The Logger's VOICE - Spring 2022

Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork

This

of The Logger’s Voice is dedicated to the memory of Rodney Wales

Board of Directors

In Memoriam: Rodney Wales

On February 5, we lost one of the PLC’s most dedicated and spirited champions, Rodney Wales. Rodney lost his battle with cancer and is now in heaven with his son Randy.

As many know, Rodney was a founding member of the PLC and a member of the Board from 19952012. He and his wife Pat also spent countless days at the Fryeburg Fair each year recruiting new members and spreading the positive word about PLC and the Master Logger Certification Program.

“I respected Rodney so much,” PLC Past President Jim Nicols said. “I had the good fortune to spend hundreds of hours traveling with him to meetings around the state over 20 years or so. We would talk all the time about how to fix logging's problems. He didn't speak often but when he did people listened. He never compromised in what he believed in and what was the right thing to do for the logging profession. He always worked to make it better for the logging profession in this state. Ultimately the conversation would go back to family, which was most important to him.”

The PLC will make a $500 donation in Rodney’s memory to the Austin Bemis Cemetery Association. This edition of the Logger’s Voice is dedicated to his memory. Rodney’s obituary can be found below.

July 22, 1936 - Feb. 5, 2022

Do you have news to share?

Bridgton – Rodney H Wales, 85, of Fryeburg Harbor, died, Saturday, February 5, 2022, at Bridgton Hospital, of natural causes, with his family and Pastor Cathy Cantin by his side.

The PLC is always seeking news from our Members that showcases our industry’s professionalism, generosity, and ingenuity.

logger’s way of life being threatened and like the eagles that nested on his land, loggers might become a rare and possibly extinct breed. Rodney was asked to join the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, where he served as secretary from 1995 to 2012. Rodney helped to put together the Master Logger Program and served on the executive board as well as the certification board. Throughout Rodney’s career all of his work came to him by word of mouth, and he was highly respected in the industry.

Rodney Wales

Rodney was born on the old homestead in Fryeburg Harbor to Cory and M. Evelyn (Emery) Wales. He attended Fryeburg Harbor School, and Fryeburg Academy, graduating with the class of 1954.

Send ideas to jonathan@maineloggers.com

In 1955 Rodney married Patricia Y. Madsen, they moved into a one room camp on the McNeil Road and started their family. Rodney started his logging career working with his father in the woods with a chainsaw and horses. He hauled timber products for his brother-in-law before going out on his own cutting timber. In 1983 Rodney incorporated with his wife Pat and son Randy in addition to mechanizing the whole operation, providing selective cutting, chipping, and land clearing services.

R.H. Wales and Son was named the Forest Resource Associations Northeastern Outstanding Logger for 1993. After giving a speech at the National Conference in San Antonio Texas, about

Rodney was a man of great faith with a warm greeting for everyone. He served as the Lay Leader and President of the Board at the Bradley Memorial United Methodist Church, as the President of the Austin Bemis Cemetery Association, as well as a member of the Historical Society. Rodney enjoyed picking cranberries from the fen out back of the old homestead, and later sold it to the Greater Lovell Land Trust, so to preserve it for future generations. After retiring Rodney found he enjoyed cooking, still taking Sunday drives with Pat, gardening, and taking care of his lawn. He was proud to have lived his whole life in the harbor and built their retirement home on the banks of the Old Saco River. He enjoyed watching the sand cranes, eagles, geese, and all the other wildlife from his chair. We will miss his wit, wisdom, and positive attitude. Rodney was loved and will be missed by all.

From the President

By Tony Madden

Hello everyone

I hope you are all healthy, wealthy, and wise. Let me rephrase that, I hope you are all healthy and wise, from the words of the late Great Meat Loaf, two outta three ain't bad. Most Maine loggers and haulers are not wealthy, the last two years has been devastating to logging contractors, many loggers are working off the equity of the good old days when logging was profitable. Some loggers would be out of business by now if it had not been for the State and Federal financial Covid-19 pandemic assistance programs.

A recent survey of Maine logging contractors shows an average cost increase of 24% for parts, equipment, services, and labor since January 2020. Market prices are not keeping pace with rising expenses, with the exception of saw logs, which is a small percentage of what most contractors produce.

A 16-yard dump truck hauling gravel on paved roads and with a class B driver can make as much per hour as a log truck with a three-axle trailer hauling wood on much worse roads and a driver with a hard to get class A license. A simple low maintenance 20-ton excavator makes as much per hour as a high maintenance $600,000 Feller buncher. Logging contractors who can, are diversifying their operations away from logging to construction. Construction workers are much easier to hire and less expensive to train. This will eventually create a shortage of logging production. With this weak link in the supply chain, mills will eventually have to overpay for their wood to encourage loggers and haulers to reverse the trend. This scenario is not good for all involved in our industry. Market prices should have kept pace with inflation.

On a more positive note, Congressman Golden has been successful in getting an earmark for MLOP training and an expansion of CDL for timber hauling. This will allow us to double the size of MLOP classes for the next two years and create a new CDL program at the Community College system for wood hauling. Thank you, Congressman Golden.

PLC was unable to hold our March Legislative breakfast in Augusta again this year, another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to monitor any proposed legislation that will adversely affect our industry. Please pay attention to the legislative updates and legislative alerts. Dana and Jess make it super easy for you to give written or zoom testimony. You have more of an impact in Augusta than you think!

Don't forget to sign up for our annual meeting. The 2022 PLC annual meeting and Log -A-Load for Maine Kids live auction will be held on May 13 at a new location, The Harborside Hotel, Spa, and Marina in Bar Harbor. Always an informative meeting and always a ton-a-fun Log-A-Load for Kids auction.

Enjoy your spring break, let's hope for a better summer! Good luck and be safe!

Thanks, Tony

Welcome New Members

Clark Timber Harvesting of Benedicta joined the PLC as a new Affiliated Contractor Member in March of 2022. The company has a professional staff of 2. To learn more contact Ian Clark at (207) 267-5439 or email Clarktimberharvesting@gmail.com

Haslam Enterprises Inc of Eastbrook, ME joined the PLC as a new Forest Contractor Member in December of 2021. The company has a professional staff of 2. To learn more contact Scott Haslam at 207-479-6077 or haslamenterprises@gmail.com

Granite State Cover & Canvas of Plaistow, NH joined the PLC as a new Preferred Supporting Member in December of 2021. The company is New England’s premier cover and canvas distributor. To learn more contact Tina Duval at (603) 382-5462 or office@granitestatecover.com or visit www.granitestatecover.com

Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial of Alfred, ME joined the PLC as a new Preferred Supporting Member in February of 2022. Modern Woodmen of America is a memberowned fraternal financial services organization providing financial services to businesses and individuals. To learn more contact Scott McDonald at (207) 4903495 or scott.m.mcdonald@mwarep.org

Dow Enterprises Inc. of Fort Kent joined the PLC as a new Enhanced Supporting Member in December of 2021. The company is a dealer and on -site installer of telecommunications and industrial equipment based in Fort Kent. Their brands consist of weBoost, Iridium, Garmin, KC Lights, and Kärcher. To learn more, contact Patrick Dow at (207) 242 8661, Patrick.dow00@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/dowenterprisesinc

From the Executive Director

Invest in the Long Term

By Dana Doran

As all of you head into mud season for a much deserved rest, I wanted to take this opportunity to share the five word quote from Warren Buffet in the title of this article, but also commend you for making it through to this time of year; overcoming the most challenging business environment that any of you have ever faced. My respect and admiration for the work that all of you do has never been higher.

On almost every business day of 2022, I have received a phone call, an email, or a text message from the membership asking me what others are going through. Many want to know if others are feeling the same pain and going through the same thing. Is there any good news out

there? And many, to their own disappointment, tell me that they might not make it to mud season before closing their business.

These conversations are probably some of the most challenging that I have had with members across the state, big and small, since I started this job eight years ago this week.

Every year of this job has been challenging and there has always been a tough circumstance to overcome. However, there always seems to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel that folks can look forward to.

Not this year.

I have never heard folks so down and I have never

heard so much discussion that the end is near. Not to be Debbie Downer, but things are bad and there just doesn’t seem to be any good news on the horizon.

As most know, we conducted an inflation survey of our membership and released the results about a month ago. We compared January 2020 to January 2022 prices on a uniform list of commodities that loggers use across the state. The end result was on average, 24% increases in all goods and services. The sad part is, this was before diesel increased by $.75 in less than a week. Yes, we are hearing mills are providing fuel bonuses because of the sharp rise, but this is not going to cover the increases on so many other commodities.

For anyone that follows the stock market or the acquisitions of Warren Buffet, the true American rags to riches story, his usual statement is, “invest for the long term”. Mr. Buffet has always said that you can’t look at short terms gains or quick profits and your strategy needs to be long term. If you can’t invest long term, you shouldn’t buy or invest in anything.

Long term investment requires patience, perseverance, and hard work. These are hallmarks of loggers and you all have more in common with Mr. Buffet than you know.

Loggers are long term thinkers and long term investors, just on a different scale.

Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork operating in Whitefield, story page. 14

Your companies are generally passed down from generation to generation from one family member to another. The next generation actually took on the chore of moving the business forward because it was profitable over the long term. The sad part is, what Warren Buffet has always said to be true for business success, is not true for loggers anymore.

To magnify this point, I would like to use two examples of what you are up against which illustrate the problem and are not making the future any better.

Short Term Mindset

Many of those who you sell wood to suffer from chonic short term thinking. This short sightedness and refusal to do something to help contractors is bleeding many of you to death. As a result, the majority are rethinking their business investment for the long term. Here are some examples which are symbolic of what you are facing:

Example 1:

∙ Wood buyer A decides to make 2% more revenue by selling high grade sawlogs to an exporter instead of a local mill.

