PLC Loggers Voice Fall 2020

Volume 14 Issue 4 | Fall 2020

A Quarterly Publication of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine

Board of Directors

Tony Madden, President

Cover: Garrett Overlock operating a CTL Land

Management Services forwarder on a job in Jefferson

September 2020.

Chuck Ames, 1 st Vice President

Will Cole, 2 nd Vice President

Duane Jordan, Secretary

Andy Irish, Treasurer

Jim Nicols, Past President

Aaron Adams

Kurt Babineau

Donald Cole

A quarterly publication of:

The Professional Logging

Contractors of Maine

Tom Cushman

Brent Day

Marc Greaney

Steve Hanington

Robert Linkletter

Scott Madden

Randy Kimball

Ron Ridley

108 Sewall St., P.O. Box 1036

Augusta, ME 04332

Phone: 207.688.8195

www.maineloggers.com

In-Depth

10 Logging in Crisis Part 2

Brian Souers

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

Supporting Member

Spotlight

24

Wadsworth Woodlands

Also Inside

4 Calendar and Updates

6 President’s Report

7 New Members

8 Executive Director’s Report

20 Log A Load Auction

21 Log A Load Golf Tournaments

22 Trucking

28 MLOP 2020

29 Safety

35 Master Logger

36 Maine Forest Service

40 ALC Updates

44 Congressional Updates

Email news, notices, and correspondence

▪ jehumphreycommunications@gmail.com

Event

Calendar

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

The Logger’s Voice ▪ Fall 2020

5

From the President

By Tony Madden

Hello everyone,

I hope you and your families are healthy. I know the logging business is not healthy, low

grade wood products have been very slow this summer and because of COVID-19, these markets may

not recover for quite a while. Maine loggers are a resilient group and we will get through this. Let’s

hope for a better fall and winter season.

I am excited and proud to lead the PLC over the next two years as your new President. I want

to thank Jimmy Nicols for his excellent leadership the past two and a half years, especially the last six

months leading our association though these difficult times. I would also like to thank Jimmy for his

long term enthusiasm and vision for our industry: 23 years ago Jimmy became the 2nd President of the

Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and he has been an important member of the organization

and a leader since the very beginning.

I cannot lead in a vacuum and hope that all of our members will get involved with the PLC

wherever they can. Please communicate as often as possible with me or with Dana to ensure this

organization is representing your company and doing all it can to help you at every turn.

With the leadership of the PLC and Donald Burr, we will continue to expand our excellent

safety and training programs and loggers should take advantage of the online training options we have

created to help save you money and create efficiencies. Donald Burr is also available for free safety

consultation with PLC members.

The 2020 COVID-19 virus has made life extremely difficult for the world’s population. I

thought that Maine loggers would be ok as society still needs paper products and building materials

and because of the nature of our business it’s easy for loggers and truck drivers to social distance, as a

of matter fact many loggers prefer social distancing! But because of the worldwide economic

slowdown and the Pixellle mill digester explosion, Maine loggers are struggling, probably more so

than I have ever seen in my 40 year career. As a rule I am opposed to government help but, Maine

loggers need help now and without market recovery and expansion, I'm not sure there is another path

forward!

I want to thank Senator Collins for her work on the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and the

entire Maine Congressional Delegation for taking the lead on the Loggers Relief Act. The PPP

program allowed logging contractors and truckers to keep employees paid at a time when we had little

or no income coming in. This was a lifeline, but it might not be enough to keep all of us around to see

brighter days. We look forward to working with all of our state and federal representatives to get

through this unprecedented time and hopefully something will be done by Congress and the Trump

Administration to help this fall. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of our Delegation and

see how they can help.

I encourage all of our members to use the PLC as a resource during this unprecedented time

and if there is anything we can do, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Good Luck and Be Safe!

Tony


Welcome New Members

River's Edge Logging and Land

Clearing LLC of Sebago, ME

joined the PLC as a new Contractor

Member in August of 2020. The

company has a professional staff of

1. For more information contact

Trevor Chaplin at 207-595-0406 or

email

riversedgelogging@gmail.com

Kimball Logging and Firewood of

Poland, ME joined the PLC as a

new Affiliated Contractor Member

in August of 2020. The company is

Master Logger certified and has a

professional staff of 1. For more

information contact Ronald Kimball

at 207-998-2751 or email

timberball@aol.com

Bandit Industries of Michigan

joined the PLC as a new Supporting

Member in July of 2020. Founded in

1983 with six employees, Bandit

today employs over 400 people in

over 280,000 square feet of

manufacturing space, serving 56

countries with over 50 different

models of hand-fed chippers, stump

grinders, whole tree chippers, The

Beast horizontal grinders, track

carriers and skid steer attachments.

For more information contact Kylee

Theisen at 989-561-2270 or email

ktheisen@banditchippers

Quality Saw Sales & Service of

Dover-Foxcroft joined the PLC as a

new Supporting Member in June of

2020. The company is a retail &

service business that specializes in

the sales, sharpening and repairing

of saw blades and miscellaneous

related items. For more information

contact Jason Brochu at 207-732-

6666 or email

jason@pleasantriverlumber.com

Not a member but interested in joining the

PLC?

Contact Jessica at (207) 688-8195 or email

jessica@maineloggers.com


7

From the Executive

Director

The Year or More in Review (Belated)

By Dana Doran

Each year at our Annual Meeting, I

provide an overview of the prior twelve

months in terms of the organization and all

that has transpired. Since our annual

meeting was postponed back in late April

and rescheduled for October 16th, 2020, I

decided that it was still important to review

what the PLC has done since the last time

the full membership convened even though

it has been more like 18 months instead of

12. As 2020 grinds along, this review in my

mind is a good thing because not only does

it help provide positive perspective, but it

also documents what has been

accomplished despite very trying

circumstances.

As most are well aware, 2019-20

has been one for the ages and can only be

described as a bit like Jekyll and Hyde.

Since we last got together as a full

membership in Oxford (April 2019), the last

half of 2019 and the winter of 2020 showed

signs of a strong recovery. While the

weather was not completely cooperative,

there were positive signs throughout the

industry as all markets, except for biomass,

were wide open for sales. However, while

confidence grew and most of the

membership noted that they had one of their

best winters in a long time, the bottom fell

out almost overnight starting in late

February and it hasn’t gotten any better

since. The rearview mirror is now foggy,

and most are looking for an exit to take a

breather or shed some weight before

moving forward.

The majority of 2020 has been the

most challenging and unprecedented year in

the history of our state, and it is not over

yet. The organization has been relatively

stable, but it’s plans for growth and

expansion have been curbed a bit as a result

of the pandemic. That said, this pales in


comparison to the struggles that PLC

members have experienced in the last seven

months. If the old saying, “what doesn’t kill

you will only make you stronger,” is true,

then that is the only way to describe 2020

and the challenges that face this industry

both now and into the future.

In the past 18 months, the

organization has added 23 new contractor

members and has reached the pinnacle of

200 members for the first time in its history.

This accounts for about 50% of all

contractors in Maine but more than 80% of

all timber that is harvested annually.

The growth in contractors has taken

place as a result of the PLC Board’s

decision to diversify its membership criteria

in 2016 by providing an opportunity for a

broader range of contractors to join. This

diversification includes opportunities for

those that are involved with chipping,

grinding, trucking and other components of

the process to harvest and truck wood from

stump to mill to take advantage of all that

the PLC has to offer.

As you may recall, in late 2017, the

PLC, as a result of its collaboration with

Acadia Insurance and the Cross Agency,

was able to create a position for its first

Safety and Training Coordinator. In the

spring of 2019, Donald Burr joined the PLC

full time to take on this role. Mr. Burr was

a logger for 22 years, working primarily as a

feller buncher operator for Madden

Timberlands (Scott Madden, PLC

Immediate Past President). He is also the

lead instructor and coordinator for the very

successful Mechanized Logging Operations

Program in 2017, 2018, 2019 and again in

the summer of 2020.

Safety, training and loss control are

major priorities for the PLC. Mr. Burr’s

portfolio includes oversight over the PLC’s

training program development and

coordination, including our Spring safety

series, but also developing additional

Doran Continued Page 16

The Logger’s Voice ▪ Fall 2020 9

R.C. McLucas active timber harvest underway in Waterford in September 2020.

This is Part II of a series of articles, “Logging in

Crisis” that began in the summer 2020 edition of The

Logger’s Voice. In the series, the PLC is examining the

effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent mill losses on

Maine’s logging industry. In this article, we provide the

latest updates on the overall situation, and speak with PLC

members who were interviewed for the first article to see

what has changed, how they are adapting, and what the

future may hold for them.

In September of this year, something happened that

Richard McLucas, owner of R.C. McLucas, a PLC Member

and Master Logger certified company operating in Maine

and eastern New Hampshire, had never seen before.

“The week before last was the first week since I

started in 1988 that I could not move one stick of

pulpwood,” Richard said. “I could move firewood, but as

far as taking pulp to a paper company, I could not move

one stick.”

At the time of the conversation it was nearly

October, six months into a COVID-19 pandemic that had

disrupted global economies and wood markets, and five

months since the Pixelle Specialty Solutions pulp mill in

Jay exploded - erasing about 20 percent of Maine’s total

pulpwood market in a few seconds.

Since those two events, the Sappi Westbrook mill

had announced it would be shutting down its biomass plant

by the end of the year, eliminating one of the last regional

consumers of biomass - already an unprofitable market for

many loggers. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in the state’s few


remaining paper mills were beginning to disrupt operations

and further weaken wood buying for mills already slowed

by lower demand for paper. Pixelle, in a move most saw as

ominous, laid off an additional 51 workers including most

of its wood buyers.

In northern Maine, as uncertain markets cut

demand for wood and the pandemic complicated U.S.-

Canada trade and travel, Seven Islands Land Co. in August

idled most of its contractors until Oct. 1. In late September,

LandVest Inc. announced all contractors in Aroostook

County not working on pre-commercial thinning (spruce/

fir), would be shut down until the end of the year.

As the crisis dragged on, there was anger at the

lack of action to help the industry, even as federal

assistance for fishermen and farmers - including growers of

Christmas trees and hemp - made headlines.

Most loggers agreed the federal Paycheck

Protection Program, though not created specifically for

loggers, did help their companies, but said since then

nothing substantial had happened. In the absence of aid,

debt climbed, equipment purchases slowed or stopped, and

business equity was tapped just to maintain payrolls and

payments.

