that you support the Resilient Federal Forests
Act. Because relationships matter.
42 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

Master Logger Field Audits
The American Loggers Council endorsed Master Logger
Certification Program (ALC/MLC) is a true third party
certification for logging contractors. It involves on-the-ground
assessment of a logging contractor’s activities. This assessment is
performed by independent and unbiased verifiers evaluating
whether and how the logger meets the standard in their own
unique way. We all know that the steps to achieve objectives can
vary from one woodlot to another. This is also true for the
loggers themselves-one logger may take a completely different
path to achieve the Master Logger certification standard, but the
important part is that whatever they do is done to a high standard,
which benefits everyone.
The ALC/MLC standard is unique in that it gives each
state the right to adopt its own program, under the “Seven
Areas of Responsibility” that ALC adopted for all member
organizations to follow, that is specific to that particular
state. Each state submits a template to the MLC committee
for approval. This template then becomes the basis for the
program and how it is implemented.
One thing that is a requirement of the ALC/MLC
program is a mandate that there is an independent field audit for
each logging company that becomes Master Logger Certified
both initially and on an ongoing basis. These can come in
different forms and can come from different parties.
In Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin and the states in the
Northeast, the field verifiers are typically foresters or loggers that
have a deep understanding of logging operations. There is a
checklist that each auditor must review in the field to show
compliance with the “Seven Areas of Responsibility”. They
report on what they observe in the field and how it relates to the
standard. The reports are required to be professionally written, of
high quality and are to be produced in a timely manner. The field
verification report is crucial for the certification board to
understand the logger’s practices.
After the application and interview process is complete,
the Master Logger applicant will receive a call from a field
verifier, who will ask for five harvest sites and their locations,
with one of the harvest sites being active. The field verifier will
schedule a time to meet and begin the audit and three sites will be
chosen at random to visit. The field verifier will communicate
with the logger to go over what to expect and what to have on
hand at the time of inspection.
Warren Suchovsky has been a logger member of verifier
teams in MI, MN and WI since ML certification began in each of
these states. He currently is a member of the WI Certification
Board and still does field audits for new applicants in MI.
“I think that an important distinction between ML
Certification and Logger Education Programs is that logger
certification measures how well the loggers actually apply what
they have been taught,” Warren said. “It sets a higher standard
for quality workmanship than does merely meeting a set number
of hours of training.”
“It is important to recognize that a Master Logger is
responsible for the quality of workmanship of the company's
employees and subcontractors. They also need to challenge
foresters and landowners when they feel an aspect of a harvest
plan will probably have a negative impact on the sustainability of
forest resources,” Warren added.
An opening statement once on the site of the first visit
may be, “Tell me what you did here and how are you meeting the
landowner’s objectives?” This opening statement allows the
applicant to talk about the site prep, the harvest, the goals, the
landowner objectives, and outcomes. This could lead to a
discussion of the harvest plan and how that process was
achieved.
Next Soil and Water protection is looked at. The
verifier will inspect a water crossing, if one exists, and
water bars or other water controlling methods. They will
consider things including: How has soil been protected? Is there
brushing in the trails? Are there swamp mats at the landing?
Flotation tires or tracks? This is an opportunity for the logging
contractor to discuss their methods and how they achieve this
standard.
Other questions a verifier considers include: How are
aesthetics being managed, historical features and biodiversity
maintained? This is opportunity for the contractor to discuss how
they interpret and meet the landowner’s aesthetic objectives. Do
they want the landing seeded? Slash management near roads and
buildings? Have they minimized skid trails to the yard or
contoured the trails with the road? Are there any historical
features such as old homesteads? Rock walls? Cemeteries? If, so
how did they address them? Were there any sensitive areas of
biodiversity? Did the landowner have specific management goals
for wildlife?
Safety of the employees and operational function is
paramount for meeting the high bar set by Master Logger. A
logger should expect to have their safety plan available. This is
not for a simple tick of the box, but a logger must be ready to
answer when the last time was that they used the safety plan and
did it work correctly? Do they have first-aid kits available in each
machine? Are people CPR-1 st Aid trained? Does everyone know
the emergency action plan? These questions are pretty standard
during an audit. The auditor may also ask to look at a machine to
determine things like are the seat belts functioning? ROPS? Does
the operator operate in a safe manner? Is PPE being worn and Hi-
Vis?
All of these questions and fact finding are part of the
auditing of field performance in Master Logger. For many
candidates, they know they are meeting or exceeding the
standard, now they just need an independent verifier to prove it.
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer Winter 2018 2019 29 43