∙ Six months later, the local mill is shut down due to running out of raw material and was not able to keep their crew in place.

∙ Also six months later, the exporter, who paid 2% more, is now not willing to pay the same high price and so now Wood Buyer A sells it’s logs for 5% less than what the local mill would have paid.

∙ The contractors that provided the wood are now paid less for the work that they did just six months before.

In this scenario, who is better off?

Example 2:

∙ Logger A has two mechanical crews and is a service contractor for Wood Buyer B.

∙ Logger A requests a 10% rate increase from Wood Buyer B in order to cover increased costs that are beyond Logger A’s control.

∙ Wood Buyer B agrees to a 2% increase and no more.

∙ Logger A shuts down both crews and sells their equipment.

∙ Wood Buyer B entices Logger B to gear up in an effort to replace Logger A’s production.

∙ Logger B is an experienced operator, but inexperienced business owner.

∙ Logger B cannot get financing to buy updated equipment, so he buys older worn down equipment.

∙ Within a year, Logger B is out of business after one of his employees is seriously hurt and the workers’ comp. carrier won’t rewrite their policy.

∙ Wood Buyer B then contracts with experienced Logger C at 15% higher rates than what Logger A was being paid. Reminder, Logger A only asked for a 10% increase.

In this scenario, who is better off?

Both of these scenarios detail how many in this business aren’t interested in taking a long term view and don’t realize how the decions they make are creating waves which are more like a tsunami.

We live and operate in a free market, so it’s understandable that those in business are trying to be as profitable as possible. This should be the perspective of anyone in business regardless of what they make or what they do. This is not a socialistic country and it is not why individuals go into business.

That said, it appears that the old saying, “Doing well by doing good” has been thrown out the window. The general perception is that there is always another who can buy the wood or do the work and as long as there is, price

always wins. As long as wood keeps moving across the scales, what does it matter who gets hurt along the way?

However, as is detailed through the scenarios and what we are now seeing play out across the state in our membership, price for the wood buyer, whether it is paying less for logging services or getting paid more for wood, doesn’t always win. The collateral damage that is being done is simply throwing gas on a fire. So in in the end, does price always win? I would argue it doesn’t.

As a second example of short term vs. long term point of view, I would like to point to what is happening at the Legislature this session to illustrate the lack of understanding of how their decisions can impact your business.

As all of our members know, the PLC has taken a defensive posture this legislative session. Conditions are so challenged for the membership right now that it is in our best interest to be sure that nothing else from state government is brought forward that could do more harm than good.

2022 is an election year. Amazingly, bills have been brought forth this session from many at the Legislature to, “try to help”. Similarly, none of the bills that have suddenly popped up were asked for by our industry, nor were they drafted with our input. It brings a whole new meaning to the term, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

The short term point of view by many at the Legislature in an election year is is that bills like this are necessary to help with re-election. While this might be important for those who seek re-election and those who want to maintain majority party power, the lack of long term thinking causes more problems than it solves. The law of unintended consequences is generally not considered and no good deed goes unpunished as they say.

As I’m writing this article, the Legislature has exactly one month to go until the statutory date of adjournment. Committees are hustling to complete their

work and the next four weeks will be full of floor activity on how to use large sums of surplus funding and what to do with over $1 billion worth of requests for new funding from the Legislature.

Two bills this session were directed at logging contractors in an election year push to help try to save all of you. The issue is, no one is asking for a legislative savior and surprisingly, no one consulted the industry to see if they wanted them. Both highlight the short term vs. long term strategy that has been lost when it comes to investments that really help.

LD 1919, An Act to Encourage Job Growth in the Forest Products Sector Through Tax Incentives, which has been working it’s way through the Taxation Committee, might have had some legs, but for the short term view of certain legislators.

This bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Richard Evans (Dover-Foxcroft), was originally an attempt to make logging and trucking businesses eligible for more favorable income tax treatment under the Employment Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Act that is already in statute for other types of businesses. The PLC testified neither for nor against it because at the end of the day, it would only make a bad employment situation even worse by subsizing employment practices and facilitating the cannibalization of employees from one contractor to another.

After discussing it with the sponsor ahead of the public hearing, it was clear that it wasn’t written with the help of the industry. However, giving credit where credit is due, the sponsor was willing to work with the PLC to amend it with our issues in mind to help, rather than hurt the industry. Unfortunately, that collaboration was fleeting and the bill took on a life of it’s own with the help of one specific Senator from northern Maine who was clearly the architect behind the bill all along.

The PLC has walked away from the bill and if it

Doran Continued on Page 126

“The time of adversaries and thinking that there is just another logger out there to take the job has to end. No one will be better off and cutting our own throats will not lead us to prosperity.”

Doran Continued from Page 11 16 does manage to get out of committee, we will be working to oppose it and hope that the Mills Adminstration will do the same. Election year politics has reared its ugly head and this is nothing that will help any of you either now or in the future.

Also at the Legislature this year, is LD 1724, An Act to Create a Logging Dispute Resolution Board and to Require Proof of Ownership Documents to be Available within 14 Days of Request. This bill, which was invented out of thin air with no industry input, has proven to be quite revealing in terms of what it’s for.

At the public hearing, the only support for the bill came from labor unions and Senator Troy Jackson. It appears that Senator Jackson’s primary mission is to bring unionization to the ranks of the logging industry. Not one industry representative spoke in favor of the bill but five union reps. did.

In the real world, no bill for loggers and truckers should ever move forward if it doesn’t have industry support. Unfortunately, especially in election years, the Maine Legislature is not looking at things through the lense of the real world.

The jury is still out on what will happen with this bill, but my prediction is that the Labor and Housing Committee will vote this bill out on strict party lines and move it to the floor of the Senate where Senator Jackson can continue to move it forward.

It's amazing to me that just six years ago, when divided government existed and folks had to compromise, legislators wanted to hear from loggers and do everything they could to help. Now, six years later, when divided government does not exist, and loggers need more help than ever, loggers have suddenly become the enemy by many with self serving interests because it’s really not

about what’s in the best interest of loggers, it’s really about what’s in the best interests of legislators for their own reelection.

I guess I’ll go back to where I started. Short term thinking is truly quite short sighted and does not help many. Long term thinking and long term investment is what needs to take place to ensure the sustainability of all. Regardless if its in business or politics, we need to return to the middle to get things done. The time of adversaries and thinking that there is just another logger out there to take the job has to end. No one will be better off and cutting our own throats will not lead us to prosperity.

JEFFERSON – Nathan Northrup started his logging business in 1998 when he was 22 years old, buying a 1973 John Deere 440B cable skidder and a couple of used Husky chainsaws he found in a pawn shop, and heading into the woods on his own.

Over the years, Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork - a Member of the Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine for two decadesgrew, shrank, and grew again with the ups and downs of the economy and wood markets, but no matter big or small the company got, that 440B cable skidder remained.

“I bought it off a guy locally, he put two new tires

on the back and rebuilt the motor and it was $11,500,” Nathan recalled on a recent winter day, standing by the old skidder, which was parked across the road from the lot in Whitefield where the rest of his logging equipment and crew had been logging all morning. “People have asked me before if I’d sell it and I tell them there isn’t enough money in Fort Knox to buy that skidder, I couldn’t do it, it would be like selling off my firstborn. Ironically though, at the end of the week, I made more money with that going to work by myself, than I do today with all the equipment behind me.”

Hard to believe, maybe, unless you are aware of

Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork

the realities in the logging business today, but Nathan’s experiences and the arc his business has followed over the past two decades are not uncommon in Maine’s logging industry.

Growing up, Nathan gained experience working with his father and developed an interest in both heavy equipment and trucking. He started his logging business small and grew over time, adding machines and employees to handle more jobs and bigger jobs as demand and markets allowed. He bought his first grapple skidder in 2004, his first feller buncher in 2006, and his first chipper in 2007.

As he expanded, he added equipment on the earth work side as the business diversified.

The company kept growing, and by 2013 he had two whole tree crews in the woods, two chippers, trucks hauling wood, and a lot of wood being cut. But fuel prices were very high, help hard to find, and wood markets unstable.

“Finally, I just said, I’m tired of banging my head against a wall, so I sold all the rigging except the chippers and sold most of the trucks and the only thing I had in the woods was that cable skidder right there again and I tried to

Northrup Continued Page 16

Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork operating in Whitefield, in February 2022.

Northrup Continued from Page 15

focus on chipping and trucking,” Nathan said. “I kept a driver so it was just me and another guy for a couple years. So, at one point I had almost 10 people and then I downsized to two of us, and then slowly I started building back because there was so much work.”

Today, Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork has one whole tree crew operating, but the logging season for the company is short. Like many other firms that once logged a good part of the year, harvesting wood is no longer the main focus of the business. Site development, excavation, road building, septic systems, hauling sand and gravel and loam, and mowing and mulching now pay the bills, Nathan said. Several factors have led to that reality, but inadequate wood prices and markets are at the root of them.

His company didn’t sell a lot of pulp wood to the Verso mill in Jay, but the loss of that mill to an explosion in April 2020 hurt him just the same, Nathan said. “Verso was where I sold most of my softwood pulp, albeit a modest amount, but the bigger thing was I had a truck and driver dedicated to another local PLC member every week averaging 10-13 loads of pulpwood for them, suddenly I had an extra driver looking for something to haul.”

The biomass market has also been inconsistent and frustrating. Despite an abundant supply and deep-water ports that are the closest on the East Coast to the thriving European biomass market, Maine has not taken off as a major biomass exporter. Meanwhile, here at home markets are unreliable. A year ago, it was hard to even sell biomass. Now, with natural gas prices high there is strong demand, but prices per ton once you factor in trucking costs to deliver it aren’t enough to make it worthwhile. He keeps his chipper more for clearing lots and mulching than for any revenue it generates, Nathan said.