For most loggers in the southern half of the state,

the loss of Pixelle’s pulp mill continued to dominate their

list of issues. Richard said not enough has been done to

encourage the rebuilding of the mill, and the damage from

its permanent loss is something he fears many do not fully

appreciate.

“I don’t think they get it, it isn’t just the logging

Crisis Continued Page 12


Crisis Continued from Page 11 16

that’s going to get hit, it’s going to be tire companies, fuel

companies, convenience stores, you could go on and on,”

Richard said. “It’s getting tougher and tougher and tougher

here.”

That same domino

effect could be experienced

by Maine’s economy as a

whole if the logging

industry continues to

weaken, ultimately

collapsing the foundation of

the state’s entire $7.7 billion

forest economy, loggers

warn.

Despite the

warnings, by early fall

2020, many logging

companies across the state

were reporting major

struggles. Most could still

move plenty of saw logs,

but described other markets

as weak or nonexistent, and

prices as poor. In many

areas, the limited markets

were reducing the ability to

go into a wood lot and cut

what should be cut to

manage the stand properly

and preserve forest health

while still showing a profit

for both the landowner and

the logger.

The crisis for

Maine’s logging industry

was deepening.

It is what it is

L & A Ridley

Logging Inc. in Jay is a

small, third-generation

family logging business,

fully mechanized and

efficient. The PLC Member

and Master Logger certified

company is used to dealing

with challenges and

adapting to them. Ron

Ridley, his son, Corey, and

truck driver Jeff Rowe make

up the entire staff.

These days, the

R.C. McLucas grapple skidder in Waterford (above) and

CTL Land Management Services forwarder in Jefferson

(below).

challenges and demands of the business are greater than

ever. Ron spoke on the phone in late September while

delivering a load of wood on another long work day. The

previous week he had broken a rib and Corey had broken

his right hand within a few

days of each other, but they

were doing what they could

to keep operating because

they had no other choice.

“It’s been rough

lately, not good timing, we

can’t do everything we’re

supposed to be doing that’s

all,” Ron said.

Located just a few

miles from the Pixelle pulp

mill, the company was hit

hard by its loss, but has

struggled on, finding other

buyers and continuing to

operate. Markets are poor,

and Ron does not pay

himself every week.

“Hardwood’s

starting to go a little bit

better, softwood pulp’s

nonexistent, biomass has

been holding up for us, but

we’re looking at cutbacks

with the fall maintenance

coming up,” Ron said.

The latest round of

layoffs at Pixelle is, “not a

good sign,” Ron said,

worrying like others that it

may mean rebuilding is not

going to happen and the

market for softwood pulp

may never recover.

The Ridleys are

loggers by choice. Like

many in the woods business,

they have skills they could

take into another industry.

Ron is a diesel mechanic

and a truck driver. Corey

has his degree for forestry

and is working towards his

forestry license. Both are

skilled heavy equipment

operators. They have

options, but they want to

continue logging, to keep a

business and a way of life


Gavin McLain of CTL Land Management Services walking a harvest

site in Jefferson in early October, 2020. CTL has diversified its

operations to include a large kiln-dried firewood business and a

sawmill (below).

going that three generations of Ridleys have chosen.

Although he and every other logger the PLC spoke

to in this series remained reluctant to ask for aid, the lack of

help for loggers while other industries continue receiving

federal assistance has been very disappointing, Ron said.

“It is what it is, we’ll get by with or without them,

it just seems disrespectful that other people get help and

loggers don’t,” Ron said.

Back in June, Ron

said he would like to have a

business plan that is more

than just, “survive.” Three

months later, and with mud

season coming up before an

uncertain winter, it was still

not possible to do that.

“I think most of us

just want to survive and

we’re struggling to do that,”

Ron said. “We’ll hang on

until springtime and I’ll

probably reassess things

then, I don’t know what else

we can do.”

Diversify to survive

Not long ago, CTL Land Management Services in

Washington had a business model built largely on revenue

from softwood pulp trucked to the Pixelle mill. As recently

as early April of this year, CTL was delivering 30-40

truckloads to Jay per week, keeping five mechanized

logging crews in the woods.

“I could make a living on delivering loads of pine

pulp to Jay, literally it was a profit center of the business,”

Gavin McLain, who founded CTL with Kyle Overlock in

1998, said. “It’s a completely different business now than

what we were accustomed to.”

The PLC Member and Master Logger company

might well have closed its

doors by now had Gavin and

Kyle not seen the

handwriting on the wall

several years ago and begun

to diversify the business.

While they had no way of

knowing a pandemic was

coming or that their primary

consuming mill would be

lost to a disaster, years of

watching the trend of rising

costs for loggers without

higher wood prices from

wood buyers to compensate

for those costs had

convinced them logging was on a path to unprofitability.

CTL first branched out by launching a kiln dried

firewood business several years ago. That business has

since grown so well that the company will at the end of this

year double its firewood production capacity to meet

demand, Gavin said.

While the firewood operation was a success, that

Crisis continued Page 14


13

Crisis Continued from Page 1316

alone was not going to be enough to make the business

profitable long-term, so this year CTL took a much bigger

step, building a large sawmill and branching out

aggressively into land purchases and sales, and log

purchases and sales.

The sawmill has

come on line in the wake

of the Pixelle explosion,

and CTL is quickly

ramping up production of

value-added hardwood

industrial products from

rough-sawn lumber to

dozens of varieties of

wooden brackets/

packaging components for

a local manufacturing

company. A tracked wood

chipper has been

purchased to allow CTL to

expand into more

commercial land clearing.

The company has

kept its workforce intact, but is down to three mechanized

logging crews, shifting many employees out of the woods

into its other operations. The three remaining wood crews

combined are now averaging only 10 loads of hardwood

pulp a week for outside sale, the rest of their production

goes almost entirely to CTL’s operations.

“We’re using the equipment just to create the raw

materials we need to do these other things,” Gavin said.

“We have moved to a complete focus on diversification.”

The shift means changes in both equipment and

harvesting methods. With softwood pulp nearly impossible

to move and biomass paying poorly, CTL - like many other

logging companies in Maine - is being forced to focus more

on saw timber - and less on cutting the variety of wood that

it normally would to achieve the best forest management

outcomes.

“If you’re going to continue to do this, you’re

going to have to cut logs, that’s just way it is,” Gavin said.

“Our hand has been forced to basically go to the woods and

get whatever’s going to make a paycheck, you can’t

practice forestry the way we have traditionally practiced

forestry, and that is unfortunate because that’s a big reason

we got into this work in the first place, but for right now,

that is the reality.”

We can turn this around

The Sappi Westbrook Mill.is scheduled shut down its #9

paper machine and biomass plant by the end of the year.

White Oak Inc. is based in St. Francis on Maine’s

northern border, far from the Pixelle pulp mill and the

looming closure of Sappi Westbrook’s biomass facility, but

like many other logging and trucking firms in the north it

has had its share of challenges since the pandemic began.

The economic shocks that followed the global

spread of COVID-19 slowed demand for many wood-based

products, eventually dropping wood purchases and prices

in the north just as they did in

the south. The loss of Jay,

meanwhile, created an

oversupply of pulp in the

entire state, making it harder

for northern Maine loggers to

get rid of pulp as mills to the

south that were still operating

purchased what they needed

closer to home. Contracts in

the pipeline were canceled.

Banks became reluctant to

lend to woods companies. As

spring turned to summer,

major landowners began

shutting down crews.

In August, White Oak

was one of the companies

affected when one of the

major land companies it works on idled down because of

the markets and - with 20 families depending on his

business to put food on the table - owner Mike Nadeau

struggled through all of this to find a way forward.

Speaking on a call at the end of September, Mike

was upbeat after a rough summer: Finally, his crews were

going back to working at full capacity the next week,

thanks to Trucking GH Inc., Seven Islands Land Company,

Landvest, Blanchet Logging, and Prentiss and Carlisle, but

had taken this downtime to find new efficiencies, crosstrain

workers to run a larger variety of equipment, and

come up with a better, more adaptable business. He

foresaw more rough times ahead, but felt his company had

become stronger because of it.

“We gained a lot of knowledge and it made us

better at the end of the day,” Mike said. “If we don’t try to

adjust here and find different alternatives, we won’t be in

business.”

Mike credited his workers with stepping up to the

challenge after he told them White Oak could not survive

with a “business as usual” approach. He thanked his

lenders for working with him to gain time to retool his

operation during the downtime, and landowners and others

in the forest products chain in his region for pulling

together to try and find ways to keep everyone going.

Mike believes 2020 has exposed weaknesses in

Maine’s forest economy, and that now is the time to take a

hard look at the way things are being done and seek better

alternatives and ideas.

He pointed to the example of Sweden, where the

business model for logging and forestry emphasizes steady,

reliable harvesting that loggers, mills and landowners can


count on from year to year and plan around versus the

unpredictable boom and bust cycle of timber harvesting

here in the U.S.

Why is that important? Because a business owner

can deal with many of the elements in the woods industry,

but when you have health insurance and a quality of life

that you normally provide to your employees, sudden,

unplanned work stoppages like what happened to many

logging firms this summer will eventually kill a business.

Even the best professional contractors may not survive this,

Mike said.

“We’ve got to start looking at these things as a

state and an industry, and start planning and finding a better

way,” Mike said. “It takes money to do that, but we need to

do it.”

Mike said he believes there are more rough days

ahead for Maine loggers, but he has no plans to give up,

and for the moment is just grateful his crews have the

chance to operate at 100 percent capacity in October.

“How long will it last? We can only pray it lasts for

a while, because next year I feel is going to be even worse

than this year,” Mike said. “But we can turn this around,

we’re at a low point, but we can come out of it, if we work

together.”

At the time this article went to print, federal

legislation for logger and timber hauler relief introduced by

Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Maine Rep Jared Golden and

supported by Maine’s entire Congressional delegation

remained stalled in Congress. Similarly, efforts to gain

eligibility for loggers to access already-approved pandemic

relief funds in the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program were ongoing but had

not succeeded. The PLC was an architect of both efforts, and

is continuing strongly advocating for Maine loggers.

Meanwhile, the PLC successfully advocated for the

State of Maine to include loggers in Phase II of an Economic

Recovery Grant Program that will use CARES Act relief

funding to support Maine-based businesses and non-profit

organizations hit by the pandemic. The funding originates

from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund and will be

awarded in the form of grants to alleviate the disruption of

operations suffered by Maine’s small businesses and nonprofits

as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PLC is

grateful to Maine’s Department of Economic and Community

Development Commissioner, Heather Johnson, for making a

point of reaching out to the PLC to ensure our members take

advantage of this grant opportunity, and for cohosting a

webinar on Oct. 7 to provide guidance on it and answer

questions from members.

