Brothers Gene, left, and Neil Thornton, center, along with Gene’s son Mark, right, run their family business, G&N Logging, in Georgia. The Thornton brothers picked up where their father and uncle, Gene Thornton, Sr., and Clark Thornton, left off; G&N is a successor company to the previous generation’s Thornton Brothers Logging, which was in business from 1949 until Clark’s retirement in 2014, at which point Gene, Jr. and Neil took over and rechristened it as G&N. Story begins on Page 8 (David Abbott photo)
Subscription Information—SLT is sent free to logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel in the U.S. South. See form elsewhere in this issue. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $65 annually; $75 in Canada; $120 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries TOLL-FREE 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.southernloggintimes.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Southern Loggin’ Times magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement.
SOUTHERN STUMPIN’
By David Abbott • Managing Editor
20 Years In...
I’ve always heard that time flies when you’re having fun. Boy has that turned out to be true, with and without the fun: the last 20 years have flown by in the blink of an eye.
As I write this month’s column, it was 20 years ago, in March 2005, that I started working at Hatton-Brown Publishers. Doesn’t seem like 2005 should be 20 years ago, but here we are in 2025, and look how much the world has changed, and how much it hasn’t, in the two decades that have passed since then.
I was all of 26 years old at the time, four years out of college, still in the middle of graduate school, and had no kids yet. Now all my kids are basically grown or nearly so; one is a freshman in college, one is going to be a college freshman this fall, and a third will be next year. The youngest is 15. I’m still paying my own student loan debt, and taking on more to pay for the kids to go to college now too!
Just a few years earlier I had been out in the woods with a chain saw, working for my dad at Abbott Logging Co. When he got out of the business, I hadn’t been able to find a job with my political science degree; interviews with schools and newspapers had gone nowhere, and besides, they were paying peanuts; I made more money waiting tables, so I kept doing that till I found something better. It took four years, but thankfully I got my chance when a job opened up here at Hatton-Brown, saving me from a career as a restaurant manager with Ruby Tuesday (a company that’s mostly gone now).
I had grown up reading Southern Loggin’ Times and Timber Harvesting while helping my dad manage his bookwork for Abbott Logging, but by 2005 I would have been out of the loop, since my dad had closed up shop in 2002. But my mother-in-law at the time, Jennifer McCary, coincidentally happened to work here. She was the only reason I found out they were looking to hire someone.
This wasn’t something I had ever considered before, although I had hoped to somehow make a career as a writer or journalist of some kind (it was the only thing I thought I was halfway good at doing). But write about logging? Well, I knew a little about logging, and I thought I knew how to write well enough, so I thought, yeah, maybe I can do that.
So I came in to the interview with nothing to prove that I could string two sentences together except a copy of a college research paper I had written on forestry for an environmental science class. I remember sitting down with the editor-in-chief, Rich Donnell; he didn’t seem overly impressed, but he gave me a chance (I assume only as a favor to Jennifer). Hopefully my writing has gotten at least a little better since then, but they still haven’t fired me yet so I guess it’s good enough.
This was my first office job; I had only ever worked outdoors or in restaurants. By then I had gotten so used to working in the kitchens till 2 in the morning that for the first few months I had trouble
adjusting my body’s sleep routine: I struggled to stay awake in the middle of the afternoon, because I struggled to get to sleep before 1 a.m. each night. Eventually I got back to a normal daytime job sleep schedule.
There wasn’t much for me to do here the first week or two; there’s not much to write about until you get out on the road and visit some logging crews. So right away I made my first trip for Hatton-Brown. I went to Georgia, where I visited what was then ForesTrac Equipment Services in Washington, Ga. (Coincidentally, in this month’s issue, I also have a feature story on a company based in Washington, Ga.: the Thornton family at G&N Logging, on page 8). ForesTrac, which sold Franklin and Tigercat machines, had been a Tidewater dealership bought by owner Stony Gilmore. His salesman, Jamie Smith, also took me to visit some of their customers: Stracy McClure, who was my first feature logger profile in the May 2005 issue of SLT, and the Holloway family at 3H Logging, which became my first cover story in the June issue.
But my first byline…the first published piece with my name attached… was a news item on page 52 of the April 2005 issue. I reported on the formation of the Southern Loggers Cooperative, which was still in its infancy then (they’re stronger than ever now, 20 years later). That was in the 391st issue of SLT; what you’re reading is the 631st issue. That means I’ve now contributed to 240 issues of SLT, among other Hatton-Brown publications. But my career here started with that one news item, 20 years ago this issue. Will I make it 20 more? Well…they haven’t fired me yet…
Excelsior!