“They have their place, but it's the most expensive piece of equipment to buy that gives you the lowest return on your investment,” Nathan said. “Biomass is the most volatile priced material I think any of us have ever seen, you can’t make any heads or tails of it. Why the public and the government will not recognize biomass as a green alternative is beyond me. When you burn it there is no

more CO2 released than if it rots in the woods, but guys go away from it because they get sick of making money one day and losing it the next.”

While saw log markets are strong, you can’t just cut saw logs to properly manage a wood lot, and even with demand high prices paid for the logs are not enough to offset the recent inflation in costs for everything from fuel to parts to equipment that is biting hard into what margins remained in the logging business, Nathan said.

Unlike many businesses that can simply charge more as their costs rise to keep up with inflation, most logging firms are at the mercy of wood prices paid by mills. Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork does what it can to run leaner and more efficiently, from sourcing its own parts to avoid dealer premiums to working on machines in the open because a garage would be cost prohibitive right now, but there is only so much you can do on that side of the ledger, Nathan said.

Meanwhile, logging rules and regulations that could benefit from common-sense changes remain obstacles to profit and growth. Nathan is a strong believer in safety and taskspecific training when it comes to logging but says forcing logging companies to hold certificates or take training that has nothing to do with their work in the woods is inefficient, costly, and unnecessary in a business that is already tough enough.

In 2021, Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork parked its logging equipment when mud season hit in April and never got back into the woods until January of 2022. Nathan and the crew shared a laugh recalling the difficulties of getting the logging side of the business going again after idling the machines for months - the batteries in every piece of logging equipment were dead.

Although this winter featured some sustained cold temperatures, a warm spell and heavy rains swept much of the state in mid-February and Nathan was already watching the weather forecasts closely on the Whitefield job a week later.

“We get another week like that, and this equipment is all gonna be lined up with flowers growing

Northrup. Absent from photo: Shawn Nichols, Lari Stevens, Paulette Thibodeau (Vice President of Operations). Nathan O. Northrup Forest Products & Earthwork also employs Glen McAfee, subcontracted hand crew.

up around it for the next 10 months. The only way we’re gonna use it is if someone is paying me to cut the wood to convert the land, that’s it,” Nathan said. “I’m not going to log, I’m going to convert land and I’m going to get paid to cut the wood, then I’m going to get paid whatever little they pay for it at the mill because it’s the only way a load of wood pays enough.”

Like most loggers still operating, Nathan is an optimist. He would not still be logging if he weren’t, but the head winds in the industry just seem to keep getting stronger. He believes there is great potential in Maine’s logging industry, but to tap it and ensure loggers don’t leave the industry for greener pastures many things need to change.

Nathan joined the PLC early in his logging career, and he has been pleased to see the organization grow stronger and more aggressive in recent years, fighting for loggers at every level and beginning to tackle the biggest issues loggers face head on.

“I’m extremely happy that PLC is finally standing up and having some tough conversations. Some days you just have to take politically correct and throw it out the window and stand toe to toe and say this is how it’s gonna be,” Nathan said.

The company has a great relationship with other PLC Members.

“Our company does a lot of work with other

members, whether it be selling and delivering aggregates, or forestry mulching or trucking,” Nathan said. “It’s a great network of professionals helping each other succeed.”

If money were the only consideration, he’d probably not be logging anymore, but there’s more to it than that. He still looks forward to getting into the woods in the morning or getting on the road at 3 a.m. to haul wood. It may not make a lot of sense, but he still loves logging, Nathan said.

“I love the woods, I love the smell of it, I love watching wood piles grow and straps going over a truck when it leaves, it just makes me smile. It used to be because there was money going into my bank account, now it’s just because, I don’t know, I made that pile of wood,” Nathan said, his crew laughing along with him. “It really is almost like a disease when you get so you like it and get it in your blood.”

He, like many others across the state who share that feeling, hopes to keep logging for years to come. But as the industry gets tougher and tougher, even the best logging companies that remain may not be able or willing to continue to work so hard for so little profit. And even if they are, margins are so thin one misstep by a company in the woods or in the paperwork could be all it takes to end them.

“There’s just not enough money in the woods anymore for any mistakes,” Nathan said.

Nathan Northrup, in crane, slashing wood in Whitefield in February.

27th PLC Annual Meeting, Dinner & Log A Load for Kids Auction

CHARTING A COURSE TOWARD A PROSPEROUS FUTURE

May 13, 2022 - Harborside Hotel, Bar Harbor, ME

An Invitation, Please join us for our 27th Annual Meeting to learn and network with other professional loggers as we chart a course towards a prosperous future.

The Morning Session is only for PLC Contractor Members. During this time, we will: conduct a general membership meeting, and review our legislative agenda. Acadia Insurance will let us know how the dividend program performed in 2021, there is a presentation by Jeff Benjamin on how to use PLC’s Cost Calculator. Panel: Wood Supply and Logger Health - representatives from Lumbra Hardwoods, Robbins Lumber, Woodland Pulp (invited) and Stratton Lumber (invited). During our Luncheon, which is open to all PLC Contractor Members, Supporting Members and invited guests, we will hear from current Maine Governor, Janet Mills.

Dinner Guests Join us at 6:00 pm for a buffet dinner and the honor of meeting a couple of the children helped by the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN)! The new Master Logger certificate ceremony will follow and the PLC’s annual awards presentation will close out the night.

Highlights

-Governor Janet Mills

-PLC Cost Calculator Training

-Panel: Wood Supply & Logger Health

-Log A Load Auction

Retired New England Patriot - Rob Ninkovich

We reconvene at 4:00 pm for our social hour and time to preview the Log A Load Auction items, open to all PLC Contractor Members, Supporting Members and invited guests. To help the Children’s Miracle Network raise money, our Log A Load Auction will be kicked off by the Miracle Network Children, Scott Hanington and special guest Rob Ninkovich, retired New England Patriot linebacker!

Can we exceed the $87,498 we raised in 2021? Meet the amazing people that our fundraising is impacting and feel the difference that we are making!

In 2021, the PLC of Maine raised over $205,000 to support local Maine children!

Creating Real Miracles by Raising Funds for Local Hospitals

Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals have raised more than $5 billion for 170 children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada. The PLC of Maine and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) Foundation have raised over $1.5 million since 1996 for children in Maine. These donations have gone to support research and training, purchase equipment, and pay for uncompensated care, all in support of the mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Some are battling cancer, some are suffering from a traumatic injury, and others require constant care because they were born too early, or with a genetic disease.

Meeting Agenda:

Morning Session

PLC Contractor Members Only

7:30 AM Registration (Coffee & Full Continental Breakfast)

8:00 AM Full Board and General Membership Meeting, Board Elections, Legislative Update & Acadia Dividend Program update.

9:45 AM Break

10:00 AM Calculating the Cost of Logging & Trucking, Jeff Benjamin, S.J. Rollins

11:00 AM Panel: Wood Supply and Logger Health

Afternoon Session

PLC Contractor Members, Supporting Members & Invited Guests

12:30 PM Lunch Buffet

1:00 PM Luncheon Speaker: Governor Janet Mills

2:00-4:00 PM Afternoon Break

Highlights

-Governor Janet Mills

-PLC Cost Calculator Training

-Panel: Wood Supply & Logger Health

-Log A Load Auction

Retired New England Patriot - Rob Ninkovich

4:00 PM

5:00 PM

6:30 PM

7:00 PM

7:15 PM

7:30 PM

Children’s Miracle Network Auction

Donations for auction items are welcome & needed!

Evening session

PLC Contractor Members, Supporting Members, Invited Guests

Social Hour Auction Items Preview

Children’s Miracle Network Children & Log A Load for Kids Special Guest Auctioneer Scott Hanington & Rob Ninkovich, Retired New England Patriot Dinner Buffet

PLC President’s Welcome

Presentation of Master Logger Supporter Award & Presentation of Certificates to 2022 Cohort of Certified Master Logger Companies

Awards Presentation: PLC Logger of the Year, Acadia Insurance Safety Award, PLC Community Service Award, Supporting Member Award & PLC President’s Award

PRESQUE ISLE - When you walk through the Columbia Forest Products log yard in Presque Isle you can be sure you’re going to see some of the best logs you will find in any log yard in New England. That’s because high quality logs are the only ones that meet the unique needs of the veneer mill located here in the northeast corner of Maine.

Columbia operates four face veneer mills, located in Vermont, Ontario, Wisconsin and in Maine. The Maine mill buys logs from a vast area, with three wood buyers in Maine and another in New Brunswick. Steve Tudor, Log Procurement Manager for the mill, has been in the business since 1980, most of those years with Columbia. Together, he and the other buyers must work constantly with loggers, landowners, commercial wood yards, lumber mills and other sources of high-quality logs to keep the mill supplied.

“We’ve got beautiful growing stock in the state of Maine, we just have a diameter problem,” Steve said. “It’s taking a full-time year-round effort to buy our 7 million feet a year. We’re looking for quality stuff, and it’s a challenge. We need a straight log, and we need a lot of

them. Each week we produce enough veneer to run an 8foot-wide strip of veneer from Presque Isle to Bangor.”

Founded in 1957, Columbia Forest Products is North America’s leading manufacturer of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer products, which are used to create high-quality cabinetry, fine furniture, architectural millwork and commercial fixtures. Columbia’s products are sold through a network of wholesale distributors, mass merchandisers and original equipment manufacturers.

Columbia’s Maine veneer mill was originally built in the early 1960s as the Indian Head Plywood mill in Skyway Industrial Park, which was established after the closure of the Presque Isle Air Force Base on the site. The mill would later be acquired by Columbia as the company expanded. Today it employs more than 160 workers in two shifts and is a major contributor to the local and regional economy.