R.C. McLucas slasher at work in

Waterford in September.


15

Doran Continued from Page 9

resources and series including online options, which have

become more important than ever in 2020. In January, Mr.

Burr finished work on the NE Safe Logger Program, a

fully online entry level training program for new hires in

the industry that was rolled out to the membership shortly

thereafter. To date, more than 35 individuals have taken

advantage of this convenient online program and we expect

that number to double in the near future.

In 2020, the PLC continued its strong record of

offering professional development for its membership,

albeit in a different venue. As a result of the pandemic, we

were forced to postpone our in-person safety training series

for our members. While this was disappointing, it was the

reality of the situation and we endeavored to provide

online training to all of our members from the convenience

of their own homes, garages or pickup trucks. While this

isn’t the preferred method for the long run, it certainly did

provide the opportunity to diversify what we have done in

the past and we are hopeful to have our first in person

safety training in early December with a full return to

training in the spring of 2021.

In June 2019 and 2020, the PLC, in collaboration

with the Maine Community College System, kicked off the

third and fourth years of its Mechanized Logging

Operations Program (MLOP) in Stratton and Greenbush

Maine. The program was created thanks to a partnership

between three Maine community colleges, the PLC, and

industry partners including Milton CAT and Nortrax/John

Deere. MLOP gives students a broad overview of the most

common mechanical systems found in modern timber

harvesting equipment, and an understanding of the

variables of timber growth, tree species, and markets. It

also includes a strong emphasis on safety. The program

graduated 15 highly trained students in September 2019

and 10 students on October 9, 2020.

The PLC also had another successful run at the

Maine Legislature during 2020, even though the session

was cut short by about a month because of the pandemic.

First, the PLC held its annual legislative breakfast in

Augusta on March 5th. Over 50 legislators attended and

nearly 125 members and supporting members came to hear

about the issues facing the industry and the ways that the

Legislature could help. Speaker of the House Sara Gideon

joined us and commended the PLC on its role in the

legislative process and all of the good work that the

organization has done to protect and improve one of

Maine’s most important industries. This also provided the

perfect backdrop for the PLC to release its new economic

impact study, which showed that while things have

dropped off considerably since 2014, the overall economic

impact of logging in Maine as of 2017 was still over $620

million to the Maine economy and 9,000 jobs.

Three out of five of the PLC’s priority bills were

passed and signed into law by the Governor this past

session: 1) LD 1498, An Act To Provide Equity for

Commercial Vehicles on Roads and Bridges in Maine -

since 2003, a Canadian bridge weight advantage

(Madawaska, Van Buren, Calais) has led to $108 million in

lost economic opportunity for Maine’s loggers and truckers

and 25 jobs/annually because of an unlevel playing field

with Canadian contractors. This bill was carried over from

2019 to allow time for an economic analysis to be

done. At the end of the day, we want a level playing field

with our counterparts from Canada. The Transportation

Committee voted unanimously to support the removal of

the Canadian trucking weight exemption for wood fiber

products (logs, chips, kraft pulp) beginning on December

31, 2025. While this is not immediate, it does remove this

blatant economic advantage that the Canadians were given

almost twenty years ago; 2) LD 2005, An Act To Amend

the Law Governing Maximum Length Limits for Truck

Tractor Semitrailers. This bill takes care of a technical

issue on trailer length that came up in 2019 and put many

of our members out of service and out of work; 3) on a

nearly unanimous vote, the Legislature voted to approve a

revised Supplemental Budget which included $2.5 million

for Community College workforce training and $1.5

million for CTE’s to buy new equipment. This funding

will keep the MLOP program running for at least two to

three more

years.

Doran Continued Page 18


The Logger’s Voice ▪ Summer 2019 17

Doran Continued from Page 16

Unfortunately, one bill, LD 912 – An Act to

Establish the Wood Energy Investment Program, did not

get taken up and looks like it will die along with 400 other

bills from the 130th Legislature. LD 912 encourages new

thermal energy markets in rural Maine to provide a path

forward to replace four million tons of lost wood energy

production. We will introduce this bill again in 2021.

At the federal level, the PLC has also had a strong

impact, but our work is not done yet.

As it was clear that COVID 19 was going to wreak

havoc upon our economy, Congress went to work on an

aid package to help those who they thought would be most

impacted. Included in that package was $16 billion for

farmers, $2 billion for fisherman and $0 for loggers.

A survey of the membership of the PLC conducted

in early May 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 on Maine's

loggers/truckers revealed 88 percent of respondents have

been negatively impacted by the pandemic. My guess is

that today, this percentage is probably closer to 100.

Those impacts include revenue losses, layoffs, loss

of clients, reduced productivity, and inability to plan for

the future. Many respondents reported experiencing all of

these effects. The companies responding to the survey

represented 44 percent of the total membership of the PLC,

and the predicted harvest losses for this subgroup alone

would represent a minimum 6.8 percent of Maine’s total

wood harvest for the most recent year for which data is

available, 2018. As time goes on and market impacts are

continuing to spiral, it is our prediction that a minimum of

20% of the annual timber harvest could be impacted. A

20% reduction in timber harvesting means a nearly $86

million direct economic loss for the Maine economy and

over 600 jobs eliminated. Clearly, a lot is on the line.

In July, Senator Collins and Congressman Golden

introduced the Loggers Relief Act to help this industry.

The bill received full support from the entire Maine

delegation, including Senator King and Congresswoman

Pingree when it was introduced. The leadership of the

Maine delegation on this issue has been unwavering and

once again, Maine has taken the lead just like our state

motto.

Under this proposal, $2.5 billion would be

reserved for contractors that harvested/delivered wood to

various mills across the country in 2019 to apply for low

interest loans/grants through the U.S. Department of

Agriculture to assist them with their ability to continue

business operations for the next twelve months while their

markets attempt to recover, much like the assistance

already given to producers of agricultural and seafood

commodities. If a company that applies for and receives

the funding can prove that their revenues or volume

delivered are down 10% or more from 2019, the funds will

be treated as a grant and forgiven. If company revenues are

down less than 10% than what they declared in 2019, the

funds will become a low interest loan and need to be

repaid.

Unfortunately, Congress has not taken action on

this bill as of October 16, 2020 and all other federal

programs that have been administered to help businesses

cope with the pandemic’s impact do not work well for

loggers and log haulers. In the absence of Congressional

action and to ensure that loggers and log haulers are

afforded assistance similar to their counterparts in other

natural resource-based industries such as farming and

fishing, Senator Collins and Congressman Golden have

sent letters to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to urge the

Department to use its broad authority and funds already

provided by Congress to immediately make financial

assistance available to loggers and log haulers impacted by

the pandemic. The CARES Act appropriated $9.5 billion to

USDA – which was leveraged with additional Commodity

Credit Corporation funds for a total of $16 billion – to

“respond to coronavirus by providing support for

agricultural producers impacted by coronavirus.”

According to current USDA interpretation,

however, loggers and log haulers are ineligible to receive

any of this relief – despite the fact that there is sufficient

USDA precedent for including these individuals in the

definition of “agricultural producer.” For example,

USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grants define

“agricultural producer” as “an individual or entity that

produces as Agricultural Commodity [including timber and

14 18 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995

forestry products] through participation in the day-to-day

labor, management, and field operations; or has the legal

right to harvest an Agricultural Commodity.” This

precedent could be applied to CFAP, similar to what the

Department has done for other fiber producers, to ensure

these businesses that are the backbone of the forest

products industry can emerge from this crisis. The PLC and

the American Loggers Council will continue to push the

White House and USDA to help loggers and truckers

through this unfortunate time.

And lastly, the PLC has continued its leadership

role as the state sponsor of the Log-A-Load for Kids

Campaign. Our Annual Meeting was postponed this past

spring and the in person auction we normally hold along

with it, but we are persevering for the kids. On October

16th, we held a virtual auction and raised an additional

$59,439 for our partners at Children’s Miracle Network

Hospitals. In August and September, we held two

successful golf tournaments in Lincoln and Lovell that

raised $77,290. With the generous support of our members

and the forest products industry, we have raised $136,729

thus far for Log A Load in 2020. The generosity of loggers

never ceases to amaze me.

The past year has been the most challenging we

have ever seen in our history, but we will get through it and

look forward to our continued work on your behalf.


19

Log A Load Auction 2020!

$59,439 raised!

On the evening of Oct. 16, the

Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of

Maine for the first time held its annual Log

A Load for Maine Kids Auction as a virtual event, raising a

record $59,439 for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals in

Maine!

Held at Randall Madden’s garage in Milford, the

event was live streamed by a WABI-TV crew and drew

online participants from across Maine and beyond.

Results from the live auction, silent auction, and

donations allowed the PLC to exceed its fund-raising goal

of $50,000.

“We’d like to thank all those participants, sponsors,

donors, volunteers and partners who made it

possible for the auction to be so successful

despite the challenges of the pandemic,”

PLC Executive Director Dana Doran, said. “We had never

attempted a virtual event like this and are proud that in this,

the PLC’s 25th anniversary year, we can say we overcame

the challenges to support Log A Load once again.”

Funds raised in the auction will go to Barbara Bush

Children’s Hospital in Portland and Northern Light’s

Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, both Children’s

Miracle Network Hospitals.

Great job everyone, and special thanks to

auctioneer Scott Hanington!


Log A Load Golf Tournaments

More than $77,000 raised!

The Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of

Maine held its annual Log A Load for Maine Kids Golf

Tournaments this August and September, raising more than

$77,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in

Maine!

Last year the PLC expanded its fund-raising efforts

to hold two Log A Load golf tournaments, adding a new

southern tournament at the Kezar Lake Country Club in

Lovell, Maine in addition

to the annual northern

tournament at JATO

Highlands Golf Course

in Lincoln, Maine. The

southern Maine

tournament was held on

Aug. 28, and the northern

tournament on Sept. 18.

The PLC

partners with the Barbara

Bush Children’s Hospital

(BBCH) and Northern

Light Health Foundation

to hold the tournaments.

BBCH in Portland and

Northern Light’s Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor

are Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“The generosity of the PLC’s members, friends,

and supporters has never been more inspiring than now,

with every individual, business, and organization that

stepped up to

participate in this

effort dealing with

unprecedented

challenges because

of the ongoing

COVID-19

pandemic,” PLC

Executive Director

Dana Doran said. “This is easily the toughest year our

industry has experienced since PLC’s Log A Load efforts

began 25 years ago, yet this group always comes through

for the Log A Load cause and the kids.”