Congressional Delegation Updates
Driving the Forest Products
Industry Forward
Maine’s forest products
industry is entering a new era
marked by innovative products,
such as engineered wood building
materials, that combine the
traditional basis of our rural
economy with technological
advances. As Maine continues to
Sen. Susan Collins
make great strides in the forest
products sector, we must ensure that
the industry has the supply chain support it needs to take
full advantage of this growth. This includes addressing the
shortage of truckers needed to transport logs to mills and
finished products to market.
The shortage is severe and growing. Currently,
America’s trucking industry is in need of 51,000
additional drivers. By 2026, just seven years from now,
that shortage could increase to 175,000 drivers. This is
particularly troubling for Maine, where more than 84
percent of communities rely solely on trucks to move
goods and where 95 percent of our manufactured products
move by truck.
This shortage is exacerbated by a federal law that
prohibits drivers under 21 years of age from driving
across state lines. It simply makes no sense that a driver
under 21 can haul freight from Kittery to Fort Kent – 362
miles – but cannot go from Kittery to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, just three miles away. Most young people
who do not go to college have already chosen careers,
received training, and gotten jobs by the time they turn 21.
To address this shortage, I have cosponsored the
DRIVE Safe Act that would establish an apprenticeship
program for drivers under 21 years of age to operate
commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. These
apprentices would be required to complete 400 hours of
training and probationary status, during which time the
apprentice will have to demonstrate a thorough command
of safety procedures, from maneuvering the truck on the
roadway to properly securing loads.
The drivers providing the training would have to
be experienced with good driving records. The trucks used
in this training would be required to include advanced
safety features such as automatic active breaking systems,
event recorders, and speed limiters.
Reflecting the high training requirements for
apprentices, the DRIVE in DRIVE Safe Act stands for
Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant
Economy. This legislation will help attract more young
people to a field that provides steady work at good
wages. It will expand economic opportunity and keep
Maine’s forest products industry moving toward a bright
future.
Research into 3D Printing Opens New Doors for
Forest Products Industry
Maine is a state made of resourceful people who
look at challenges and see new possibilities; where others
may see low-value byproducts, we see the potential to
create something new. That creative drive is what has
sustained our forest economy for generations, driving us
to innovate as the world becomes increasingly digital and
find new ways to maximize rural Maine’s abundant
natural resources. In short – we need to use every part
from the pig but the squeal.
Fortunately, there is important and meaningful
progress being made to diversify market opportunities for
this important sector. Following work by the Economic
Development Assessment Team requested by myself and
Senator Collins, and the ensuing industry-led efforts of the
Forest Opportunity Roadmap (FOR)/Maine, there have
been many important advancements, from biomass
technology to mass timber, that are helping to revitalize
and strengthen this industry that is so important to
communities across our state. Among these exciting
developments: in May, the University of Maine and the
Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory
announced a $20 million partnership to advance efforts to
3D print large structures with biobased,
forest products.
This partnership between
two of the nation’s premier
research institutions is a major
new opportunity not only for
Maine’s wood market, but also for
the future of manufacturing in
Maine and the country. The
research done by UMaine and
ORNL – in tandem with the forest
products industry – will create Sen. Angus King
endless opportunities to produce
new bio-based materials that can be used to 3D print
products ranging from boat hull molds to shelters, and
much more. Progress in this area will also set up future
economic growth, including the possibility of 3D printing
larger, more ambitious structures like large beams for
large buildings and girders for bridges, which would
enable Maine to be a global center of new manufacturing
industries. This is who we are: innovative, forwardlooking,
and ready to do the hard work to build something
great. I can’t wait to see the work that’s done, and the
ways it will allow our forest products industry to grow for
future generations.
44 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