The mill consumes thousands of white birch, yellow birch and hard maple logs each year, as well as lesser numbers of red oak logs. Logs are sorted, debarked, softened, heated, run through veneer lathes, peeled, and cut into sheets of high-quality veneer, 42/100s of an inch

Columbia Forest Products

thick, which is thick enough to be lightly sanded unlike some of the thinner imported veneers. Drying is part of the finishing process, as is gluing.

The mill’s 10-foot lathe has been there since the beginning, and an 8-foot lathe was added two decades ago. “That’s our new line,” Steve said. “An eight foot lathe, when you chuck a log, has tight tolerance, you chuck an eight foot log and your spindles are way in where on a 10 foot lathe you’ve got weak tolerances and you don’t get as good a cut.”

The mill produces a quality and competitive product, but it all starts with finding the right logs. Over the years, Steve said that has grown more challenging and today it takes a vast network of suppliers and strategies built up over the years to meet the demand. Veneer logs are sparse and scattered, a dozen at one yard, a few more at another. Buyers constantly cruise their territory, generally in a circle two hours from their homes, seeking the right logs and building the relationships and partnerships with loggers, landowners, commercial wood yards, and lumber mills to ensure that when logs worthy of being marked with a “V” show up, they’ll find their way to Presque Isle.

Working with loggers unfamiliar with the mill’s demands to help them both identify veneer quality logs and harvest them in a manner that maximizes their value is part of the process, Steve said.

“Everything here is measured in percent yield, every log we buy has an expected yield for the length diameter and grade,” Steve said. “Three-quarters of your yield is in the outer third of a log, so we just ask all operators of mechanical equipment to respectfully and gently handle the logs, minimizing compression stains and fractures. We encourage them to put log savers on their buckets and to lower their roll pressure on these processors and we’re constantly talking to contractors about doing that.”

“We go out of our way to teach suppliers how we grade wood, therefore they can make better wood and more efficient decisions,” Steve added.

Columbia’s buyers are seasoned professionals with experience in logging and or forestry. They understand the realities in the woods, as does mill manager Kevin Paradis, a former logger himself. Arguments with suppliers over log quality are part of the business, but Steve said the mill recognizes loggers are challenged right now and strives to offer wood prices that are consistent and sustainable from a harvester’s perspective.

While the vast majority of logs in the yard in Presque Isle are destined for the veneer market the mill does also sell some to niche markets. On a cold afternoon

Columbia Continued Page 22

Photos: Opposite page, the Columbia Forest Products mill in Presque Isle viewed from the log yard.

Above top, a log beginning the process of being peeled into veneer.

Above bottom, a roll of freshly peeled veneer is inspected before moving on through the finishing process.

in January Steve could be found at the north end of the yard circling a couple dozen premium logs with Randy Lucas of Lucas Custom Instruments in Indiana, talking about grades of wood suitable for mandolin necks.

Randy and Steve have known each other for years, and Randy – a well known premium guitar builder in music circles – visits periodically to find the right wood for necks, bodies and fretboards. The best logs are expensive, the process of finding the right ones is time consuming, and there is plenty of good-natured banter in the process.

“Are you insane?” Steve asks Randy at one point in the negotiations. There is laughter, and they keep dickering over the logs’ texture, twist, figure, and grain.

Not long afterward Randy completes his buys. It has taken two hours to find the right 11 logs, and he’s happy as he heads south to the airport in Bangor to return home, where at some point in the near future those logs will be crafted into components of fine instruments sold all over the world.

Randy travels the country looking for logs for his business, and at one point before he leaves, he and Steve talk about the trends he has seen everywhere in the logging industry of an aging workforce, lack of new workers, and cost challenges. Those same challenges are here in Maine, they agree, and are a threat not only to the logging industry, but to all the

Photos: Top and middle, veneer sheet rolling off the line is inspected and cut. Bottom, Steve Tudor, at right, working with Randy Lucas to find logs suitable to provide wood for musical instrument components including stringed instrument necks and bodies.

industries that rely on loggers for their raw material.

After Randy leaves Steve talks more about the trends he has seen since starting in the business in 1980. One is fragmentation of major commercial timberlands as the profitability that powered Maine’s forest economy for generations and kept huge swathes of Maine forestland undeveloped has come under siege.

Columbia is committed to the future of Maine’s forest economy and became a Preferred Supporting Member of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC) to support Maine’s loggers, a critical piece of that economy, Steve said.

“We joined the PLC to show respect to the logging force that has given us our capacity in business,” Steve said. “We want to see sustained growth in our industry, we’ve had a sustained demand and we want to stay in business for years to come so it’s important they get their recognition, we want to support our contractors.”

“We thank all the landowners, contractors and skilled slashers who make this industry possible,” he added.

All of Columbia’s plywood and veneer mills hold FSC chain of custody certified by the Rainforest Alliance, an independent, non-governmental organization with the published aims of working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.

Columbia Continued from Page 216

Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands grants and partnerships benefit Career and Technical Education Logging and Forestry Programs

MORO PLANTATION – It was a mid-February morning and temperatures were hovering around zero as the woods east of Route 11 filled with the sounds of heavy equipment, chainsaws, and two-way radios.

Here, on 20 acres of Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) woodland, students in the Region 2 School of Applied Technology Forest Management and Operations program were hard at work harvesting timber under the direction of instructor Rob Greenier, felling and limbing trees with a processor and chainsaws, and transporting the logs to a yard with cable skidders and a forwarder.

The harvest, which has continued for the remainder of the winter, represents the first partnership of its kind between BPL and Career and Technical Education (CTE) schools in Maine, giving students a chance to work directly with BPL northern region staff and learn about the expectations of logging on public lands, while providing BPL with an improvement cut on the lot. Revenue from wood sales is benefiting both.

Jacob Guimond, northern region manager for BPL, said the lot provides a great learning opportunity for the students, with mixed terrain, a brook, an old apple orchard

with some trees that are good candidates for recovery, and plenty of wildlife. It is also a lot that can greatly benefit from an improvement cut.

“It’s a real tough spot because there’s not a lot of good quality stuff to leave, it’s mostly poplar and fir, an occasional maple, we’ve got a lot of blowdown that was naturally occurring before we even started, so we’re going to leave all the ash, release the ash, and if we have any spruce we’re going to try and leave the spruce and get the next crop coming in,” Jacob said.

The lot is in a good spot for the students to commute to and from Region 2 in Houlton, and the partnership has been a success for the school and BPL.

“It’s been great, it’s worked out really well,” Jacob said. “We’re glad to see the interest from the students and the school and glad we could work it out.”

Maine’s remaining CTE logging and forestry programs are critical to the future of the logging industry in Maine, which is struggling to attract and retain workers in the midst of a general worker shortage, accelerating retirements among the existing logging workforce, and public perceptions that the future of timber harvesting in Maine is in doubt.

Grants Continued Page 24

The Foster Career and Technical Education Center Forestry and Wood Harvesting Program on March 9 unveiled its new mini-forwarder purchased with the aid of grant funds from the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL).

Grants Continued from Page 23

The CTE programs are also a natural feeder system for students enrolling in the Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP) after graduation. The community college program developed by the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and Northern Maine Community College with state and industry partners is gearing up for its next class in June, and as in past years, some students from the CTE programs are already enrolled in it.

Every instructor for a CTE logging/forestry program will tell you one of the biggest challenges they face is acquiring and maintaining the heavy equipment required to properly prepare students for careers in logging. Mechanized logging equipment dominates the industry, but the costs associated with that equipment have risen rapidly over the years.

It was because of that need that the Professional Logging Contractors of (PLC) Maine began working toward funding for the programs in 2015, when PLC Board Member Tony Madden served on a commission organized by Maine’s Legislature in 2015 to consider potential uses of what proved to be a temporary increase in revenue from Governor Paul LePage’s plan to fund energy upgrades for low-income Mainers with revenue from increased timber harvesting on public land.

The work of the commission led to legislation introduced by former State Sen. Tom Saviello in 2016 recommending the use of public lands timber revenue for logger education programs at CTEs. That legislation drew bipartisan support, and the PLC and other prominent supporters including State Sen. Russell Black led an effort to override two Gubernatorial vetoes to see the final version of the bill, LD 586, passed into law in 2017.

The new law allowed the CTEs to apply for funds generated by timber harvests on Maine Public Reserved Lands to purchase newer and better equipment to train students for the professional logging industry of today. Only an educational program at a public secondary or public postsecondary educational institution or career and technical education center that is related to logging or forestry, is eligible to receive funding under the grant program.

The new law specifies that money must be applied for by each school and caps the amount each applicant can receive in a biennium at $50,000, while capping the entire expenditure allowed in the biennium for the grant program at $300,000, or $150,000 per year. While timber revenue from Public Lands has significantly declined due to recent timber markets, BPL recognizes the importance of training new loggers and decided to prioritize this expenditure in 2021.

It is noteworthy that one of the original purposes for which Maine’s Public Reserved Lands were set aside was to support schools, and that Maine’s Office of the Attorney General in 2015 reaffirmed this historical reference by stating that funding of education of the sort LD 586 would support at public schools is consistent with that purpose.

As a result, the Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) now has the authority to provide grant opportunities to eligible educational programs in order to develop loggers prepared to work on Maine’s public reserved lands.

In 2021, the first time this grant program was offered, a total of eight proposals were received for the $150,000 in available funds. After much consideration, the Bureau’s review committee awarded the top three proposals $50,000 each. Programs selected were Foster Career and Technical Education Center – Mount Blue in Farmington, Oxford Hills Technical School – Region 11 in South Paris, and the Region 2 School of Applied Technology Forest Management and Operations in Houlton/Dyer Brook.