Like all events held by the PLC since the COVID-

19 pandemic began, the tournaments were held with social

distancing and safety protocols. The PLC appreciates

everyone’s cooperation and efforts to make both

tournaments safe!

As always, thank you to the many generous

sponsors, donors and volunteers and participants who

stepped up in a very difficult year to make both

tournaments successful. We couldn’t do it without

you!


Trucking

Trucking Industry News...

FMCSA releases Hours of Service Final Rule, making 4

key rule changes

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

(FMCSA) has published their long-awaited Hours of

Service Final Rule.

For nearly two years, the FMCSA has been

crafting the changes to current Hours of Service

regulations that were debuted on the morning of May 14.

The agency has promised that the regulation changes will

increase flexibility for U.S. truckers while maintaining

highway safety.

“America’s truckers are doing a heroic job keeping

our supply chains open during this unprecedented time and

these rules will provide them greater flexibility to keep

America moving,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary

Elaine L. Chao.

FMCSA says that they drafted the Final Rule after

consulting more than 8,000 public comments from

industry stakeholders, law enforcement, safety groups, and

drivers themselves.

The Final Rule features four key changes to

existing Hours of Service requirements.

• The Agency will increase safety and flexibility for

the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after 8 hours

of consecutive driving and allowing the break to be

satisfied by a driver using on-duty, not driving status,

rather than off-duty status.

• The Agency will modify the sleeper-berth

exception to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours

off duty into two periods: an 8/2 split, or a 7/3 split—with

neither period counting against the driver’s 14‐hour

driving window.

• The Agency will modify the adverse driving

conditions exception by extending by two hours the

maximum window during which driving is permitted.

The Agency will change the short-haul exception available

to certain commercial drivers by lengthening the drivers’

maximum on‐duty period from 12 to 14 hours and

extending the distance limit within which the driver may

operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.

Many industry stakeholders had been hoping for a

rule change that would allow drivers to “pause” the 14

hour clock, but the FMCSA said that they decided against

this change after consulting public comment. The new

Hours of Service rules will be implemented 120 days after

the Final Rule is published in the Federal Register.

Cross-border Prohibition for CMV drivers with Insulin

Treated Diabetes Mellitus (ITDM) Removed...

The FMCSA is alerting motor carriers and CMV

drivers that cross the U.S.-Canada border that on Sept. 24,

2019, FMCSA and Canada formally updated their medical

reciprocity agreement with Canada and removed the cross

-border prohibition for CMV drivers with Insulin

Treated Diabetes Mellitus (ITDM). Letter exchanged by

FMCSA and Transport Canada may be viewed on the

International Safety Programs webpage https://

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/international-programs. American

Borders Division, via email at Carla.vagnini@dot.gov, or

by phone at (202) 366-3771.

DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance

Notice…

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, Pub.


Trucking

L. 115-334, (Farm Bill) removed hemp from the

definition of marijuana under the Controlled

Substances Act. Under the Farm Bill, hempderived

products containing a concentration of up

to 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are not

controlled substances. THC is the primary

psychoactive component of marijuana. Any

product, including “Cannabidiol” (CBD)

products, with a concentration of more than 0.3%

THC remains classified as marijuana, a Schedule I

drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Learn

more at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/

USDOT/bulletins/27bd19f

First section of Presque Isle Bypass completed...

Maine Department of Transportation completed

the first section of the 'Presque Isle Bypass' in

May of 2019. This section connects the Fort Road

with the Conant Road and offers a safer and more

convenient travel route for heavy trucks.

Learn more - https://

mcusercontent.com/50356bc32e7c1ced15b258bf6

/files/5c4af92c-d442-4483-bebe-d3b962aaca51/

bypass.pdf

Need truck

drivers for your

business?

Remember, the

PLC “Logging

Zone” classifieds

can help you

advertise to find

them!

Email

jessica@maineloggers.com!

Free to members!


PLC Supporting Member Spotlight:

Wadsworth Woodlands

Wadsworth Woodlands Forester Caleb Winslow, at ? left, with Jason Berry of PLC Member and Master

Logger company Khiel Logging and Chipping at a job site in southern Maine.

Wadsworth Woodlands, Inc. is a forestry company

based in Cornish, Maine whose foremost objective is to

help landowners achieve their goals of natural resource

management through land management plans, sustainable

and responsible harvests of wood products, and active

forest product marketing. This

ensures the greatest return on your

forestland investment, forest

health, and promoting multi-use

woodlands.

Our mission is to continue

growing a long-term forest

management company in order to

provide continuity to current

landowners, as well as future generations. Wadsworth

Woodlands, Inc. was established in 1994, and is a multigenerational

family-owned business that has now been in

operation for 26 years and offers over 87 years of

combined forestry experience.

We proudly serve small and large landowners and

have written land management plans for over 162,000

acres of private land as well as for Land & Conservation

By April Wadsworth

We utilize professional loggers

who are both economically and

environmentally focused, and

create a healthy and improved

forest stand poised to increase

growth rates for the future.

Trusts in Maine and New Hampshire. We believe that

good forestry practices begin with good landowner

relationships, and that long-term sustainability is achieved

through responsible resource management.

We offer the convenience

of being a full-service forestry

company, utilizing the expertise of

our professional foresters who are

licensed in Maine and New

Hampshire. Our foresters are very

diverse, having worked all over the

great state of Maine from Fort Kent

all the way to the New Hampshire/

Vermont border; and we pride

ourselves on offering a wide range of experience,

knowledge and technology coupled with excellent

customer service. As with any vocation, we are always

evolving and incorporating new technology and

techniques; but are steadfast in remaining stewards of the

forest.

It is so important to utilize a licensed forester in

developing management objectives as well as providing


Wadsworth Woodlands Forester Caleb Winslow, at right, walking a landing with Troy Murch of Khiel

Logging and Chipping.

guidance, and expertise to satisfy the landowners

objectives for forest management and

harvests. Our land management style focuses

on uneven land management resulting in

long term sustainability, and leaving behind

the best growing stock to grow for future

generations.

We specialize in Selective Timber

Harvesting and utilize several different

harvest techniques which include: Biomass

Whole Tree Harvesting, Non-Biomass

Whole Tree Harvesting, and Traditional

Hand Crew. We facilitate and manage

harvests from start to finish ensuring that the

landowner’s objectives are met. We are a

preferred supplier to the majority of local

mills which allows us to guarantee the

greatest financial return for the landowner’s

wood products.

We utilize professional loggers who

are both economically and environmentally

focused, and create a healthy and improved forest stand

GPS tracking is one

technology Wadsworth

employs to improve

harvests.

poised to increase growth rates for the future. This includes

working with many Maine Master Logger

companies that are dedicated to professional

harvest planning and the application of

logging techniques that protect soil and water

resources, cultural heritage, wildlife, and

forest aesthetics while still maintaining

returns for landowners.

We offer all the timber harvesting,

forestry consulting and land management

services a landowner would need to

successfully manage their woodlot and grow

their timber investment. Our team consists of

four full time foresters all with BS degrees in

Forestry from the University of Maine –

Orono. On a daily basis all of them are either

meeting with landowners, inspecting

woodlots, writing Forest Management Plans,

cruising and assessing your timber,

supervising harvests, amongst a plethora of

other activities.

Our clients put their trust in our qualifications and

Wadsworth Continued Page 26


Wadsworth Woodlands Office Manager Nathan Wadsworth, at left, with Wadsworth Forester Caleb Winslow.

Wadsworth Continued from Page 25

judgement, and allow us to treat the woods with our

professional expertise. The working relationships we’ve

built allow us to view the woods

on a personal level with a “treat

the lands as if you owned it’

mentality; and we feel it is of the

utmost importance to maintain

frequent communication, be

accessible, and provide

continuous care regarding a

client’s land; and these qualities

cannot be underestimated.

One of the many strengths

at Wadsworth Woodlands, Inc. is

our ‘family’ mindset. Our family

approach, we feel, creates a

foundation of trust and gives each of our team members the

drive to perform with accountability, purpose and to work

together to manage the moving parts and sustain

momentum. From the foresters to the administrative staff

we diligently work together to ensure your experience with

us is as seamless, and as easy as possible.

Wadsworth Woodlands, Inc. became a supporting

member of the PLC in 2015 when we realized how

effective they are in advocating for the timber harvesting

and wood products industry - the PLC gets things done. We

firmly believe they are the voice of Maine’s logging

industry as they advocate for all of us through the various

challenges of Maine’s forestry and

logging industry.

The foundation of our

company is to create and maintain

strong, lasting relationships with

both our clients and the mills. We

feel strong relationships go hand in

hand with good forestry practices;

and we are committed to serving the

individual forestry needs of our

clients and their woodlands. As

professional foresters, our mission

Wadsworth Woodlands Office located at 134

is to provide landowners with a

Main Street in Cornish, Maine.

wide array of economical forestry

services and bring our expertise and experience to

responsibly work with their woodland.

We strive to always do our best in satisfying our

client’s objectives, and in return we can feel good about our

accomplishments. We believe that good forestry practices

begin with good landowner relationships, and that longterm

sustainability is achieved through responsible resource

management. A well-managed, sustainable woodlot is good

for you and even better for the forests!


Richard Wing and Son Logging solves South

Portland schools outdoor seating problem

Students at Brown Elementary School in South Portland using hemlock log sections for seating in an outdoor classroom.

In early September, Gretchen McCloy,, director of

Community Partnerships for the South Portland School

Department, had a problem. Eight schools creating outdoor

classroom spaces in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

needed seating for students. PLC Member Richard Wing and

Son Logging of Standish had the answer.

Early on the morning of Sept. 23, Richard Wing and

employees sawed up hemlock logs donated by Phinney Lumber

for the purpose into about 100 bucket-sized chunks to be used

as outdoor seats, transporting them hours later to South

Portland High School where McCloy met workers to unload

them.

The hemlock logs were ideal to be used outside and

also met the approval of the school nursing staff as a seating

surface deemed better than most conventional seats for

reducing the risk of spreading viruses, McCloy said, thanking

the Wings for stepping up and solving the problem when they

heard about the need.

“We’re happy to do it,” Richard said. “We did a similar

ting for the Gorham schools not long ago.”

The hemlock logs are now in use throughout the school

system, and Alicia Heyburn, Executive Director of Teens to

Trails, which has been working with schools including those in

South Portland to make outdoor learning spaces a reality, said

they are part of making being outdoors - always mentally and

physically good for children but especially vital now - a major

part of attending school in a pandemic.