Triple Threat
n The Thorntons are men of few words, but their results in the woods speak for them.
By David Abbott
WASHINGTON,
Ga.
“Walk softly and carry a big stick,” the old adage advises, as articulated by our 26th President, the Rough Rider himself, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Down in Georgia, where Roosevelt’s mother spent her childhood, the Thornton boys—brothers Gene and Neil and Gene’s son Mark—prefer to talk softly and haul loads full of big sticks, as many loads as the mills and Mother Nature will allow. After all, that’s how they make their living, the only way of life they’ve ever known.
Gene, 74, and Neil, 67, along with Mark, 53, run the operation. Their company, G&N Logging, Inc., is
From left: Gene, Neil and Mark Thornton
Thornton Brothers Logging.
The second generation Thorntons, Neil and Gene, Jr., grew up in the woods with Gene and Clark, just as the third generation, Mark, grew up in the woods with them. “That’s all we ever done,” Gene
Their uncle Clark worked with Champion early on, and the family has clear-cut tracts that he helped plant 30 years earlier.
Gene, Sr. and Clark started logging when they were only teenagers, around 16, and kept working till they were in their 80s. Remarkably, Clark was still at it when Gene, Jr., and Neil took over on September 1, 2014…65 years after he started.
“When my uncle turned 62, I asked him, ‘I reckon you gonna retire, aren’t you?’” Gene recalls. “Nope,” was Clark’s reply. “I seen too many people who worked hard all their life out here and a year or two later they’re dead because they ain’t done nothing. So I’m gonna keep going.” And he did. “He ran a cut-down machine till he was 80 years old,” Gene says. Clark did finally retire in 2014 and lived a few more years after that, eventually succumbing to bone cancer.
Gene and Neil both laugh when they consider the prospect of following that pattern: will they still be working in the woods when they’re in their 80s? “Probably gonna be there till I die,” Gene grins, sound-
ing enthusiastically resigned to it. Neil agrees, adding, “I’ve seen too many retire and then two years later they’re gone.”
“We been in it all our life,” Gene reiterates. “It’s all we ever done.”
Gene, Jr., graduated high school in 1968 and went to tech school for two years to study automotive mechanics, but, after growing up working on equipment, trucks and engines, he says, “I knew more than they did!” He joined the family logging business in 1971. Neil started with Thornton Brothers in 1975, but he didn’t go full-time until ’76. “I went to tech school for a year to try to avoid it a little bit,” he laughs.
Their dad didn’t encourage his sons to follow in his footsteps. “I
don’t want to ever see you in the woods!” he used to tell them. That was the only reason Gene and Neil both went to tech school when they did: to please their dad. And, in turn, the current Thornton brothers believe their dad and uncle stuck with logging as long as they did, at least in part, to please them. “If it wasn’t for us boys out there, they probably would have got out of it a long time before they did,” Neil thinks.
It seems that Gene, Sr.’s attempts to dissuade his heirs worked on at least one son. There is a third Thornton brother, Danny, who worked with them early on, but he left logging years ago to get into building chicken houses with his sons.
As for Gene, Jr.’s son Mark, he
went to college at night, but that was 32 years ago and he’s still here. Mark, however, was successful in convincing his own son not to become the family’s fourth generation logger. “I made him get a good job with benefits!” Mark laughs.
Operations
The G&N crew uses Tigercat and Cat machines, purchased from Yancey Bros. in Washington (Caterpillar) and Tidewater Equipment in Newberry, SC (Tigercat). A 2015 Tigercat 720G cutter keeps wood on the ground, while two Cat 525D skidders, 2016 and ’18 models, pull
feeds a Morbark 4036 chipper. The Thorntons also have a 2015 Tigercat 620E skidder and a Cat 563D feller-buncher in reserve as spares.
Alongside Gene, Neil and Mark, there are three others on the G&N crew: John Bailey runs the cutter, while Frank Curry and Andrew Shephard man the skidders. At the home office, Gene’s wife Caroline performs a vital task by keeping up with all the bookwork for the company.
For non-routine machinery maintenance and repairs, the Thorntons have traditionally looked to their dealers’ service departments (Yancey and Tidewater and also AllWood
Neil and his brother Gene are known for their hard work ethic.