Curriculum units covering Public Lands forestry practices were developed in partnership with each school. The curriculum outlines the Bureau’s Integrated Resource Policy as a means to supplement existing curriculum that provide students the basic knowledge of Forestry principles, law and regulations needed for the trade. All the schools are planning to use the grants to purchase better equipment.

“We’re planning to upgrade our CAT 305 e2 mini excavator to a 306 with a hydraulic feller buncher head. It will be limited to 10” trees but that’s fine with me. This is a good start for teenaged operators” stated Al

Students in the Region 2 School of Applied Technology Forest Management and Operations program work harvesting timber on BPL land in Moro Plantation in February.

Schaeffer, Logging Instructor for Region 11.

Region 2’s equipment is not new, but the program is fortunate to have multiple pieces including cable skidders, a forwarder, and a more recently acquired Ponsse processor. The oldest cable skidder is a 1969 model in need of replacement. Instructor Rob Greenier is still weighing options for a purchase to replace it.

In mid-March, Foster Tech hosted a public unveiling of its newest piece of equipment, a brand new miniforwarder that is being purchased in part with the grant funds. The machine is already in use by students. Representatives from BPL and the Maine Forest Service, and former State Sen. Saviello were on hand along with PLC Members.

BPL Deputy Director Bill Patterson attended the Region 9 event and said the grants have helped accelerate a strong and valuable relationship between the BPL and the CTE programs in logging and forestry.

“The thing that excites me about the grant program is obviously equipment is critical to giving these kids a good experience, but having our foresters come in and talk to them about what they do in the woods and how they work with loggers, that’s going to be one of the greatest values of the program,” Bill said. “We need people to work in the woods, whether its loggers or foresters, and this is giving them a general introduction on how forestry is done by the Bureau of Parks and Lands, and then really it’s about getting out in the woods together and talking about it, I think they’ll remember a lot more of that than what’s written on a page.”

Back at the ongoing harvest in Moro Plantation, Jacob agreed.

“We’ll be glad to see them put that money to use and be able to learn about public lands and potential opportunities after they graduate to work for us,” Jacob said.

Trucking

Trucking Industry News...

Final Reminder: Mobile carriers are sunsetting 3G. Have you checked to see if your ELD is affected?

Mobile carriers are shutting down their 3G networks to make room for more advanced network services, including 5G. As a result, many older cell phones and other mobile devices will be unable to use data services.

Once a 3G network is no longer supported, it is highly unlikely that any ELDs that rely on that network will be able to meet the minimum requirements established by the ELD Technical Specifications, including recording all required data elements and transferring ELD output files. Therefore, any ELD that requires 3G cellular connectivity to perform its functionality will no longer be in compliance with the technical specifications in the ELD rule after the 3G network it relies on is sunset. When in an area that does not support 3G, a 3G device will register a malfunction. In accordance with 49 CFR 395.34, the carrier has 8 days to get the malfunction resolved, in this case by replacement, unless an extension is granted. *The announced sunset dates are below.

These are dates for completing the shutdowns. Mobile carriers are planning to retire parts of their networks sooner.

-AT&T 3G: February 22, 2022

-Sprint 3G (T-Mobile): March 31, 2022

-Sprint LTE (T-Mobile): June 30, 2022

-T-Mobile 3G: July 1, 2022

-Verizon 3G: December 31, 2022

*Sunset dates are subject to change. Contact your mobile carrier for up-to-date information.

Roadcheck 2022 Inspection Dates are May 17-19…

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced this year’s International Roadcheck dates are May 17-19, and will have a focus on wheel ends.

International Roadcheck is a 72-hour highvisibility, high-volume commercial motor vehicle inspection and enforcement initiative carried out throughout North America. Commercial motor vehicle inspectors in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will conduct North American Standard Inspections of commercial motor vehicles and drivers at weigh and inspection stations, on roving patrols, and at temporary inspection sites.

Each year, CVSA focuses on a specific aspect of a roadside inspection. This year, the focus will be on wheel ends.

CVSA said wheel end components support the heavy loads carried by commercial motor vehicles, maintain stability and control, and are critical for braking. Violations involving wheel end components historically account for about one-quarter of the vehicle out-of-service violations discovered during International Roadcheck, and past inspection data routinely identified wheel end components as a top 10

Trucking

that if found, require the inspector to restrict the driver or vehicle from travel until those violations or conditions are addressed.

Safety

FireSuppression,PartI

ByDonaldBurr PLCSafety&TrainingCoordinator safety@maineloggers.com

Two-part series on fire suppression.

Part 1

This quarter we are talking about what to do if you have a fire.

First, your safety is most important. Only engage a fire when it is reasonably safe to do so. Stay out of the heat & smoke; both are killers.

Every piece of equipment should have these four firefighting tools on board. An installed fire suppression system, an ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher, a loaded stream fire extinguisher, and the operator who is making the decisions on when and how to fight the fire. Every operator must know how these tools work and how best to use them. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) says that every employee who is expected to use a fire extinguisher will be trained annually on their use and proper care. I will go over the primary use of these four firefighting tools.

The installed fire suppression system comes in many distinctive styles, but they all work basically the same, and you should get trained on your system. All types have the following five components:

1. Suppression agent. This can be a dry chemical or a liquid mixture. Each agent has pros and cons that we will not discuss here, but as an operator, you should know what you have and what to expect when the system is activated.

2. Nitrogen agent propellent.

3. Automatic system activation: Systems run a wire or a tube around into the areas where heat can build up and fires commonly start. When the wire or tube burns, though, the system activates.

4. A manual system activation. These involve plungers placed in one or two locations easily accessible to the operator to set the system off manually.

5. A central control center informs the operator of the fire system status. This comes in many unique

styles, and each has different options on how to interact with the control center. Generally, they have an audio alarm and status lights.

The second type of firefighting tool is a 10 lbs. or larger, ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher. It should

be mounted securely in a place the operator can access easily. ABC means that it can be used on a class “A” fire ordinary materials or anything that produce “ASH.” Class “B” petroleum fire or anything that will “Boil” and create a flammable gas. Some of these liquids can boil or off-gas at very cold temperatures. For example, gasoline offgasses at –45*F. Class “C” fires are electrical fires or anything that has “Current.” A dry chemical extinguisher blankets the fire and smothers the fire.

The third firefighting tool is the loaded stream extinguisher. These extinguishers look a lot like a water can fire extinguisher, but the loaded stream has an additive that assists in putting a fire out and keeps the water from freezing. This extinguisher does two things to put the fire out. First, it removes the heat and smothers the fire. Loaded stream are class A & B class fire extinguishers. When filling these do not use RV or automotive antifreeze and only use the proper additive (potassium

carbonate).

The fourth firefighting tool is the equipment operator or mechanic holding the fire extinguisher and fighting the fire. Knowing when & how to use the first three tools cannot be overstated.

Next month we will go into how fire extinguishers work and best practices when using them on a fire.

We Support Maine Loggers

Loggers and Rotator Cuff Injury

By Brie Weisman, OTR/L with Maine LogAbility with assistance from Michaela Marden, OTR/L

Shoulder injuries may not be the first thing that comes to mind when contemplating the dangers faced by loggers, but it only takes a moment to realize why they are commonplace in the industry. Tasks like pitching a strap over a load, and putting on tire chains can put great strain on the shoulder at awkward angles. Other tasks involving repetitive motion cause wear and tear. Beyond the work itself, logging environments can be snowy, muddy, or uneven terrain full of trip hazards that cause falls, a major cause of shoulder injuries.

An unusual joint, the shoulder is one of only two ball and socket joints in our body, allowing for exceptional rotation (the other is the hip). But the shallowness of the shoulder socket leaves it especially vulnerable to injury, particularly the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is a series of muscles in the shoulder that form a “cuff” of tissue around this ball. A rotator cuff injury is the result of a tear in a portion of this muscle group. Someone experiencing general shoulder pain, weakness, and/or loss of range of motion, especially with overhead movement or external, extended rotation, is very likely suffering from a rotator cuff injury. There are two main causes of rotator cuff tears: natural degeneration and injury. With aging, comes the degeneration of muscles tissues, creating heightened chances for rotator cuff and any other number of injuries, even in the course of everyday activities. In the young and healthy, an injury to the rotator cuff may happen suddenly when attempting to catch oneself with an outstretched hand during a fall, or by overexerting oneself, be it in a moment of great strain, or hours or even weeks of overdoing work especially new activities that the body is unaccustomed to. This is not an injury to be pigeon-holed; weight lifters, golfers, pitchers, swimmers, all get rotator cuff injuries. Symptoms can vary in both detail and severity. If a tear is suspected, you should see your primary care provider for a comprehensive assessment. Using ice and resting can go a long way in addressing a temporary injury versus making it a lifelong injury. A rotator cuff can be treated with surgery, but the shoulder area will

always be compromised. Preventing shoulder injuries is about working smarter, not harder.

*Use proper body positioning. Lift closer to the body rather than with outstretched arms.

*Maintain good posture. Truckers suffering from fatigue should take care not to slump forward or round the shoulders.

*A properly fitted five point harness can help with posture.

*Conserve energy. Use gravity to your advantage and takeregular rest breaks, or break up a long task by alternating with other tasks.

*Reduce repetitive motion wear and tear. Something as simple as changing up the angle of pitching straps over a load is helpful. *Keep abreast of changing technology in logging. Simple things like changing over to newer, lighter straps to reduce stress on shoulders can mean an injury avoided.

These small adjustments to daily work and being proactive in addressing pain can make a big difference in reducing risk of serious and painful shoulder injuries. A good stretching routine and moderate strength training exercises are crucial to keeping the shoulders and other joints ‘well oiled.’ Ask your primary care provider for exercises or other recommendations.