“That’s where it’s healthy to be,” Alicia said. ”That

was the origin of the outdoor classroom initiative - we’ve got

to get kids back in school because that’s where they need to be,

and we need to do it safely, let’s bring school outside.”

From left to right, Tim, Lynn, and Richard Wing.

Gretchen

McCloy,

center,

unloading log

ends at South

Portland High

School with

employees of

Richard Wing

and Son

Logging.


Mechanized Logging Operations Program Graduation

2020!

SUMMIT TOWNSHIP - The Mechanized

Logging Operations Program (MLOP), a training program

of the Maine Community College System (MCCS) in

collaboration with the Professional Logging Contractors of

Maine (PLC), graduated 10 students in a socially

distanced, live-streamed

event at an active timber

harvest site in the woods

northeast of Old Town,

Friday, Oct. 9.

Students in the 12-

week certificate program

spent the summer and early

fall harvesting timber at the

site using sophisticated stateof-the-art

machines like

those they will encounter in

the logging industry. The

hands-on experience

students gained operating

equipment is something

unavailable anywhere else in

Maine and neighboring

states.

This year’s class is

the fourth since the program launched in 2017. The

program, run out of Northern Maine Community College

(NMCC), was the first and remains one of the only postsecondary

training programs in Maine to

hold classes in the 2020 COVID-19

pandemic. This was possible thanks to

rigorous safety protocols and the outdoor

nature of most of the training, which

involves students operating equipment

while communicating with instructors

and other students via radios.

Speaking at the event, which

was streamed on Zoom for friends and

family of the graduates, Dana Doran,

Executive Director of the PLC, thanked

the students for their hard work and

dedication, congratulating them on

completing the program despite the

challenges of the pandemic.

“I couldn’t be more proud to

stand in front of you today, Doran said. “I want to

commend you on your perseverance, I want to commend

you on your patience, this has certainly not been an easy

summer for any of you, but your hard work will pay

dividends.”

PLC First Vice President Tony Madden, owner of

A.W. Madden, agreed, telling the students that even

though the logging industry is struggling right now the

MLOP graduate Noah Holesha of Bangor receiving his

certificate.

importance of the MLOP program to the industry remains

high, the industry will be strong again, and the skills and

education the students have gained will allow them to

succeed in that industry.

“I wish we had a program available like this when

I started logging, I learned

the hard way and made a lot

of expensive mistakes,”

Madden said. “Trained

operators like you are

needed now, and will be in

even higher demand in the

future. The future is yours,

never stop learning, you will

succeed.”

2020 graduates

include: Matt Southard of

Frankfort, Chris Meakin of

Dedham, John McAvoy of

Sidney, Noah Holesha of

Bangor, Tory Porter of

Hampden, Carl Ross of

China, Brian Lynch of

Camden, Greg Stewart of

Harmony, John MacNiell of

Millinocket, and Chris Pedersen of Winterport.

The Mechanized Logging Operations Program was

created thanks to a partnership between the MCCS, the

PLC, and industry partners.

The program gives students a broad

overview of the most common mechanical

systems found in modern timber harvesting

equipment, and an understanding of the

variables of timber growth, tree species, and

markets. It also includes a strong emphasis

on safety.

The program is working in tandem

with the state’s current vocational training

system and has drawn many of its students

from within the logging industry itself as

well as from Maine’s five Career and

Technical High School logging programs in

PLC President Tony Madden Dyer Brook, Farmington, Frenchville,

addresses the students. Norway/South Paris and Rumford/Mexico.

For the first time, logging operators are

being trained similarly to other advanced trade occupations

with a high school and postsecondary pathway approach.

The program is only made possible thanks to

generous support from industry partners including Milton

CAT/Caterpillar, Nortrax Inc./John Deere, Weiler, Pro

Pac, Labonville Inc., Davco, Katahdin Fire Company,

Waratah, American Forest Management, Randall Madden

Trucking, and Madden Timberlands, Inc.


Safety

Acadia Insurance to Distribute Premium Dividends

to Eligible PLC Safety Group Members

WESTBROOK, Maine (9, 2020) Acadia

Insurance, a W. R. Berkley Company®, recently

announced that it will pay $871,919 in premium

dividends to eligible policyholder members of the

Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC)

Safety Group. Since 1999, Acadia has distributed over

$11 million in premium dividends to eligible

participants of this safety group.

Founded by Acadia Insurance, the PLC Safety

Group dividend program

rewards logging companies

and sole proprietors for

having a safe workplace by

refunding a portion of their

insurance premium if

certain measures are met by

the entire safety group. In addition, Acadia Insurance,

in coordination with the PLC, provides risk

management and mitigation expertise to members to

help ensure the long-term sustainability of the logging

industry in Maine.

“Acadia Insurance is pleased to once again be

returning premium through dividends to eligible hardworking

members of the PLC,” said Douglas Freeman,

Regional Vice President of Acadia Insurance’s Maine

office. “This would not be possible without their

dedication to operating safely in the forests and on the

roads. The logging industry has not escaped the impacts

of the pandemic to Maine’s economy, and we hope that

these premium dividends will help the members

navigate through the continuing challenges.”

The PLC of Maine has been serving loggers

since 1995 and aims to give independent logging

contractors a voice in the ever changing logging

industry. The PLC focuses on advocacy, safety, quality

operations and business innovation for loggers. The

PLC is a logging organization run by loggers that

understands the importance of the logging industry and

its impact on the Maine economy.

For more information about the Professional

Logging Contractors of Maine Safety Group, please

contact Kim Farquhar,

Marketing Director, Acadia

Insurance, at

kimberly.farquhar@acadiains.com.

About Acadia Insurance

Acadia Insurance is a regional underwriter

offering commercial and specialty property casualty

insurance coverages through independent insurance

agents with local offices in Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and

Vermont. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, Acadia

Insurance Company is a member company of W. R.

Berkley Corporation, one of the nation’s premier

commercial lines property casualty insurance providers.

Please visit www.acadiainsurance.com.

###


Fall Protection

By Donald Burr

PLC Safety & Training Coordinator

safety@maineloggers.com

Today let’s talk fall protection. The OSHA general

industry rule is anything above four feet needs to have some

kind of barrier (hand railings), or you need to have fall

protection to protect you if you fall. In the world of safety, I

get emails from OSHA about what they are finding and fining

in the working world. Falling protection is mentioned in

every update I read. This is clearly

something they are looking for

when they come around and do

inspections.

Today I received an email

noting that fall protection was

cited as the number one violation

(6,010 citations) for OSHA &

number 8 (1,773 citations) for not

providing proper training. In

logging I think the piece of

equipment that has the most

exposure is the delimber because

we need to get on top regularly to

grease the top rolls and inspect the

upper boom components.

A full body harness is a

simple and inexpensive way to go to give your operators

more protection. We experimented with a body harness on the

Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP) in the

summer of 2020. When I was putting the plan into motion, I

did not think that it was going to go well or be easy. I could

not have been more wrong.

I first priced out a harness that was not expensive

(about $130.00) that would be able to adjust to my smallest or

largest student (being a big guy myself I don’t like wearing

something that does not fit and restricts my movements). The

added bonus was that I found a harness that came in a 5-

gallon pail with an easy to remove lid. This provides a simple

Safety

way to store the harness in a dry clean environment. (In the

old days that was always a struggle to keep harnesses clean &

dry).

The next challenge was to find a good anchor. OSHA

requires only a two-foot free fall before the harness catches

you and the anchor needs to be able to hold 5,000 lbs. force

applied to it. I think the obvious

answer here is the two cables that

help support the boom. The two

cables are 5/8 wire in size and well

exceed the strength requirements

for an anchor. I have the students

climb up the right side of the

delimber where the steps are good

and hook into the closest cable and

then grease that side of the boom.

Then climb into the tree pan and

grease the hose roller end.

The next move is

important, I have them climb over

the boom leaving the anchor on the

cable. On the cab side is where

there is the most exposure from

falling and leaving the anchor on the far side of the cable

limits how far they could fall before the harness catches them.

After they are all done with greasing and inspecting I have

them climb down the way they climbed up using all the steps

and hand holds and only unclipping after they are down as

low as they can go and still reach the anchor.

You can see in the picture the student is clipped in on

the cab side greasing the low fittings on that side while the

cab is rolled forward. Let’s work safe whether it is on the

ground or on top of the

delimber.

Things to remember:

1. Train all your employees on wearing a full body harness that

might need to work above 4 ft. off the ground at least once a

year, using a competent trainer. OSHA requires this and often

companies are getting fined not for not having the fall protection

but not having documentation of training their employees on fall

protection.

Train your employee to know the following about fall

protection:

A. When they need to use the equipment

B. How to inspect the equipment

C. How to use the equipment

D. The limitations of the equipment that you are providing

E. How to perform a rescue if someone falls

F. How to document the use of and inspection of the equipment

G. The procedures & policies of using this equipment

H. How to report damage & close calls with the equipment

2. Make sure the equipment is in serviceable condition and

available to the employees.

3. Inspect the equipment before each use.

4. Write a policy & procedures for your employees to follow for

each piece of equipment.

5. Review & document the review of the policy once a year.


Safety

Ted Clark, CLCS, Loss Control Consultant, Acadia Insurance

Quarterly Safety Meeting: Diabetes

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC),

diabetes is the 7 th leading cause of death every year in the

United States and affects about 34.2 million people of which 1

in 5 do not realize they have it. There are three types of

Diabetes, but for the purpose of this article we will focus on

Type 2 diabetes which the CDC estimates makes up 90-95%

of all cases. Because of the prevalence of diabetes among

adults and the unique challenges that logging presents to

emergency response, it is critical for employees to understand

how to recognize the early symptoms of a diabetic emergency

as well as the steps they can take to reduce the chance of a

severe medical emergency.

In the simplest terms, diabetes can be defined as

blood sugar levels that are not well regulated. Your body turns

the majority of food and drinks that you consume into sugar

which elevates the sugar level in the blood. Once your blood

sugar level begins to increase, your pancreas releases insulin

to lower the blood sugar levels. People who have diabetes

either can’t make enough insulin; or they are resistant to the

insulin that their body creates. Regardless of the underlying

health reasons, a diabetic emergency can have potentially life

threatening consequences so quick recognition and treatment

of symptoms may make the difference of life and death.

Typical symptoms of low blood sugar include:

Mental Status Change – the patient may experience

dizziness, shakiness or mood change even combativeness.