Equipment in Washington), especially now that everything is computerized, but these days the cost of doing so is on the verge of pricing them out. Labor rates now range from $120 to $150 and even $200 an hour in some cases, on top of $500 to come to the woods and $5 per mile for the truck to come out, so the Thorntons try not to call for help unless they really need it. “Anything we can work on ourselves, we do,” Mark says. “But anything major now, it’s all computerized, and we can’t do nothing with that.”
Insurance is through Commercial Insurance Services, Inc. in Lincoln.
G&N uses mostly contract trucks, with five regular contract haulers, and they own two rigs of their own to use when they need to.
Their company trucks are Peterbilts, a 2006 379 and a 2004 378, pulling a variety of trailer brands, some going back to 1979. The crew shoots for keeping seven or eight loaded trailers spotted at all times for contract drivers to pick up quickly from the roadside without having to wait under a loader at the
ramp. They have an old Mack now for moving set out trailers from the loader ramp to the roadside.
Timber, Markets
G&N contracts through Canal Wood, which buys all the timber they cut. Jesse Savage, a forester with Canal Wood, works closely with them, keeping the crew busy.
“Our relationship is strong,” Savage says. “The main priority is ensuring that they have quota and that they are in wood that keeps
them productive. I also try to make sure I keep them in good quality wood and really focus on moving tracts as few times as possible over the course of a year. When they do have to move, I try to group tracts so we stay in one area to keep the hauls short.”
“We’ve been working pretty steady,” Mark observes. “Everything is on quota but we have enough variety that we can pretty much cut what we need every week.”
The crew works mostly in pine. Pine pulpwood goes to J.M. Huber Corp. in Commerce, Ga., while pine logs mostly go to Interfor in Eatonton and sometimes to the Timbermen Sawmill in Warrenton or Burt Lumber Co. in Washington. They haul some big logs to Claude Howard Lumber Co. in Statesboro. Chips go to Madison Biomass Power Plant in Colbert. They average 45 loads a week, but on the week Southern Loggin’ Times visited in late February, they got out 56 loads.
The variety of outlets for logs helps keep trucks hauling. “We just moved off a tract because it was mostly pulpwood and we couldn’t get the quota,” Gene reveals. “We had logs there but we already cut all the logs, so we had to move on. All the mills are full; that’s the biggest problem: they’re slam full. But we’ve been doing pretty well so far.” It’s been dry so far much of early 2025 so every logger in the area can haul all the mills can handle, but they’re also full from taking in so much stormdamaged salvage wood in the latter months of 2024. On their own property, the Thorntons had 425 trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last fall, Neil says. “It’s amazing how a storm down yonder can do that much damage way off up here,” Gene considers.
North Carolina got it even worse, Mark points out: “Around Asheville, it about wiped them off the map.”
Aside from logging, the Thorntons also dabble in beef cattle.
Looking toward the near future, Mark says, “We’ll keep on doing what we’re doing, as long as we can hold on.” With President Trump’s administration returning to the White House, the Thorntons believe they have good reason to feel somewhat optimistic about at least the next few years. “We hope it’s gonna get a lot better,” Gene says. “It can’t get no worse.” Still, they’re willing to be patient for results. “Trump can’t do it over night, to fix what they screwed up the last four years. I just hope he gives a good showing, and then we got J.D. Vance behind him so we can have eight more years.” SLT
Last Call
SCTPA Director Crad Jaynes hosts his final annual meeting after 26 years on the job.
General session was stacked with great speakers. H
“Looking for Crad’s replacement is tough,” acknowledged SCTPA board member Joseph “BoBo” Seckinger. “We had the right person for 26 years.” While the search continues, Jaynes has agreed to stay on as long as he’s needed…but not long enough to make it 27 years, he insists with a wry smile.
Jaynes has outlasted most of the people for whom he went to work in 1999: of the original board members who hired him, only one, Tommy Barnes, remains active today. Jaynes calls his work for the last quarter century-plus a labor of love. “I’ve had a wonderful 48-year career, 26 of them here,” he said during an emotional farewell. “There’s nothing more rewarding than getting things done. It gives me great joy to accomplish things.”
In an effort to express appreciation for his years of hard work and dedication on their behalf, Bob Lussier, Josh Key and the rest of the board presented Jaynes with, among other mementos, a special commemorative book they had published of photos from throughout his career. The book was entitled “Love You, Mean It,” a phrase Jaynes is fond of saying to his friends and associates.