There is an excellent YouTube video that answers other questions about shoulder injuries management for log truck drivers created by British Columbia Forestry Council. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=emmPSSL3aDE

For More Information, visit Maine LogAbility, part of the Maine AgrAbility program: https://extension.umaine.edu/ agrability/

Safety

Ted Clark, CLCS, Loss Control Consultant, Acadia Insurance Quarterly Safety Meeting: Eye Hazards

A few years back I was chatting with a driver who had lost the sight in one of his eyes due to an accident that occurred years ago. While we were discussing the incident that led to the loss of his sight, he noted that most people don’t realize how much loss of sight, even if only one eye, can affect your work and personal life. It’s hard not to take your eyesight for granted. Most of us wake up every morning, open our eyes, and maybe with the help of corrective lenses, we see perfectly fine. But I want you to try to imagine how much your life would change if you couldn’t see out of one eye? How about both eyes? The change would be dramatic and it could last a lifetime. At a minimum, your hobbies, your job, and your family life would likely change dramatically. Eye injuries in the workplace are very common and can range significantly in severity. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that every day about 2000 U.S. workers sustain an eye injury that requires medical treatment. Even a seemingly minor eye injury can have a major impact on your life. According to the American Optometric Association, 3 out of 5 of those workers who were injured were not wearing any eye protection at the time of injury. According to the same article, those injuries can be reduced by 90% by simply wearing the right eye protection and using it correctly. Luckily, this is an easy problem to fix, and it starts with understanding the hazard and knowing how to reduce it.

OSHA requires that eye and face protection is worn when there is a reasonable probability of injury.

What are some eye hazards we see in the logging industry?

Typical hazards may include projectiles from dust, metal, wood, or brush. We also see eye hazards whenever we deal with chemicals such as, diesel, hydraulic fluid, oils, cleaners, etc.

Safety glasses should be worn to protect your eyes from general hazards. When there is a high probability of projectiles such as wood debris, pressurized liquid and metal from grinder, or there is a possibility of chemical splash, a face shield and/or goggles should be considered.

It’s important to recognize that safety glasses are not one size fits all. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the glasses you purchase fit properly and comfortably for the conditions you will encounter. Adjustable temples, eyewear retainers and, tint can all make the glasses more comfortable to wear. Glasses that do not fit snug around the face, will leave gaps where debris can enter or the glasses will fog up. When selecting a pair of safety glasses, you should start by looking for the imprint “Z87” or “Z87+”. Typically, this will be on the frame, but occasionally it will be on the lens. This rating confirms that the glasses have been tested to

withstand a barrage of impacts and meet a list of requirements set forth by the American National Standards Institute.

Typical prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses will not meet these requirements and, therefore cannot be counted on to protect your eyes from hazards common to the workplace. If you require prescription glasses, you need to verify that the glasses you wear meet the same ANSI Z87.1 standard. If your glasses do not meet this standard, there is a risk of them shattering due to impact, or allowing debris or splatter to get into your eyes through openings.

I was a firefighter in Pennsylvania for 4 years prior to moving home to Maine. My first call out with the fire company was for an auto accident where we had to cut the vehicle apart to extricate one of the people involved in the accident. When I exited the truck, I was quickly pulled aside by one of the more experienced firefighters who told me to put my safety glasses on and, “don’t let Pat catch you without your glasses.” Pat was the captain of the fire department and was known to take calculated risks while on the scene, but one thing that he did not mess around with was eyesight. At a young age he had lost the sight out of one of his eyes while working in a mill and after that, he began taking eye sight safety extremely serious. Learn from this lesson and don’t get caught up in the all too easy trap of not wearing your safety glasses. A simple step to help reduce this hazard is to wear glasses that are designed and tested to protect your eyes. Assuring the glasses fit properly and are intended to suit the environment you are working in will help make sure they work when you need them and help ensure good eye health into retirement.

Acadia is pleased to share this material for the benefit of its customers. Please note, however, that nothing herein should be construed as either legal advice or the provision of professional consulting services. This material is for 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.

Safety

*This sign-in sheet is intended to be used with the quarterly Safety Training Topic on page 33. Refer to the cutline on page 33 when removing it from the magazine.

AUGUSTA – The Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine in February released results of a survey of its members showing Maine logging companies have seen cost increases averaging 24 percent for parts, equipment, services, and fuel since January 2020.

The PLC asked members to report their increase in costs for 20 goods and services that are vital to logging operations over the period of January 2020 to January 2022. Loggers reported increases ranging from 17-30 percent, with truck and equipment insurance the lowest at 17 percent while oil and lubricants saw the highest increase at 30 percent. Many of the costliest items on the list including heavy equipment tires rose 24-26 percent in cost.

The logging industry cost increases far exceeded an average 8.4 percent increase in costs for American consumers over the same period, 7.5 percent in 2021 and 1.4 percent in 2020.

“While all Americans and industries are facing higher costs, it is clear that Maine logging companies are being hit harder than many at a time when most are already struggling with difficult markets and wood prices that are not keeping pace with rising expenses,” Dana Doran, Executive Director of the PLC, said. “Now, spiking energy costs are projected to add to even more to the price of most goods and services in the coming months, worsening an already critical situation.”

Maine’s timber harvesters and haulers were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic effects. Most Maine logging contractors who are members of the PLC, the state’s trade association for timber harvesters and haulers, reported a 30-40 percent reduction in wood markets in 2020 alone. Many suffered severe revenue losses, layoffs, loss of clients, reduced productivity, and inability to plan for the future. The loss of the Pixelle Specialty Solutions pulp mill in Jay to an explosion in

April 2020 worsened an already deteriorating economic storm for most in the industry.

2021 saw some market improvement for contractors, but not enough to offset increased costs and other challenges including a shortage of qualified truck drivers, equipment operators, and other workers. Many PLC contractors are reporting they expect their wood production to decrease over the next year as a result.

The survey findings may be viewed at: https://maineloggers.com/ wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Inflation -Member-Survey-2022-2.pdf

*The survey conducted by the PLC took place prior to the economic effects of war in Ukraine, which immediately increased fuel costs and are now beginning to raise costs elsewhere.

MeetMaine’sNew ChiefForest Ranger

Chief Forest Ranger Robby Gross started his career with the Maine Forest Service in 1995 as a Forest Ranger in the East Branch District in Island Falls. He followed his career dream of becoming a Forest Ranger after being hooked on the job growing up in Topsfield and working with Forest Rangers in the area.

“It was the excitement at the time” according to Chief Ranger Gross, that convinced him that the Forest Ranger job was what he wanted to do. While that statement still holds true today, the immense responsibility that his position and agency have within the State of Maine isn’t lost on Chief Gross. His time as District Ranger in the Aroostook Waters District in Masardis and Regional Ranger of the Northern Region in Ashland has prepared him to be the next leader of the Forest Protection Division.

According to Chief Gross, “we have a huge responsibility to interact with all in the forest industry to ensure that our fire programs are understood and capitalized on.”

By itself, this is no easy task considering the magnitude of the workforce in the forest industry and what the forest industry means to Maine’s economy. The guiding actions for Maine Forest Rangers include conducting wildfire planning sessions, ensuring landowners, foresters, and contractors are trained and equipped for wildfire response, and suggesting opportunities to make forest lands more fire safe. These actions collectively will help keep our goal of containing every wildfire that occurs to under an acre in size. Inevitably, there will continue to be large wildfires in the State of Maine, but our collective response will minimize loss of forest land and keep people safe. It is expected that Maine Forest Rangers will have interactions with foresters and contractors alike to specifically talk about what to do when a wildfire occurs, using and developing equipment to contain wildfires, and to highlight areas of significant concern or value. Have you been actively involved in a wildfire response in your career? If not, at some point in time, it will happen. Being prepared for that response will only benefit you and the lands that you work on.

Have you talked with a Maine Forest Ranger

lately? If not, I would challenge you to reach out to your local Ranger as I have challenged them to reach out to you. You may find out that we would much rather be proactive with our jobs rather than reactive. Maine Forest Rangers have ideas and suggestions for you to improve equipment capability for quick onsite fire suppression tactics. You may find out why we visit your harvest operations during the weekends when your equipment is the most vulnerable to vandalism. Every year we help several of you recover restitution for lost fuel or damages.

Maine Forest Rangers are more than willing to visit a site with you to talk about best management practices for water crossings, help answer questions on forest practices act, or talk about ways to deal with slash to avoid fire hazards. Have a problem with the public dumping illegal materials or rutting your land management road? Maine Forest Rangers can intervene to help hold people accountable. We understand how hard you work, what down time means, what the magnitude of equipment costs are and want to do our part to ensure your livelihood is protected.

Chief Forest Ranger Robby Gross

IntroducingyourDistrictForesters

MeetAlyssaGregory

CoastDistrictForester

background includes rural forestry, urban forestry, horticulture, and structure firefighting.

Allyssa has most recentlyworked for the state of South Dakota as a Service Forester. She has been an active member of SAF, serving as the DSAF chapter’s treasurer for two years. Allyssa is involved with the Tree Farm program as a certified inspector and is a Project Learning Tree facilitator. She welcomes landowners to contact her with questions about their forests.

“I enjoy working with Maine’s woodland owners and operators and I’m happy to offer assistance and answer their questions,” Alyssa said.

Alyssa and other district foresters are a great resource. Please use them!

Ranger Continued from Page 366

We all face challenges and opportunities in our jobs every day. It is up to all of us to make the most of relationships that can support each other. Reach out, ask questions, find out what we can do for you. In return, you will find a professional Maine Forest Ranger that is ready to assist and protect.

Respectfully,

Robby Gross, Chief Forest Ranger

The mission of the Maine Forest Service, Division of Forest Protection is to protect Maine’s forest resources and homes from wildfire, respond to disasters and emergencies and to enhance the safe, sound, and responsible management of the forest for this and future generations.

District Forester Alyssa Gregory.