May also experience a headache, confusion or difficulty

paying attention.

Pale skin and sweaty

Hunger

Clumsy, jerky movements

Possible seizure

You can treat low blood sugar by giving three

glucose tablets (½ cup of fruit juice, 1 or 2 sugar packets or 5-

6 pieces of hard candy). Monitor the patient closely following

administration of the sugar. If the patient feels ill or has signs

and symptoms after 15 minutes, give more sugar. Call 9-1-1 if

the person becomes unresponsive or continues to have signs

and symptoms.

Typical symptoms of high blood sugar include:

Frequent urination

Drowsiness

Dry mouth and thirst

Shortness of breath

Breath that smells fruity

Nausea and vomiting

Unresponsiveness

High blood sugar is a medical emergency and should

be treated immediately by calling 9-1-1 and getting the patient

to advanced medical care. If you are uncertain if the person

has high or low blood sugar, the National Safety Council

advises that it is safe to administer sugar.

Diabetes is a medical condition that continues to

become more prevalent throughout the United States. As it

becomes more common, the chance of being exposed to

someone having a diabetic emergency increases. Because of

this, you should reference this safety meeting on occasion to

make sure you are prepared to recognize a diabetic emergency

and quickly and effectively treat it.

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

Safety

*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.


Safety

Keep the focus on Safety!

Members who are part of the PLC

Safety Group Dividend Program,

As you know, the PLC working in

partnership with Acadia Insurance has

made great strides in improving safety

and reducing losses for our members in

recent years. Since 1999, Acadia

Insurance has returned over $11 million in

premium dividends to members, which is

a great testament to your efforts to

mitigate risk in your businesses.

As we head into the final weeks of

2020, we are focused on having another

successful year for the program.

We encourage you all to redouble

your efforts on safety!

Please feel free to contact PLC

Safety Coordinator Donald Burr or PLC

Executive Director Dana Doran if you

have questions or to explore options for

additional safety training for your

employees.

We have no doubt we can have

another successful year for the program if

members pull together on this issue!


Membership renewal reminder!

PLC Members should have received

contractor member renewal

materials in the mail. Renewals are

due Dec. 1

Please Renew Now!

We Support Maine Loggers


Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands Executive

Director named to FSC U.S. Board of Directors

AUGUSTA, ME - Trust to Conserve Northeast

Forestlands (TCNEF) Executive Director Ted Wright has

been elected to serve a three-year term on the Forest

Stewardship Council (FSC) U.S. Board of Directors, effective

Sept. 1, 2020.

Wright is a Maine native and Executive Director of

both the TCNEF and the Northeast Master Logger

Certification Program, which the Trust oversees.

In 2019 under Wright’s leadership, the TCNEF

received an FSC Leadership Award.

“I’m honored at the opportunity to serve on the

FSC U.S. Board and represent the interests and

perspectives of professional loggers who are committed

to the responsible management of forests for all as well

as the protection of small rural communities that they

reside and work in near FSC-certified forests,” Wright said.

The FSC U.S. Board of Directors is the

organization’s highest governing authority and consists of up

to fifteen individuals, all of whom are U.S.-based FSC

members.

Each of the three FSC chambers (Social, Economic

and Environmental) has three representatives which are

elected by US-based FSC members and serve for a threeyear

term. An additional two individuals may be appointed in each

chamber by the Board, typically to ensure a full range of

perspectives and expertise.

The Board leads the development of national strategy,

oversees the chief executive, ensures effective financial

oversight, and approves the National Forest Stewardship

Standard and Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment. In

addition, the Board plays an important role in FSC globally,

working on issues affecting the broader FSC community.

Wright will serve on the Social Chamber of the

Board.

Steve Hanington, President of Hanington Brothers, a

Macwahoc Maine Master Logger company, noted this is the

first time a representative of the logging industry has served

on the FSC U.S. Board and said this is significant for both

FSC and the industry.

“It is very important for the ones who are actually

implementing the outcomes of certification in the forest to

have a say,” Hanington said. “A representative who can

provide the board with our knowledge and experience of the

on-the-ground performance of continued improvement

policies will have a great impact, and this is a good thing for

both certification and the

companies working in the

woods.”

Wright grew up in

Aroostook County on a potato

farm in Littleton, ME and began

harvesting wood from the farm

and discovered he really enjoyed

the work. He attended the

University of Maine at Fort Kent

and graduated in 2005 with

an Associate’s degree in

Applied Forest

Management and a

Ted Wright

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, then went

to work at Louisiana-Pacific in Houlton for a year. He

then took a job at the Region Two School of Applied

Technology in Houlton teaching in their Wood Harvesting/

Forestry program for seven years before accepting the TCNEF

Director’s job in the fall of 2015. He and his wife, Maggie,

and children, Madigan and Ben, live in Brunswick, Maine.

The Northeast Master Logger Certification Program

was created in 2000 by the Professional Logging Contractors

of Maine (PLC) as the first in the world point-of-harvest

certification program, offering third party independent

certification of logging companies’ harvesting practices.

In 2003, PLC created TCNEF to administer the

program with the broader goal of “enhancing the health of

working forest ecosystems through exceptional

accountability” throughout the Northern Forest region.

TCNEF administers an FSC®-certified group of

family forest landowners throughout New England and New

York. Under this arrangement forest landowners can

inexpensively gain access to FSC® group certification.

TCNEF is the administrative body that holds the FSC

certificate and has overall responsibility for compliance with

the FSC® Northeast Regional Standard. TCNEF also

administers an FSC®-certified group of Chain of Custody that

provides an information trail, established and audited

according to rules set by FSC, for Master Loggers and wood

products companies to ensure that wood comes from certified

forests.

For more information on the Master Logger program

or TCNEF, contact Ted Wright at (207) 688-8195 opt. 2 or

executivedirector@tcnef.org.


A Word From

Patty Cormier

Maine Forest

Service

Director

Fall is upon us, and we know what follows

even in a year that doesn’t want to follow any rules.

Fieldwork at the Maine Forest Service never skipped

a beat this past summer. Here is a quick summary of

what folks have been busy with:

The forest inventory and analysis crews are a

week ahead of schedule, on the way to complete this

year’s 600 inventory plots. The information gathered

is critical for all those who benefit from our forests

and provides the basis for good forest policy.

As I write this, we are getting very close to

having the highest number of forest acres burned in

20 years, almost 1000 acres. This is double the

average of 500 acres per year. The top three reasons

for fires this year are 1. Debris fires, 2. Equipment

fires and 3. Escaped campfires.

As of mid-September, we have two wildland

crews out west, each with one of our type 6 engines.

One crew of four rangers is in Willow springs CA,

the other crew of 10 (4 rangers and 6 civilian

firefighters) is in CO. These mobilizations provide

the opportunity to not only assist other states as they

would us, but also to gain valuable experience that

only strengthens our abilities to respond to fires and

other large incidents back here in Maine. The

rangers also recently worked with game wardens on

a collaborative effort for “Landowner Appreciation

Day” to clean up reported sites of dumped trash on

private property. They cleaned up over 700 tires

plus much more trash!

The forest health folks have been very busy

with browntail moth issues and spruce budworm

monitoring along with a suite of other insect and

disease issues. One of our most important roles

among the three divisions though, is the number of

field assists that have occurred for loggers and

landowners, at their request, by our district foresters

and rangers along with the forest health staff. This

is a key role we play. Let me use this as an

opportunity to encourage the PLC membership to

please get in touch with us if you could use a little

guidance, or maybe just a second opinion on forestry

challenges you might face. The best contact route is

our website: www.maineforestservice.gov or call

207-287-2791.

Your Executive Director has been working

tirelessly with the delegation and others to push for

COVID relief for loggers and truckers. I and the

administration fully support those efforts. This can

be an often-frustrating effort; but let us hope that our

voices are heard and represented and these efforts

are successful. These efforts are also supported by

the National Association of State Foresters, as this is

a nationwide need. I speak with my counterparts

often, and they are doing what they can to get this

relief going.

Here in Maine two small business relief

programs have been offered through the Department

of Economic Development(DECD). While not

specific to forestry-related businesses, a number of

such businesses did apply. Another program will

soon be offered through DECD. We will be getting

word out about that program and other opportunities

through our various social media outlets as well as

on our MFS logger listserve. If you are not signed

up for our listserve, please contact us to get added. I

realize that it might not seem like it sometimes, but

there are many folks pushing for relief on your

behalf, locally and nationally.

As always, I wish you all well during these

tough times, I encourage you to reach out to me or

any of the three divisions of the Maine Forest

Service. We remain lean and are used to that, but

are committed to the goal of assisting and

supporting the forestry

sector.


For over 20 years, Dan Jacobs has served as a

District Forester with the Maine Forest Service in

northern Maine.

Dan holds a Master of Science degree in

Forestry from the Pennsylvania State University at

University Park. Prior to joining the Maine Forest

Service, he provided forestry consulting services in

New Hampshire and Maine and worked as a forester

with International Paper and the Houlton Band of

Maliseet Indians.

As a District Forester, Dan has consistently

attended PLC’s annual safety trainings and has worked

with the Northeast Master Logger Certification

Program on Best Management Practices (BMPs)

training. Over the years, Dan has been actively

involved with forestry organizations such as ME SFI,

Maine Woodland Owners, and the American Tree

Farm System. He strives to provide his customers with

the best information possible through in-person

meetings on job sites and educational workshops, as

well as through his work on forestry publications such

as the Forestry Rules of Maine. Dan looks forward to

assisting Maine’s landowners, loggers, and foresters

through his role as a District Forester for several more

years.

“One of the best aspects of my job is working

with the Region Two vocational forestry students and

running into the same students in the woods years later

– when they have a career in the forest products

industry,” Dan said.

Like all District Foresters, Dan responds to

requests for assistance from all audiences, including

loggers.

Many of the most common questions deal with

timber harvesting, both in the planning stage and once

operations are underway. Did you know you can ask a

District Forester to visit a site before, during or after

logging? Understanding harvest regulations and

identifying ways to apply Best Management Practices

(BMPs) that protect water quality are two of the most

Introducing your District Foresters

Meet Dan Jacobs

District Forester based in Houlton

common requests. Every situation is different so it’s

often helpful to have Dan come out to a site – ideally

before work begins - to help determine if and how the

rules apply, or to talk about different ways to control

water and prevent soil movement using BMPs. Dan

District Forester Dan Jacobs on a woods tour.

and other DFs also teach classes about a range of

forestry topics, from forest management to BMPS to

wildlife considerations in forestry to the Tree Growth

Tax Program.

