The Pacific Logging Congress may have moved its 2020 annual convention set in Palm Springs, California, to 2021, but that doesn’t mean the organization’s activities have been put on hold. The 2020/21 scholarships will be provided to deserving students, and programs liked Pacific Forest Foundation’s podcast Talking Timber will still be posted weekly. The annual auction (albeit virtual) will also be held in November with amazing trips, hunts, and much more. The PLC invites you to stay posted by visiting its website at www.pacificloggingcongress.com
Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.’s (AOL,) President Greg Schmitz, of Schmiitz Timber Management in Silverton, Oregon, announced the organization has appointed Rex Storm as its Executive Vice President. AOL is the statewide trade group providing business and government affairs services to more than 1,000 forest contract firms and allied forest sector businesses.
Rex Storm was previously AOL’s forest policy manager, representing forest contractors statewide in forest and business policymaking, as well as managing special efforts, including the Oregon Professional Logger program and workforce development. He is a Certified Forester, a Certified Family Forest landowner, and lifelong advocate for small business and forestry.
American Forest Management, the nation’s leading land management and land real estate firm, is pleased to announce the opening of two new offices in northwestern Montana. Located in Kalispell and Libby. Both offices opened in March.
The offices mark American Forest Management’s first locations in the state. In addition, American Forest Management serves clients throughout the Pacific Northwest with offices in Medford and Coos Bay, Oregon, and Chehalis, Kirkland, and Spokane, Washington. Offering a wide-range of land management and real estate services, the expert regional team includes foresters, hydrologists, analysts, appraisers, real estate agents, and administrators.
“We are pleased to increase American Forest Management’s Pacific Northwest portfolio and expand our presence in The Intermountain Region,” said Dennis Dart, Pacific Northwest region manager for American Forest Management. “These additional offices will allow us to better serve our clients throughout the state and offer our entire suite of services.”
The Kalispell and Libby offices will also support one of American Forest Management’s largest clients, Southern Pine Plantations (SPP,) a Georgia-based timberland group (www.sppland.com). SPP recently announced its purchase of 630,000 acres of timberland in Montana. American Forest Management will provide SPP turn-key land and timber management.
TimberWest Magazine and Logging and Sawmilling Journal became the media sponsor of the new industry podcast Talking Timber. The Pacific Forest Foundation launched the weekly podcast in January 2020 to support their educational mission and to reach a broader and younger audience. Each week Talking Timber reaches out to Northwest industry professionals — from foresters to firefighters, and from machines operators to log buyers — to find out what it takes to create the valuable resource we call timber. Owner of the two magazines, Anthony Robinson, says he can see a value in the podcast and is excited to support it.
RRLC Conference cancelled — but Pieces RemainedStory and photo by Mary BullwinkelThe 82nd Annual Redwood Region Logging Conference (RRLC) in California, which had been scheduled to take place March 19 -21, 2020, is just one of the many large gatherings canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was planned to take place in Ukiah, in Mendocino County.
RRLC Executive Director Katherine Ziemer said the Board of Directors held a conference call one week before the conference was slated to begin. “The Board discussed our options,” she said, “and voted to suspend the conference due to the health risks. No one took this lightly when the Board voted to cancel the conference,” she added, “and this was definitely the right choice.”
No date has been selected for the RRLC next year, and it is possible that the event will take place in Ukiah, even though the conference normally rotates every other year between Ukiah and Eureka. That decision will be discussed and then announced by the RRLC Board of Directors later this year. “We are experiencing unprecedented times, and we need to be resilient,” Ziemer said, “We plan to rebound next year even stronger.”
Two pieces of RRLC were able to continue, even though the conference gathering had been canceled.
“The scholarship students had already been judged prior to the cancellation and their awards were mailed to each student,” Ziemer said. “The mural contest was able to continue,” she added, “because teachers delivered the murals on Friday, March 13th, before the conference was canceled.”
13 scholarships, totaling $17,000 were awarded to students attending colleges in California and Oregon. Seven were awarded to students attending Humboldt State University. They are Marcos Saucedo, Cameron Miller, Wiyaka Previte, Brita Goldstein, Kyle Mantzouranis, Hanna Upton, and Christopher Villaruel. Isaac Lang, a student attending College of the Redwoods also received a scholarship.
Other recipients are Dustin Morgan and Taylor Plasch, both students at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Emma Miller who is attending Chico State, Natalie Fulton, a student at U.C. Berkeley, and Natalie Schlosser who is attending Oregon State University.
Schools in both Humboldt and Mendocino Counties submitted murals to the RRLC. The submitted murals are judged in two age categories, Kindergarten through 3rd grade, and 4th grade through 8th grade.
Humboldt County winners in the Kindergarten through 3rd grade levels are students from South Fortuna, Jacoby Creek, and Hoopa Valley Elementary Schools. Winners in the 4th grade through 8th grade levels are students from Whitethorn, Morris, and Hydesville Elementary, Schools.
Mendocino County murals have not yet been judged, so there are no winners to announce at this time.
ON THE COVER
A look inside the Trinchera Blanca Sawmill in Colorado
Prepare for a Fire Season Amid Pandemic Guidelines
This year firefighting agencies, federal, state, local and private, will have to change the way they’ve been doing business.
A Strong Maintenance Program Begins with Machine Choice
Harvesting equipment is subjected to extreme stresses every day — stresses not seen in most workplace scenarios involving heavy equipment — making maintenance key.
Trinchera Blanca Sawmill — Designed to Help Fix the Forest
The Trinchera Blanca Sawmill is part of an ambitious forest management plan that is a blueprint to aid forest restoration and wildlife habitat and improve fuels reduction.
Award Winning Operation
Pacific Forest Contractors Inc. of Eagle Creek, Oregon, named 2019 Operator of the Year for the Southwest Oregon Region
Investing in the Future
The family business got its start in a woodlot.
Making it Work
When Wes Trivelpiece takes on a job, he likes to put a personal touch to the work. He credits getting repeat customers to his practice of treating the land like it’s his own.
Tech Review
A review of the forestry mulchers and attachments on the market.
Guest Column
A more nimble forest products industry could be the key to the future.
DEPARTMENTS