In addition, Swamp Fox Insurance Agency, one of the meeting’s sponsors, presented Brenda Jaynes, Crad’s wife, with the Silent Partner award, and then presented her husband with the final ever South Carolina Timber Leadership Award. Jaynes was the first and, 25 years later, will now be the final recipient of this award because, after this year, it will now be renamed the Crad Jaynes Award in his honor. An overnumbers were actually down a bit this year, as expected in current con-
The weekend offered an opportunity for industry leaders to discuss the highs and lows of logging face to face.
Josh Sandt of Canfor talked about potential alternatives to traditional pulp markets.
Sandt focused much of his pres-
but there’s no silver bullet.” He mentioned mass timber construction to replace the 200,000 tons of chips in Conway tomorrow.” While
ALC's Scott Dane ‰ 20
SCTPA board of directors had gifts for Crad and Brenda.
he admitted that some things being tried may well fail, it’s imperative to try anyway. “We can’t just sit back and hope, so we’re actively seeking alternatives.”
While it’s good to chase new markets, it’s also vital that we protect our existing ones, according to Dane. “We’ve got enough opposed to us, we don’t need to oppose each other.” Dane, who received an invitation to represent the timber industry at President Trump’s State of the Union address, noted that ALC has
developed a “road map” plan for how to work with the Trump administration on trade policy beneficial to the industry. “We have their ear,” he said. “We have a great opportunity. This administration is our last best chance. It will never happen again in our lifetimes.”
Regarding Canadian lumber tariffs, Dane expressed support, advocating for U.S. companies to bring facilities back online and increase domestic production. He also expressed frustration upon hearing the then-recent announcement of the IP closure in Louisiana. “I’ve had enough,” he said. “When will it end?” Mills, Dane said, should take into consideration the impacts to the local community and jobs lost as part of the equation when making these business decisions. Still, he encouraged the assembled loggers, “Help is on the way, so don’t give up.”
Tort Reform
One of the main points of discussion throughout Saturday’s sessions was tort reform. Insurance man Rick Quagliaroli pointed out that South Carolina is now a more litigious state than Florida. He pointed to Alabama as a positive example: “Alabama 30 years ago was a hellhole of torts, now it’s not,” Quagliaroli said.
The issue has been playing out in the South Carolina legislature early this year, and Todd, Quagliaroli and others encouraged loggers to support South Carolina Senator Shane Massey, who is the state senate’s majority leader representing district 25, which encompasses Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick and Saluda Counties. Massey has been fighting a tough battle to rein in lawsuit abuse that has targeted the trucking supply chain with frivolous lawsuits, which enrich trial lawyers and force insurance rates up for everyone.
Afternoon, Evening, Morning
Luncheon business meeting guest speakers included Lori Walker, Executive Director of Carolina Women in Timber, an organization she formed in 2019 aimed at offering women in the industry a chance to network, connect and support each other. The industry’s men, she said, understand and appreciate how much women bring to the table for their businesses.
The group will hold its sixth annual meeting later this year, hosted by Bob and Cindy Lussier’s Great Woods Companies.
Rick Quagliaroli of Forestry Insurance Company of the Southeast also spoke at lunch,
focusing his talk on tech, “future” tech that is very rapidly becoming everyday reality. “The future is what you make it,” Quagliaroli said. Based on a recent experience with it in Arizona, Quagliaroli is confident that self-driving cars will soon make human-driven taxis and ride-share services like Uber obsolete. The technology is very far along in development and, once implemented on a wide scale, will likely prove to be a safer, more convenient, more affordable and all-around higher-quality
alternative. And speaking of technology that isn’t quite so new anymore, Quagliaroli advised all log truck owners to use dash cams. “They make 1,000 lawsuits go away,” he said.
At the lunch meeting’s conclusion, Jaynes presented the 2024 Gene Collins Activist of the Year award to Jason Wilks and Wilks Logging, Inc. of Chester, SC in recognition of the company’s demonstrated commitment to professional and sustainable timber harvesting practices, steadfast sup-
port of SCTPA, active involvement in community and industry activities and promotion of education. Wilks Logging has been a member of SCTPA since the beginning in 1999. Jason’s father, Crawford Wilks, previously received the award in 2005.
Later that evening, at a dinner hosted by Swamp Fox Insurance, local country music singer Cody Webb performed his own songs and covers of neo-classic tunes by Alan Jackson, George Strait, Brooks and Dunn and Shenandoah.
Todd Martin and Bill Jones from the Southern Loggers Cooperative—both of them noted singers and pickers in their own right— joined Webb on stage for some gospel and blue grass tunes.