Dan and the other DFs are a great resource –

please use them!


Bridge Cleaning to Protect Water

Quality

By Tom Gilbert

Water Resources Specialist

Maine Forest Service

Keeping bridge decks clean of accumulated

soil is an important practice for maintaining the

integrity of wooden decks, preventing sedimentation

of waterways and maintaining compliance with state

and federal water quality regulations. The following

are several suggestions to aid in achieving these goals:

Site Wide

Preventing soil from accumulating on your

bridge deck starts with effective planning and use of

BMPs across a harvest site. This is part of using a

“systems approach” in harvesting activities. Woody

material such as slash and corduroy should be used

throughout the site, particularly in wetter areas and

steep slopes, to prevent sediment from becoming

exposed and attaching to equipment. It is also

important to design approaches properly, avoiding

long, straight or steep runs where runoff can gain

volume and velocity leading up to a crossing. This of

course is a threat to water quality and can also allow

excess soil to accumulate on bridge decks.

Skid Trails

On skid trails, an appropriate amount of slash

should be applied to approach areas within the

woodland buffer and continue outside of the buffer

where slopes are 5% or greater. This will greatly

reduce soil movement and attachment to equipment.

Slash material should be regularly maintained to

ensure its effectiveness.

Haul Roads

On haul roads, it is important to practice

proper grading techniques to ensure that roads are

graded to direct runoff into wooded areas, not into

waterways or onto bridge decks. In addition, graders

may be directed to grade away from bridges to prevent

carrying soil onto bridge decks.

Removing Accumulated Soil

Soil can be shoveled and swept from the

decking, starting in the middle of the bridge and

working towards either end. The sediment can then be

either incorporated into a road or spread evenly in a

forested area, preferably outside of the woodland

buffer and outside of any areas where runoff is

directed. Compressed air can be used to blow the

remaining dirt in the same fashion; from the middle of

the bridge towards both ends. This may be done to

maintain the integrity of the wooden decks and to

prevent sediment from getting into watercourses.

There is no one practice that is used to keep

bridges free of accumulated sediment, but a series of

practices and principles used site-wide to reduce soil

disturbance and prevent runoff from being directed

towards bridges or the waterbodies they cross. For

more information and guidance on the use of forestry

BMPs in Maine, please visit the Water Resources

section of our website: www.maineforestservice.gov.

For more information on fundamental

forestry BMPs please see our field

friendly BMP manual, Protecting Maine’s

Water Quality, available on our website:

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/

policy_management/water_resources/

bmps.html


Forest Operations Notifications

(FONS)

Going All Online in January 2021

For over 30 years, the Forest Operations

Notifications (FONS) system has been paperbased.

Landowners and managers submit paper copies to

the Maine Forest Service (MFS); data is entered by hand;

acknowledgment letters printed and mailed; FONS filed,

etc. Repeat the process with amendments. Then paper

copies of landowner harvest reports are sent out at the end

of the year. More paper, more data entry, more

filing. That’s all about to change.

Starting in January 2021, FONS will become

Forest Online Resource Tool (FOResT), and it will be all

online. Landowners, Designated Agents, Foresters, and

Loggers will need to create individual accounts in FOResT

to participate in harvest notifications.

Some important features include mapping of Forest

Operations Notification activities, digital signatures,

automatic notification of all parties named on a

notification, and automated, end of year landowner reports.

"The Maine Forest Service has a rich history of

ensuring that Maine's forests continue to provide a full

range of benefits to present and future generations of

Maine people," Maine Forest Service Director Patty

Cormier observed. Part of that effort is maintaining a

notification database for harvest activity in Maine. This

database helps the Maine Forest Service develop and

advocate for activities that encourage the sound, long-term

management of Maines forests, and to provide reliable,

timely and accurate information about the forest resource.

This new online harvest notification system will provide

for ease of access, and ready information for forest

practitioners. We at the Maine Forest Service are happy to

offer this online service for your convenience.

MFS currently is testing the system with a small

set of users to identify and fix glitches before the system

goes fully live. We will continue to offer additional

information, including how-to videos, as the year

progresses.

For now, you don’t need to do anything. Just be

aware that paper FONS are going away soon.


As of this writing, August 3, 2020, Congress has

yet to approve the next stimulus package to provide

financial assistance to businesses during these

unprecedented financial times due to the COVID-19

pandemic. Members of the American Loggers Council are

pushing hard to seek a relief package that would help

logging and log trucking businesses to cope with loss of

markets, quotas and other Coronavirus related issues that

are dragging down their businesses.

What began as a request for a low interest loan to

assist logging and log trucking businesses during these

hard times has morphed into a bill, the Logger Relief Fund,

House Resolution 7690 and Senate Bill 4233 that would

allow logging and log trucking businesses to compare

revenues for the first 7 months of 2010 to those of 2019. If

revenues are down by more than 10% in 2020 as compared

to 2019, then a logging or log trucking business would be

eligible to apply for funds not exceeding more than 10% of

the gross business revenues for the period between January

1, 2019 and July 31, 2019. These funds are not intended to

make businesses whole, but rather to allow them the

opportunity to reorganize as markets around them continue

to recover.

The American Loggers Council has secured

support from both Democrats and Republicans in the

House and Senate and are looking to try and push this

legislation in the next COVID-19 or CARES-2 Act as soon

as this week. Other trade associations are lending their

support in these final days of negotiations between the

House and the Senate, but we still need as many of you to

e-mail, or call your House and Senate members offices

and request that they cosponsor the legislation, this

week! You can go online at www.congress.gov and track

both of the bills and also see a list of the cosponsors that

have already signed on. If you do not see your

Congressman or Congresswoman on the list of cosponsors

under H.R. 7690, or your Senators on the list of cosponsors

under S. 4233, then you should reach out to their staff

immediately and request that they sign on.

Quoting a message recently sent to this office from

As We See It August 2020

Update - Logger Relief Funds

By Danny Dructor

a former staff member, “The art of the blow-off is highly

refined on Capitol Hill.” Do not allow them to simply send

you a form letter that has been disguised with a blue ink

signature that vaguely mentions your request for them to

sign on to the legislation. Let them know that you are one

of the folks back home that votes for them and that you are

requesting that they represent you as one of their

constituents. Be original and be firm.

To quote another mentor in the logging profession

and long-time advocate for our industry, Bruce Vincent,

“The world is run by those who show up.” Have you

shown up yet? Have you taken the time to respond to

action alert requests that have gone out over social media

sites and web sites? If not, and you wish to see the relief

fund move forward, you must do so now.

Thanks to all of you who have already made your

voices heard, and thanks in advance to those who will

reach out this week to help push this legislation across the

finish line.

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


As We See It September 2020

Report shows $1.83 billion impact of COVID-19 to Loggers

By Danny Dructor

Countless businesses across the spectrum of

industries have been impacted by COVID-19 and now can

tell stories about how government assistance rescued them

from the brink of collapse; but there are some stories left

untold.

A recent analysis generated for the American

Loggers Council (ALC) shows that this year’s decrease in

raw wood material consumption has led to a $1.83 billion

reduction in the value of logger/trucker-delivered

wood. The report, conducted by the analytics firm

Forests2Market, found that raw wood material

consumption between January-July 2020 was 6.7% less

than the same period in 2019 – dropping 21.4 million tons

of material. This resulted in a 13% reduction ($1.83

billion) in value of the delivered wood.

While Congress and the United States Department

of Agriculture (USDA) have provided funding for

numerous agricultural categories, they have not yet

classified timber within the category that qualifies for

COVID-19 assistance. According to 7 U.S.C§1518.;

timber and forest are described as an agricultural

commodity along with fruits, vegetables, and other

common agricultural goods.(7 U.S.C Section 1518) Danny

Dructor, Executive Vice-President of the American

Loggers Council, stated that, “Given the fact that wool, cut

flowers, aloe leaves, and upland cotton are included in the

USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

it is a reasonable request to ask that timber and logging

be covered under the program as well.”

The USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance

Program (CFAP) received $16 billion to provide direct

support to certain agricultural producers based on actual

losses where prices and market supply chains have been

affected. The program will assist producers with additional

adjustments and changes in marketing costs that result from

oversaturated markets and lack of demand for the 2020

marketing year as a result of COVID-19.

The ALC created SaveOurLoggers.com as a new

website to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on the

logging and wood products industry. The website features

testimonial stories and videos directly from those who have

experienced difficult circumstances.

The current conditions loggers are facing due to the

COVID-19 pandemic have left them in dire economic

straits. Many loggers have shared their stories of how

COVID-19 is affecting their businesses

on SaveOurLoggers.com.(Logger Stories)

Bobby Goodson, star of the Discovery Channel’s

hit show Swamp Loggers, describes how, as a fourth

generation logger with over 35 years in the business, his

ALC Continued Page 42


ALC Continued from Page 41

company has never experienced a situation as threatening

to their existence as an industry as during the COVID-19

pandemic. He describes how logging is essentially

farming with harvesting trees as an agricultural

commodity.

Dale Heil of Stratford, Wisconsin gives one

example of how the pandemic is bleeding out a vital

American industry, “The closing of the Verso mill caused

by Covid 19 took away 70 percent of my market.”

Justin Yale of Gwinn, Michigan, who has provided

trucking services for the logging industry for ten years,

gives further insight into the peril the pandemic has sent

the industry into, “I provide trucking services to the raw

timber product producers. Tonnage hauled so far this year

is down 72% from this time last year.”

Without assistance from the CFAP program

loggers have turned to Congress and the Administration

seeking help from the next COVID relief package through

the Logger Relief Act.

Bipartisan Logger Relief bills were introduced in

the Senate (S.4233) by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and

Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), and in the House (H.R. 7690)

by Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) and

Representative David Rouzer (R-NC). Specifically, the

bills would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to

make economic relief payments to logging and log

trucking businesses who experienced losses of greater than

10% in the first two quarters of 2020 (as compared to

2019). The program would be similar to others already

enacted by Congress for agricultural producers such as

CFAP. Members of Congress from 13 states have cosponsored

the Logger Relief Act.

As We See It October 2020

Greetings All!

By Tim Cristopherson

2020...Who knew, this is where we would be as a

Nation when the year started?? The American Loggers

Council has had to adjust to the many distancing

requirements, meeting rules and so forth. There are some

big changes in the works at the ALC and COVID 19 is

putting tank traps in our road but we will work around

them.

