Mechanized Logging Operations Program Recruiting Students for Summer 2021

OLD TOWN - Recruiting is now underway for students in the Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP), which is beginning its next 12-week class June 21 in the woods northeast of Old Town.

Students enrolled in the post-secondary training program will spend weeks harvesting timber using sophisticated state-of-the-art machines like those they will encounter in the logging industry. The hands-on experience students gain operating equipment is something unavailable anywhere else in Maine and neighboring states. This summer’s class will be the fifth since the program launched in 2017. Graduation for the class will be held in September.

“There is no better, more affordable, more efficient way to gain the experience and knowledge you need to begin a successful career as an equipment operator in the logging industry,” Dana Doran, Executive Director of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC), said.

“The Mechanized Logging Operations Program achieves results and I would encourage any individual with an interest in a good-paying, exciting career in the Maine woods to consider it.”

The latest class to complete the program graduated in Oct. 2020. The program, run out of Northern Maine Community College (NMCC), was the first post-secondary training program in Maine to hold classes in the COVID19 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.

The program was created thanks to a partnership between three Maine community colleges, the PLC, and industry partners including Milton CAT and Nortrax.

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.

Students who are accepted into the program pay no tuition, but are responsible for transportation, housing, and food costs. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is provided by the program.

While the logging industry has seen some contraction in recent years, the demand for skilled operators of the feller bunchers, harvesters, grapple skidders, forwarders, delimbers, and other mechanized logging equipment that now harvests more than 95 percent of all timber in Maine is strong. Many current operators are reaching retirement age and the steep costs of training new operators is driving up demand and wages. Mechanized logging operators are among the highest paid members of the logging workforce.

The new program is working in tandem with the state’s current vocational training system and so far has drawn many of its students from within the logging industry itself as well as from Maine’s high school vocational logging programs. For the first time, logging operators are being trained similarly to other advanced trade occupations with a high school and postsecondary approach.

Anyone with an interest in the program should contact Leah Buck at Northern Maine Community College at 207-768-2768. Information and application instructions may be found online at https://www.nmcc.edu/industrycustomized-training/mechanized-forest-operations/

s for Stream Crossings workshops planned

May 25, 27 in southern and northern Maine

The Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands is finalizing plans for two Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Stream Crossings workshops in Maine this spring. These workshops are being offered free to Master Logger and PLC companies. Lunch will be provided, All events will take place in person. Social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) will be required. Each workshop will include a classroom session and an interactive outdoor field session. The following workshops are planned. Further details will be announced soon.

Northern Maine Spring BMP’s For Stream Crossings Workshop

Location: Morning classroom session, Island Falls, Forest Service Quonset Hut. Field site, TBD

-Southern Aroostook/Northern Penobscot region close to I-95 Corridor

Participants: 40 max. or Covid Limit

Date: May 27 Time: 7:30 am-2 pm

Equipment: Rubber boots, flagging tape, bug spray, hi-vis vests and hard hats (required)

Southern Maine Spring BMPs for Stream Crossings Workshop

Location: Morning classroom session, Maine Forest Service Station, West Paris ME. Field Site Location: Norway, ME.

Participants: 40 max. or Covid Limit

Date: May 25 Time: 7:30 am-2 pm

Equipment: Rubber boots, flagging tape, bug spray, hi-vis vests and hard hats (required)

To learn more or register for a workshop contact Jessica at 688-8195 or email jessica@maineloggers.com.

PublicReservedLands&Maine’s LoggingCommunity,Partnersin SustainableForestManagement

ByBillPatterson DeputyDirector,MaineBureauofParksandLands

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) manages more than 630,000 acres of Public Reserved and Non-Reserved Lands owned by the state of Maine. By statute, these lands are to be managed “in a manner consistent with the principles of multiple use and shall produce a sustained yield of products and services in more than two dozen logging contractors statewide that play a critical role in translating forest management plans into desirable harvest outcomes on the ground. The Bureau is grateful for the skill and hard work of the logging community. accordance with both prudent and fair business practices and the principles of sound planning.” Additionally, Public Reserved Lands are to be managed “to demonstrate exemplary land management practices, including silvicultural, wildlife, and recreation management practices, as a demonstration of state policies governing management of forested and related types of lands.”

The sustainable harvest of timber would not be possible without skilled loggers. Like many large landowners, the Bureau is concerned about the diminishing numbers of professional loggers in Maine. Recognizing the importance of sustaining this workforce, the legislature has authorized BPL to implement a new Logging and Forestry Education Grant Program https://www.maine.gov/dacf/ parks/grants/logging-forestry-education-grant.shtml. Grants may be up to $50,000, and eligible applicants are limited to public secondary or public postsecondary institutions or career and technical education centers related to logging or forestry. Grants may be used to develop educational materials, purchase software, handheld devices, and provide educational field training relating to understanding forestry principles, statutes, and regulations. Grants may also be used to upgrade logging equipment used by the programs for training purposes. The current grant cycle is now open through April 21, 2021.

The Bureau’s staff of more than twenty licensed foresters takes great pride in this responsibility and has a track record spanning more than four decades managing what are now some of the state’s best-stocked timberland. Over the last decade, the Bureau has harvested an average of 124,000 cords of wood per year. Carefully integrated with many of Maine’s most scenic and cherished recreational destinations, this is not easily achieved. Among other factors, it involves a close partnership with

We are all well aware that timber markets, logging equipment, and even the very logging workforce in Maine constantly change. However, with a sustained yield of harvest from well-stocked forests, coupled with a skilled logging workforce, Public Reserved Lands will remain an integral part of Maine’s Forest products economy.

District Forester Randy Lagasse joined the Maine Forest Service in 2015 after working on Maine’s Public Lands for 17 years as a forester. With his well-rounded experiences working in the woods, he is dedicated to helping all of Maine’s woodland owners, loggers and foresters. Randy spent the early part of his career in the applied silviculture aspect of forestry as a Pre-Commercial Thinning contractor. He also taught as a Forestry Instructor at Ashland High School and was a supervisor for a recreational trail youth crew developing snowmobiling opportunities for the County. Randy is proud to say, “the greatest snowmobile trails in the country crisscross Northern Maine’s working forests.” After earning his forester license, Randy helped private woodlot owners and loggers “do the right thing” as a part time consultant.

“As a Maine Forest Service District Forester, I really have the greatest opportunity to connect all the components for a vibrant forest community. My past work with industry, recreation, and teaching gives me the ability and understanding of what needs to be done to accomplish MFS goals.”

Randy resides in Presque Isle and lives with his wife Kristen who is a schoolteacher.

Like all District Foresters, Randy 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 common requests. Every situation is different so it’s often helpful to have Randy come out to a site – ideally before work begins - to help determine if and how the rules apply, and to talk about different ways to control water and prevent soil movement using BMPs. Randy and other District Foresters 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. District Foresters are a great resource – please use them!