BMPPrinciples:ToolsforProtecting WaterQuality

ByTomGilbert WaterResourcesSpecialist MaineForestService

Most BMP techniques are based on a few basic principles. Understanding these principles will enable you to select or adapt the BMPs that are the most appropriate to the situation and cost effective for your operation. Think of these principles as goals. Any single practice or combination of practices that effectively achieves one or more of these key goals can be considered an appropriate BMP. Remember the outcome is more important that the tool! There are 7 basic BMP principles detailed in the Maine Forest Service BMP manual including:

*Define Objectives and Responsibilities

*Pre-Harvest Planning

*Anticipate Site Conditions

*Control Water Flow

*Minimize and Stabilize Exposed Soil

*Protect the Integrity of Waterbodies.

*Handle Hazardous Materials Safely

Some principles may be more important to pay attention to than others during certain times of the year. Principle #3; Anticipating Site Conditions may be more important to consider during late winter and spring, when harvesting conditions are less than ideal.

As sites begin to thaw and rain becomes more frequent, consider sites or portions of a harvest site that

have a lower risk to water quality due to their elevation and/or drier soil type. When planning for and adapting to changing weather conditions, consider the following:

*Time operations appropriately. Weather, season and site conditions all play a role in timing.

*Know your site! Find dry ground ahead of time for harvesting in wetter conditions.

*Plan to monitor, maintain and adjust BMPs as needed.

To view the Maine Forest Service BMP manual please visit the MFS website at: https://www.maine.gov/ dacf/mfs/policy_management/water_resources/bmps.html

Nice job by PLC Member and Master Logger Kimball and Sons Logging and Trucking of Poland, ME hosting UMaine Forest Operations Winter Camp students at two of their active harvest sites in Stoneham and Canton on Jan. 10, showing students both cut-to-length and whole tree harvesting systems in action. These visits give future foresters an opportunity to hear from professional loggers and learn about the issues and concerns they face on a daily basis. Thanks to the Kimballs for hosting!

2022 PLC Call forAward Nominees

Do you know a person or business involved in the logging industry who ought be recognized for service to the community, outstanding professionalism or service to the industry? If you do, please nominate them for one of the PLC’s annual awards!

∙ PLC Community Service Award: This Award is given annually to a PLC Member, Supporting Member or affiliated organization that has demonstrated a significant commitment to giving back to their community

∙ PLC Logging Contractor of the YearAward: The PLC Logging Contractor of the Year award recognizes a PLC Logging Contractor for their commitment to the sustainability of the industry and logging as a profession

∙ PLC Supporting Member of the YearAward: The PLC Supporting Member of the Year Award is presented annually to a PLC Supporting Member who has demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to logging contractors in Maine

Master Logger is a company certification that audits loggers’ performance both in the field and in the office and also takes into account the training of individual employees. This independent verification for each logging company that becomes certified takes place both initially and on an ongoing basis.

On Dec. 8, 9 and 10 independent third-party audits were conducted at sites across Maine with some great Master Logger companies.

There is a checklist that each auditor must review in the field to show compliance with the “Nine Harvest Goals” of the Master Logger Certification standard. Auditor Randy Coots, a Forestry Specialist with Preferred by Nature, spent the three days meeting with loggers at harvest sites and offices to go over how each company meets the standard in their own unique way. The field

practices. These audits help the program find ways to improve and verify the professional work by loggers that largely goes unseen. They also help identify areas for companies to improve their performance.

Companies audited included Linkletter & Sons Inc., Thomas Logging & Forestry, Morrison Forest Products Inc., Madden Timberlands Inc., WW London Woodlot Management Co., Hanington Bros. Inc., SDR Logging, Matt McGary Logging Inc., and Treeline Inc.

Thank you to these companies for working with the auditor so well, embracing the process, and sharing their quality harvests and work!

Master Logger Gathering at the Logger’s

May 6, 2022 5 p.m.

We will be located in the rear of Ware building at Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, VT

We look forward to seeing many Master Logger’s for drinks, snacks, presentations on the program and market updates.

Join us!

Free drink tickets!

verification report is crucial for the certification board to understand the logger’s practices.

Over the course of the audits we saw some high quality harvests, great use of technology to improve outcomes, and great attention to safety

get 2 tickets!

Mechanized Logging Operations Program to Expand in 2023! Now Recruiting for Summer 2022!

AUGUSTA – The Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine and Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) applauded the announcement March 15 that $1 million in dedicated federal funding has been secured to expand the Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP) in 2023 and 2024 and add Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training to the program to train the next generation of timber haulers.

The funding secured on behalf of NMCC was one of Congressman Jared Golden’s Community Project Funding requests. The House passed the bill containing Golden’s request March 9. It subsequently passed the Senate with support from Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and was signed into law by President Biden on March 15.

Under guidelines issued by the Congressional Appropriations Committee, each U.S. Representative could request funding for up to 10 projects in their community for fiscal year 2022. Projects were restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding.

The funding will allow the program, which currently operates one 12-week class each summer, to

expand to two classes per year for the next two years. In addition to expanding the logging operations training program, the funding will support an extra course for program graduates to attain a CDL, with a specific focus on timber hauling. This training will further prepare graduates of the mechanized logger training program with advanced skills to haul loads and move equipment in the Maine woods. This enhancement will enable employers to have multi-skilled operators who can efficiently haul timber, haul equipment and operate the equipment needed to harvest logs in today’s forest.

“This is great news for the future of Maine’s logging industry,” PLC Executive Director Dana Doran said. “The Mechanized Logging Operations Program is critical to addressing our state’s shortage of qualified logging operators in an efficient and affordable way. It has a proven track record of success, and we thank Congressman Golden and Senators Collins and King for their support of the program over the years and for securing this funding to expand and improve it.”

“

We are grateful for Congressman Golden’s work to deliver this funding,” said Tim Crowley, president of Northern Maine Community College. “This project will allow us to continue our work with the Forest Industry in

Maine to build the workforce they need for today and the future, grow the program’s footprint, and serve more Mainers looking for good-paying jobs in the woods. The partnership between NMCC and the PLC is helping Maine respond to the demands for its outstanding wood products. Congressman Golden’s support for and confidence in this partnership and our training program will have a real impact on our students.”

Recruiting is now underway for students in the 6th cohort of the program, which begins its next 12-week class June 27 in the woods northeast of Old Town.

Students enrolled in the post-secondary training program will spend three months 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 and will prepare them for in-demand careers with logging contractors throughout the state of Maine. A report released by the University of Southern Maine in 2019 documented that up to 2,000 positions in timber harvesting and trucking will be available in the next decade. MLOP is one of the primary opportunities for new job seekers to enter the industry and earn more than $47,000 annually after completing a 12-week program.

Graduation for the class will be held September 15. The program was jointly developed by the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and NMCC with generous support from Milton CAT/CAT Forest Products, Nortrax Inc./John Deere, and other industry

partners. With a strong emphasis on safety, students gain broad knowledge 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.

Supported by the Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce, students pay no tuition or fees and the program provides all required personal protective equipment (PPE).

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

As We See It February 2022

By Scott Dane

“I have been in the trucking business for over 40 years. The availability of parts, tires, filters are at a level not seen in the past.” -Minnesota Trucker

“A set of four tires for a F-350 pickup cost $2,012 two weeks ago, $400 more than at this time last year.” -Idaho Trucker

“A pallet of bar and chain oil last year was $1,300, today it is $2,000.”

-Missouri Logger

With pandemic illnesses and hospitalizations falling, and restrictions being lifted, it appeared that the worst might just be behind us. The timber industry was deemed essential and worked through the COVID crisis providing the resources to support the production of forest -based products. Most survived, both literally, and businesswise.

However, after over two years of pandemic economic impacts to the U.S. economy, studies concluded that over $1 billion in negative economic impact occurred within the timber industry, due to some mills closing and others taking downtime. Now hyper-inflation has reared its ugly head.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation was 7.5% compared to a year ago, the highest in 40 years. I do not know what type of “new math” or formula they are using, but it doesn’t take a convoluted calculation to feel the “real” inflationary impacts. Just fill up the tank of your logging truck, buy consumables or parts – they’ve all increased by at least 3-4 times the 7.5% rate being reported (this assumes the products are even available due to the breakdown in the supply chain). Additionally, labor costs are increasing as the logging industry competes to attract and retain workers.

The Department of Energy (DOE) documents fuel prices. These are the average diesel prices reported by the DOE across the country:

“Slasher saw blade was $1,888, now it’s $2,958. Tracks and chains for six-wheel skidder were $20,300, now they are $27,300. Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) was 95 cents per gallon, now it is $2.64 per gallon.” -Maine Logger

“The prices being paid to loggers and truckers are not keeping up to the increased cost of doing business.”Minnesota Trucker

The numbers don’t add up. At this point, the timber industry would embrace a 7.5% inflationary increase compared to what we are really paying! Unlike other industries that can pass on the additional costs to the consumers, the timber industry does not have that option in most cases. In an industry where half operate at a breakeven or loss and the largest percentage of profitable companies (24%) operate on a 1%-3% profit margin, absorbing these additional costs is not sustainable.

Everybody likes to talk about sustainability within the forest industry, except when it comes to the logger.

“The cost of fuel has now risen to $4.30/gallon in northern Wisconsin.”

-Wisconsin Logger

The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine has conducted a survey comparing the cost of specific industry items between 2020 and 2022. That data will be available on their website. The American Loggers Council is going to utilize that survey, with a couple of additions, and distribute it nationwide through our databases and state associations. It is imperative that the real inflationary numbers be documented and verifiable to provide credibility when demonstrating the impact to operational and production costs. When the survey is released, please take a moment to complete and submit it. Your participation will assist in developing quantifiable proof of the level and impact that inflation and supply chain interruptions are having on the U.S. timber industry.