As we fight the climate
crisis in Congress, lawmakers
must recognize opportunities for
foresters to mitigate climate
change on the ground. On
average, the net growth in US
forests offsets between 10 and 12
percent of the nation’s carbon
dioxide emissions. Promoting
sustainable forestry is going to be
a critical aspect of the national
Rep. Chellie Pingree debate.
As a Mainer, I know just
how impactful the forestry industry is on our state’s
economy. Recent estimates show that the impact of the
forestry industry is valued at around $3.1 billion dollars
and around one out of every 20 jobs in Maine is in the
forest products sector. And as a lawmaker, I know that
rural economies, foresters, and loggers are key partners in
the fight against climate change—and that lawmakers
must consider the unique impact of these industries as we
move towards solutions.
Foresters, loggers, and rural communities feel the
Growing up working on
my parents small business in
Leeds, I have an appreciation for
small, family-run businesses that
operate all across Maine and the
challenges they face. Small
businesses make up over 90
percent of all Maine’s businesses
and hire the majority of our
workers, so it’s crucial that we
make sure they have the resources
they need to succeed.
The importance of small
Rep. Jared Golden businesses to Maine is why I
serve on the House Small
Business Committee. Last month, each member of the
committee had the opportunity to invite a small business
owner down to Washington to testify before the committee
and tell Congress what they needed us to focus on.
For me, inviting members of the forest products
industry to testify was an obvious choice. It’s a cornerstone
of our state’s economy, and I know that most logging
operations in Maine are family-run small businesses. So
about a month ago, I had the privilege of hosting Pleasant
River Lumber co-owners, Chris and Jason Bruchu, in
Washington D.C. Pleasant River Lumber is a fourth
generation logging company based in Piscataquis County.
The small business employs around 300 Mainers — big by
Maine’s standards, but still a small business. One of my
favorite details about Pleasant River’s business is that they
stamp every piece of their lumber with a “Made in
America” seal.
effects of climate change on their business every day.
Politicians can’t ignore the impact of climate change and
expect rural economies to thrive in future generations.
Instead, we must give foresters, loggers, and rural
communities the tools and resources they need to help
mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and preserve their
industries in the future.
Forest owners and farmers are the original green
jobs, helping to mitigate climate change by improving the
health of our natural resources. By being effective
stewards, they increase the amount of carbon stored in
trees, soil, forests, and even everyday household
products.
We’ve made great strides thus far—like the 2019
Farm Bill’s supports for low-emission energy practices in
forestry—but I know lawmakers can do better to lean on
the experts who know our natural resources best.
As always, please reach out to my office at any
time to make your voice heard with issues that you would
like to see us address in Congress. I am eager to hear
from you and hopefully see you out and about in
Maine.
During the Small Business Committee hearing,
Jason Brochu emphasized America’s need to engage in
trade practices that protect American workers and products,
such as the administration’s duties on softwood lumber.
Jason and I also talked about the importance of expanding
reliable broadband services throughout rural Maine and
about the need to prepare young people to enter the logging
workforce.
With input from the Brochus and other Maine
logging businesses, here are some of the things I’m
working on to help loggers address these issues:
• I’m supporting the administration’s softwood lumber
tariffs. Canada should not be allowed to subsidize their
timber industry without retribution from our government.
• I’m drafting legislation called the Small Business Last
Mile Act. It will provide grants to small businesses to
connect them with broadband service in rural areas.
I’m working to pass the DRIVE-Safe Act, which
would help address the shortage of truck drivers in the
logging industry. The legislation would provide a rigorous
apprenticeship program to 18-21 year olds and allow them
to drive trucks across state lines upon certification and
completion of the program.
It’s important for Congress to hear directly from
loggers to help guide our work. That’s why every chance I
have, I come back to Maine to talk to folks throughout the
Second District and visit their small businesses to learn
first-hand how I can best represent them.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in
Congress. I hope you will continue to keep me informed on
the issues that matter to you.
The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 45

34 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

The Logger’s Voice ▪ Winter 2018 31

Professional Logging
Contractors of Maine
110 Sewall St.
P.O. Box 1036
Augusta, ME 04332