The following is a chapter from Empty Homes & Silent Saws: Economics, Demographics, Culture, and the Coming Reckoning in America’s Forest Industry, available now. My first job out of college was working as a forester deep in the Maine woods, living three nights a week in a remote camp and spending my days tying ribbons…
The Loggers Economic Assistance and Relief Act, recently introduced by Representatives Jared Golden and Susan Collins, proposes to establish a permanent disaster relief program for timber businesses within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While proponents frame this as simply extending to loggers the same protections farmers and fishermen enjoy, the legislation is more accurately understood…
Logging can be of great benefit to you and your land. In fact, it can be necessary for maintaining the long-term health of your forest. But that doesn’t mean it is always beneficial or does not come with certain costs. Improperly managed, logging can ruin your land. Wide and frequent trails, deep ruts, high-grading, residual…
For many in the industry, logging isn’t just a job—it’s a way of life. Those who were once in the industry and left often find themselves dreaming of sawdust and mountain air, longing to return. A great many more who have never lifted a saw find themselves drawn to the idea. But it isn’t all…
If you do any work that involves chainsaws, sawmills, and the smell of fresh-cut pine, you have no doubt heard of log dollies. A log dolly is essentially a handheld log arch that (supposedly) makes moving logs a breeze by allowing you to pick it up off the ground and onto a set of wheels….
When it comes to forestry tools and felling tools in particular, we always hear about the usual suspects: felling wedges, chaps, and chainsaws (of course), but one of the most important tools to have in your arsenal is also the most neglected. That would be the felling lever. Felling levers have three main components :…
In the world of forest management, straight-growing, upright trees are the ideal. Reality often does not respect that ideal, however. As loggers and landowners, we often have to deal with crooked, leaning trees and trees where the center of mass is substantially offset from the base of the tree. These present a particular challenge for…
Felling a severely leaning tree sounds safe and easy. After all, what could the tree do other than fall in the direction it leans? In reality, a severe lean in a tree creates unique hazards that could severely compromise the trees stability as you are cutting, creating one of the most dangerous situations imaginable. While…
Tree felling is not a standard practice. After all, it is an ancient art that has been practiced and developed since man has been harvesting timber. It is no surprise then that there are multiple techniques available to the modern feller. A primary difference in these techniques is the style of notch used in the…
Bore cutting (also known as plunge cutting) is one of the best and safest practices in tree felling, and it is the method that we here at the Timberland Investor promote as being the best for back cuts. That said, bore cutting often gets a bad rap (from the misinformed) because it requires using the…