As We See It March 2022

By Scott Dane

The American Loggers Council recently completed the 2021 Loggers Survey. One of the glaring findings, although not a surprise, that was identified was the fact that 50% of the companies that responded were 25 years old or older (the survey did not breakdown the age of companies beyond the 25 years). This, along with the average age of the logging and trucking workforce being in the upper 50’s, is an issue that must be acknowledged. What does it mean? It means that the half of the logging and trucking infrastructure and workforce will potentially exit the industry in the next 10-15 years. How does the U.S. forest products industry survive with a major loss of infrastructure and workforce?

If a company does not have a succession plan in place, someone to take over the company, (which is less and less the case in what has historically been a generation transfer), then the common “retirement plan” is to sell-off the equipment and shutdown the business.

There are some young guns that have come into the industry, that are carrying on the family business and taking a seat at the table of organizations representing the timber industry. But the numbers are disproportionate, there are far greater number of old loggers and truckers compared to young loggers and truckers.

Look around the industry, it is these “old” loggers and truckers that have built today’s timber industry upon the foundation that generations before them laid.

It is said that: "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life. A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall not sit."

Today young loggers and truckers are enjoying the shade because of the trees their fathers, grandfathers, and others planted over the generations before them. Their jobs are easier today because of the hard work and heavy lifting done by the previous men and women.

America’s “Conservation” President and founder of the U.S. Forest Service, Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech “The Man In The Arena” where he said;

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short

again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

The “old” loggers and truckers are the men that have been in the arena, whose faces are marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strived valiantly; who came up short but continued daring greatly; who spent themselves in a worthy cause. Ronald Reagan gave his famous Freedom speech which stated: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

I say –

The logging industry is never more than one generation away from extinction. There may be sawdust in your bloodstream, passed on from generation to generation, but if you don’t fight for it, protect it, and hand it on to them as the generation before you did, you will spend your sunset years telling your children and your children’s children what it was once like in the woods where men worked hard and proud to keep the forest healthy. These “old men” planted the trees in whose shade you sit and whose trees you will harvest. Who fought for it, protected it, and handed it on to you, as the generation before them did. But it would not have happened had they not come out of the woods, attended meetings, formed organizations, lobbied, and fought to protect and defend the timber industry.

The 20, 30, and 40 year old’s today must replant so the generation after them can also enjoy the shade and trees.

I want to challenge the next generation to step up. To be the man in the arena. To quell the storm and ride the thunder that challenges the timber industry. To be the strong man that stumbles and not the cold and timid soul who neither knows victory or defeat.

So you don’t have to tell your children and children’s children what it was once like to work in the woods...

Congressional Delegation Updates

Investing in the Future of Maine’s Forest Products Industry

In the face of significant challenges in recent years, America’s logging and log hauling businesses have responded with determination and resilience. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I strongly advocated for several provisions in the new government funding law to help keep you moving forward.

In 2019, I visited the Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP), a three-month training program, located in the woods of Western Maine. MLOP is an outstanding initiative created in partnership among the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, industry groups, and Maine community colleges.

It was inspiring to meet these young Mainers who are passionate about learning new skills that will propel them on a promising career path and strengthen our state’s forestry sector. MLOP is an excellent example of the type of robust workforce development we need to create and

Budget Delivers Wins for Maine’s Forest Economy

The forest products industry is critical driver of Maine’s economy, creating good jobs and supporting communities across the state. This month, Congress passed a meaningful, wide-ranging bipartisan budget that will make much-needed investments to sustain and grow Maine’s forest sector in the years ahead – aided by Congressionally-Directed Spending (or CDS), which allows Members of Congress to respond to the needs of our towns and cities. After a year of vetting some incredibly well-thought proposals, I was proud to secure 93 CDS requests totaling $137 million for Maine in the final legislation – including several that will strengthen our forest economy.

The funded CDS projects include investments to revitalize former mill sites, workforce development, and commercialization of new forest products technologies.

The Town of Madison is receiving $1 million to support the Forest Product Hub’s Economic Revitalization Project, providing funds to help acquire an anaerobic digester that will provide low cost power and heat, reduce environmental contamination, and make sure every part of the tree is being used effectively.

East Millinocket will receive $2.8 million to renovate and repair their former mill site. Our Katahdin will be receiving $671,000 to fund a site assessment of the Great Northern Paper Wastewater Treatment Plant. Combined, these investments will open a new era for these spaces by bringing in new tenants and creating

sustain good jobs. It also helps prepare the next generation for entry into a profession that is not only financially rewarding but also fulfilling. That’s why I advocated for and secured $1 million in the new funding law to purchase equipment and develop curriculum for Northern Maine Community College to help continue and expand this program. MLOP is exactly the type of initiative we need to move Maine forward and grow our rural economy. Additionally, with my strong support, the legislation included $1 million to construct an anaerobic biodigester at the Forest Products Hub in Madison. The Hub, which is located at the site of the former paper mill in Madison, has created new employment opportunities and spurred the development of innovative uses for forest products. This investment in a waste-to-energy biodigester will supply it with clean, renewable energy. Maine’s forests are a vital contributor to our state’s economy, particularly in rural communities, and that’s why it’s so important that we continue to find new opportunities to support and sustain this plentiful natural resource.

It is essential that your businesses are supported at this difficult time and have the opportunity to grow. I look forward to continuing to be a strong partner.

opportunities to strengthens both the forest products industry and the regional economy.

A fourth request was focused on supporting 21st century forestry technologies like crosslaminated timber (CLT), ensuring that Maine’s forest products industry is always keeping pace with new trends and giving it the tools to help it evolve. The University of Maine is receiving $2 million to support its CLT research, helping to propel a promising new use for Maine trees that could increase demand for wood products.

Finally, a fifth CDS request was centered on training the forest professionals of the future. Northern Maine Community College will be receiving $1 million to help expand the college’s successful Mechanized Logging Operations program.

I’m excited to see the impacts of these investments that build on the FOR/ME initiative – and want you to know I am accepting proposals for CDS projects for this upcoming year online at: https://www.king.senate.gov/cds. Please reach out if you have a project that might help –I’m here to do whatever I can to support important projects that will make a tangible difference for our communities and future of our forest economy.

Sen. Susan Collins

Sen. Angus King

The “Farm Bill” is wideranging omnibus legislation that reauthorizes much of federal farm and rural development policy every five years. It may not sound like a bill that is important for working forests, but this legislation has huge implications for loggers, forest landowners, and the forest products sector in Maine.

The last Farm Bill, which became law in 2018, authorized critical U.S. Forest Service (USFS) grant programs that are supporting innovation and developing new markets for wood products like Wood Innovations Grants and the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (CWEWIP). These programs have funded research at UMaine and helped Maine businesses explore sustainable wood energy and develop new, innovative wood products.

The 2018 Farm Bill also funds Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs, which help private forest landowners voluntarily improve the sustainability of their working forests. This includes the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which leverages federal funding through public-private partnerships to improve wildlife habitat, water quality, soil health, and provide other environmental benefits. Maine’s loggers have been important partners in RCPP projects in

Delivering New Training Opportunities for the Next Generation of Maine Loggers

Over the next 10 years, 850 loggers and forest products workers are expected to reach retirement age. For the logging industry in Maine, attracting and training younger workers for a good-paying career in the woods is going to be essential for the future of the industry. That’s one reason I’ve been working since last year with Northern Maine Community College and the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine to secure dedicated funding for the Mechanized Logging Operations Training Program run by Northern Maine Community College (NMCC).

Earlier this month, we found out that our effort was successful. We’re proud to have secured $1 million for NMCC’s Mechanized Logging Operations Program.

Established in 2016 with bipartisan and industry support, the program teaches participants about logging machine operation and basic repair, maintenance of

our state, helping to install stream restoration projects that restore critical habitat for brook trout and Atlantic salmon. The current Farm Bill expires on September 30, 2023. That may seem like a long time from now, but the House Agriculture Committee is already beginning its work on the 2023 Farm Bill, looking at how U.S. Department of Agriculture programs have been working and developing ideas to improve these policies and programs.

I have already introduced legislation to make the 2023 Farm Bill work better for Maine’s forest economy. For example, my Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act would double CWEWIP funds available each year, increase the maximum grant available to $5 million, and expand the federal share of project costs up to 50 percent. It would also modernize and increase the federal share of project costs for a second USFS grant program, the Wood Innovations Grant Program. These changes will make the programs more workable and flexible so these federal investments can deliver more benefits back to your industry and our state.

I want to assure you that as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I will be your voice through this process and work to ensure the 2023 Farm Bill continues to support the many loggers and forestry professionals in our great state. So, as we look ahead to the 2023 Farm Bill, I want to hear from you about your priorities for this important legislation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.

equipment, harvesting laws, and safety regulations. The funding we secured will cover the cost of accelerating and expanding two cohorts in this program, as well as an extra course for program graduates to attain a Commercial Driver’s License with an off-road hauling focus for logging. This training will further prepare graduates of the mechanized logger training program with advanced skills in road building and provide hands-on experience hauling loads and moving equipment in the Maine woods. This enhancement will enable employers to have multi-skilled operators who can efficiently haul and operate the equipment needed to harvest logs in today’s forest. In its first four years, NMCC’s program has produced more than 50 graduates. Graduates frequently receive job offers from multiple contractors due to their indemand, up-to-date skills and enjoy top earning potential. Expanding NMCC’s mechanized logging program with this funding is one key to addressing the workforce shortage in our logging industry and will help more Mainers to get good-paying jobs that allow them to stay in rural communities across our state.

If we can ever be helpful to you or your team, please shoot an email to our logger support team at MELoggerSupportTeam@mail.house.gov. We’ll get back to you quickly.

Rep. Chellie Pingree

Rep. Jared Golden