The 2025 meeting ended Sunday morning with a prayer breakfast and more live music, this time from Port City Quartet, a gospel music group that moved many with their vocal harmonies. After silent auction announcements and final comments, Jaynes called his final meeting as SCTPA director adjourned. SLT
Crad was speechless...almost.
Hey, BooBoo…
With baseball season starting up again, here are Yogi Berra’s Top 35 quotes:
1. When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
2. It’s déjà vu all over again.
3. I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.
4. Never answer an anonymous letter.
5. We made too many wrong mistakes.
6. You can observe a lot by watching.
7. The future ain’t what it used to be.
8. If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.
9. It gets late early out here.
10. If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.
11. Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.
12. Pair up in threes.
13. Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.
14. Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.
15. All pitchers are liars or crybabies.
16. A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
17. Bill Dickey is learning me his experience.
18. He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.
19. I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.
20. I can see how he (Sandy Koufax) won 25 games. What I don’t understand is how he lost five.
21. I don’t know if they were men or women fans running naked across the field. They had bags over their heads.
22. I’m a lucky guy and happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.
23. I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.
24. In baseball, you don’t know nothing.
25. I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?
26. It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.
27. I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.
28. I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I’d never seen him drive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field.
29. So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.
30. Take it with a grin of salt.
31. (On the 1973 Mets): We were overwhelming underdogs.
32. The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.
33. You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.
34. It ain’t over till it’s over.
35. I never said most of the things I said.
Aging, Gracefully Or Otherwise
I’m starting to think I will never be old enough to know better.
I got myself a senior’s GPS. Not only does it tell me how to get to my destination, it tells me why I wanted to go there. My wife is blaming me for ruining her birthday. That’s ridiculous; I didn’t even know it was her birthday!
I’m so old, I can remember when Saturday Night Live still funny!
I’m at that age where my mind still thinks I’m 29, my humor suggests I’m 12, and my body mostly keeps asking the rest of me if we’re sure I’m not dead yet.
People who ask me what I’m doing tomorrow probably assume that I even know what day it is today.
I’m aging like fine bananas.
A boy in second grade came into the classroom ready for show and tell. “This is my grandpa,” he explained his show-and-tell to his teacher and classmates. “He’s going to tell us why this country is going to hell in a handbasket.”
Who knew that the hardest part of being an adult is figuring out what to make for dinner every single night for the rest of your life until you die?
It’s weird being the same age as old people.
If you ever see me jogging, please kill whatever is chasing me!
Funny thing about getting older: your vision gets worse, but your ability to see through people’s bull gets much better.
The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
You know you’re over 50 when you have upstairs ibuprofen and downstairs ibuprofen.
We celebrated last night with a couple of adult beverages: Metamucil and Ensure.
I have many hidden talents. I just wish I could remember where I hid them.
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.
An older gentleman complained to his wife: “For the past 30 years, you’ve always only found fault in anything and everything I say.” His wife lovingly patted his shoulder and replied, “It’s been 31 years, dear.”
Reagan’s Wisdom
“The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge—and pray God we have not lost it—that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest…The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.”—President Ronald Reagan at Pointe du Hoc, France on June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day
Sound Financial Advice
A 350 Credit score prevents identity theft.
The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts his sails.
70% of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation and 90% by the third. Generational wealth is passed through knowledge, not assets.
I Worried by Mary Oliver
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers flow in the right direction, will the earth turn as it was taught, and if not, how shall I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing? Even the sparrows can do it and I am, well, hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it, am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing. And gave it up. And took my old body and went out into the morning, and sang.
A fork in the road
FROM THE BACKWOODS PEW
A Needle in a Forest
It is hard to go into a forest, especially in the coastal plain, and not come into contact with briars. They seem to materialize from the very dust. They roll through the understory, often creating the look of concertina wire strung through the woods to discourage entry.
Grapevines like to add to the tapestry of the barricade, wrapping up the intruders just as they think they have cleared the briar patch; and now it requires yet another spin to get untangled. Which way were we walking again? I am getting dizzy. Going deeper into the southern swamp you will begin to add switch cane and the occasional bamboo plant to this barricade. These plants, when growing together in the same forest, create a real problem for the forester, and that is the problem of employment. The forester might begin to long for a simple job of greeting folks as they arrive to shop, or perhaps they could hire someone to go into this forest for them!