As the incoming President of the American

Loggers Council, the first thing I’d like to do is to thank

Shannon Jarvis for a great job along with Danny Dructor

for steering the ALC through this mess and keeping things

working without any face to face meetings in 2020. Thank

you to Shannon and Danny.

I started working at Dabco Inc., the family’s

logging business, when I was 15 1/2 years old, you know,

before the Fair Labor Standards Act said we couldn’t do

that (hint - help us get the Future Careers in Logging Act

passed in Congress). During summers and school breaks I

could be found sweeping the shop, greasing the log trucks,

busting tires (fixin flats) and helping the mechanics work

on equipment. In 1985 my Cousin Rick and I bought out

our parents and logged until we down sized in 2018. Now I

primarily focus on log hauling at a time when it is getting

more difficult to find qualified drivers (hint - help us get

the Safe Routes Act passed through Congress).

The ALC continues to work on timber and timber

related issues in Washington D.C., including the Logger

Relief bill which is at the top of the list at this moment to

try and financially assist those loggers impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic (hint - help us get the Logger Relief

Act passed in Congress). This being an election year who

knows where this bill will end up and the challenges our

industry will face in 2021. GO VOTE!!!......,stay tuned??

In 2021 the ALC will be looking at trying to

replace Danny Dructor as our long time Executive

Director. The Executive Board has been working on the

transition plan to make this transition as smooth as possible

in the next year and I plan on continuing those efforts with

the Committee to make the transition as seamless as

possible. As members, if you have any input on this

subject, do not keep it a secret, let the Executive

Committee know. ... Danny and Doris are ready to go

fishing!

Along with this transition, there have been a lot of

other changes in my almost 50 years working in timber.

Why just yesterday, I fixed a log truck tire, greased said

log truck and other Greetings All! maintenance items. In

this industry you never stop learning new stuff...and you

don't forget the old stuff you learned 50 years ago!

I have thrown a few hints at you as to what our

agenda will look like in 2021 and look forward to serving

you as your 27th President. I am honored to be

representing you through the American Loggers Council.

Loggers working for loggers, that’s who we are.

Tim Christopherson is the co-owner of Dabco, Inc.

based out of Kamiah, Idaho and serves as the President of

the American Loggers Council and President of the

Associated Logging Contractors, Inc. in Idaho. For the

past several years he has walked the halls of Congress in

Washington, DC with members of the American Loggers

Council advocating for issues that would benefit the

logging and log trucking profession.



Congressional Delegation Updates

Supporting Maine’s Forest

Products Industry

By: Sen. Susan M. Collins

Throughout Maine’s

history, our forest products industry

has created good-paying jobs,

driven local economies, and

sustained rural communities. It is a

linchpin of our State’s economy,

Sen. Susan Collins generating an estimated $619

million in economic output and

providing $342 million in income to around 9,000

Mainers.

Across the nation, this vital industry was already

facing significant headwinds due to a changing 21st

century economy and unfair trade practices. Here in

Maine, the industry is further hampered by the explosion

at the Androscoggin Mill in Jay, the shutdown of the

paper machine at Sappi in Westbrook, and the

announcement by Seven Islands that it shut down its

contractors through September.

COVID-19 has only compounded these

challenges. The logging industry has experienced a steep

decline in demand for wood fiber since the coronavirus

pandemic began, leading to an estimated 20 percent or

more drop in the timber harvest this year.

Maine’s family logging and timber hauling

businesses need our support. That is why I have joined

Pushing Relief for the Forest Economy

in Washington

For generations, Maine’s loggers and truckers

have worked in tough conditions to get the job done. No

matter the challenge, you’ve used innovation and hard

work to overcome obstacles and make vital contributions

to your community, your state, and your country.

But right now, the challenges you’re facing are

unlike anything we’ve dealt with before -- ranging from

health risks to economic dynamics. The coronavirus

pandemic’s ripple effects are hitting the forest industry

hard financially. Economic uncertainty has created sharp

and rapid downturns in markets for forest products,

including a significant decrease in pulp and paper

manufacturing. There’s no amount of hard work or

innovation that can overcome that; it’s the simple law of

supply and demand.

That’s why it is so critical that Congress steps up,

and makes sure that America’s critical forest products

industry and all the loggers who rely on it to make a

living can make it through this crisis. This industry is a

major foundational piece of American manufacturing,

with Rep. Jared Golden to introduce the bipartisan,

bicameral Loggers Relief Act that would provide critical

financial assistance to the skilled professionals who work

in this industry in order to help them get through this

difficult period.

Our bill would establish a new program at the

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide direct

payments to timber harvesting and hauling businesses

that can demonstrate they have experienced significant

economic hardship compared to the previous year. These

businesses would qualify for direct payments from the

USDA.

Specifically, our legislation would provide

payments to eligible log harvesting and hauling

businesses that have experienced at least a 10 percent loss

in revenues as compared to the same timeframe last year.

Those who qualify would receive direct payments and

would only be permitted to use the funds for operating

expenses, including payroll.

I come from a forest-products family. There are

few enterprises that require more faith in the future and

respect for the past. It is essential that existing,

generations-old businesses are supported at this difficult

time. It also is essential that young people in forestproducts

families have the opportunity to live and prosper

in the communities they love. As the industry continues

to cope with the impact of the pandemic, I remain

committed to pushing for direct assistance for our

loggers.

and the economic pillar of rural

communities across the country.

I want you to know – you

have allies, fighting like hell for

you in Washington. With a

bipartisan group of Senators,

including Senator Collins and

Representative Golden, we are

pushing for economic relief for

the logging industry. We’ve

introduced the Loggers Relief Act,

which would provide direct aid to Sen. Angus King

loggers, just as relief funds have

been extended to farmers and other agricultural

producers. At the same time, we’re pushing the

Department of Agriculture to use its powers to make this

type of aid immediately available.

I’ll keep you updated as our fight continues –

and, as always, I’m here to help. If you have ideas or

questions, please reach out to my team by

visiting king.senate.gov. Take care, and be safe – we will

get through this challenge,

together.


For generations, logging

has provided Mainers with good,

reliable, and steady jobs that can

support families, helping to bring

about the middle class and thriving

rural economies.

The COVID-19 pandemic

has drastically reduced demand for

raw wood material consumption,

leading to devastating impacts to

the logging industry in Maine and

across the country. A recent survey

Rep. Chellie Pingree conducted by the Professional

Logging Contractors of Maine

found that 88 percent of survey respondents, who are loggers

and forest truckers, have been negatively affected by the

coronavirus crisis. Additionally, the Jay mill explosion and

Sappi mill closures have caused hardships for Maine’s loggers

this year. When the Sappi Paper Machine 9 closed and pulp

production stopped at Pixelle’s Jay mill, it was a sobering

reminder of the many struggles the logging industry faces.

Family logging businesses in Maine need support

from policymakers at all levels of government. Congress must

It’s been a challenging six

months for folks all across the

Second District, but it’s been

particularly tough for loggers.

Stagnating prices for wood fiber are

hitting the industry especially hard

during COVID-19, and the

explosion in Jay this past April put

the jobs of many hardworking

Mainers at risk. Maine loggers and

truckers need serious action from

Congress to make it through the

coronavirus pandemic.

That’s why I have proposed

Rep. Jared Golden legislation tailored specifically to

loggers and logging small

businesses. I told you last time about that bill – the Logger’s

Relief Act – which I was preparing to introduce with

Congressman David Rouzer (NC-07). Well, we brought that

bill in the House as planned, and Senator Susan Collins (R-

ME) and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined us in introducing

companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.

The Loggers Relief Act would give the same kind of

emergency relief that farmers and fishermen are getting during

the coronavirus pandemic to loggers and truckers, too. Under

the bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would

make low-interest loans available for folks in the logging

industry who have been hit the hardest by COVID-19.

The bill is showing signs of momentum in both

chambers of Congress. The Loggers Relief Act has 17 other

bipartisan cosponsors in the House, including 11 Republicans.

In the Senate, the bill has 5 additional cosponsors — including

Senator Angus King — to help push it forward. I’ll keep

working to get more Members of Congress on board, and to

get that bill to the House floor.

step up to protect jobs within the logging industry and provide

targeted, direct relief. Similar to the programs set up for

farmers or fishermen, loggers should be eligible to receive

direct relief from the federal government. That’s why I’ve

cosponsored the Loggers Relief Act along with the rest of the

Maine delegation.

This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would establish

a new United States Department of Agriculture program to

provide direct financial relief for this vital industry, which has

experienced an estimated 20 percent drop in timber harvest

due to the pandemic. Much like the Coronavirus Food

Assistance Program for farmers, the Loggers Relief Act

would provide direct payments to logging and log trucking

businesses that can demonstrate they’ve experienced

significant economic hardship compared to last year.

Our state’s logging industry employs around 9,000

Mainers, most of whom live in rural communities. As a

member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will

continue to prioritize federal funding to ensure these jobs exist

far into the future. I hope House and Senate leaders

incorporate the Loggers Relief Act in our next coronavirus

relief bill because our rural economy relies on this

industry.

Beyond the Loggers Relief Act, I’m still working hard

to help all Maine small businesses, including the ones that

belong to logging families. So, in July, I introduced the

bipartisan RESTART Act.

The RESTART Act is a lot like the Paycheck

Protection Program (PPP), offering loans to small businesses

who need them, but with some key differences.

Specifically, it would allow small business owners

more flexibility when choosing how to spend their loan, while

still keeping them eligible for loan forgiveness. That means

you could spend more of any loan you receive under

RESTART on utility costs, payments on mortgages, and

equipment. I am continuing to press House leadership to

include the RESTART Act in a future COVID-19 relief

package.

If you have suggestions about how I can work for you

or your family here in Congress, or you need help navigating

federal programs during the pandemic, we’re still available

every week to hear from you.

If we can assist you, please contact one of my offices

below:

▪ Bangor Office: 6 State Street, Bangor ME 04401.

Phone: (207) 249-7400

▪ Caribou Office: 7 Hatch Drive, Suite 230, Caribou

ME 04736. Phone: (207) 492-6009

▪ Lewiston Office: 179 Lisbon Street, Lewiston ME

04240. Phone: (207) 241-6767

▪ Washington Office: 1223 Longworth HOB,

Washington DC 20515. Phone: (202) 225-6306

Please feel free to flag any questions or concerns you

may have for me – and thank you!


The Logger’s Voice ▪ Winter 2018 31

Professional Logging

Contractors of Maine

108 Sewall St.

P.O. Box 1036

Augusta, ME 04332

PLC Loggers Voice Fall 2020

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