Duty called us to enter into such a
forest, at the end of one very hot, muggy day. The area was scheduled to be harvested, 52 acres to be exact, and we needed to get an idea of what kind of timber we would be trying to sell. While my partner started marking the boundaries of the sale, I started pushing through the underbrush to get some timber estimates. This particular forest was also the playground for wild hogs, armadillos, and deer. They were apparently so numerous that they had created random trails through the brush. These trails were more conducive to walking, thus when my chosen direction became blocked, I would shoot off onto one of these trails to get around the vegetative blockades.
After two hours of pushing, stooping, stumbling and struggling to make my way through the brush, I arrived back at the truck; and just in time, as a massive thunderstorm was approaching, already peppering us with rain. As we drove out to the main road, thankful to be out of the swamp, I reached for my phone, usu-
ally anchored to my belt. Usually, that is, but to my dismay, my phone, and its holder, was gone.
Frantically, we raced back to the area to begin the search; rain and darkness raced against us. No “search app” had ever been placed on my phone, and it was set on vibrate. The smart phone now had to survive on its own. Somewhere out in 52 acres of cluttered timber, an armadillo would soon be calling his friends. That had a better chance of happening than me ever finding that phone again. Like a needle in a haystack, trying to find a phone in the woods by simply wandering across 52 acres of timber, staring at the ground, wasn’t going to happen. We left the woods.
The next morning would bring yet another swamp to visit, followed by a seven-hour drive home. I determined that night that I would go and try one more time to find my phone before I drove home.
…Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:7
I think there are times when we struggle with trust, struggle with the idea that God even knows who we are, let alone the trouble we might find ourselves in. To be able to have peace, when all we hear is the pulse of the heart monitor. To have peace when all we can hear is the distant sound of hospital business echoing beyond a closed door. In the back of our troubled mind, we hear the beep of a machine requiring a response; or an unanswered telephone ringing in the next room, and peace seems to be overrun with new anxieties. We long for peace when the last of the family has returned home and left us sitting in an empty house. We desire to trust
when the final gavel has sounded and the last of our dreams of “til death do you part” have been reduced to a pile of papers needing our signature. Does God really care for us, or are we just another needle hidden in a haystack, another piece of pine straw on the forest floor?
My friend delayed his plans to help me look one last time, and so we returned to the jungle. We both had more pressing issues, issues of real importance—friends who were sick, and family members in dire straits. But for a moment, we were going to give it one more try. As we were about to enter the woods, my friend and I took a moment to pray for those family and friends who needed God to take their cares, and to show his love for them. And as we came to the end of that prayer, I also asked our heavenly Father if he could give us a lesson in diligence, and help us find my phone.
Then we put diligence into practice. We left the road going in the general direction I had walked the day before, trying to find the ground. Given the brush and no definitive route to follow, and no way to know I was even close to retracing my steps, we were simply looking. Three hundred yards into the brush, God smiled: there, lying on a hog path, was my phone. It was upside down, which had allowed the case to protect it from the rain of the previous night. And it was in working order! God had guided us through a maze of briars and vines, around blown-over trees, and along hog paths scattered over 52 acres; and allowed us to find my phone. By simple math, there were 326 million square inches of possible resting places for approxi-
mately 14 square inches of phone. A football field has around 7 million square inches. Get the idea? Needle in a forest!
God wanted us to know that diligence is important, and that God does care. I didn’t have to have my phone back; my world wasn’t ending. Finding that phone wasn’t the Red Sea parting, nor was it raising a body from the grave. It wasn’t having an illness suddenly vanish, or a crippled leg healed. It was a reminder, an encouragement to not give up, nor give in to despair, to continue to lift up to God those things which concern us, those things which burden our hearts. He is listening, he cares, and he will move according to his plan and his wisdom. Even a needle can be found in a forest, or a phone in a swamp, but rest in this: God cares for you.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” —Matthew 11:28-30
Excerpt from Side Roads, Snares, and Souls, Bradley Antill author. Find more at www.onatreeforestry
INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP
Trump Orders More Timber Production
In early March, President Trump signed an executive order for the “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.”
The order emphasizes that the U.S. has an abundance of timber resources that are more than adequate to meet domestic timber production needs, “but heavy-handed federal policies have prevented full utilization of these resources and made us reliant on foreign producers,” which has impeded the creation of jobs, contributed to wildfire disasters, degraded fish and wildlife habitats, increased the cost of construction and energy, and threatened U.S. economic security. “It is vital that we reverse these policies and increase domestic timber production to protect our national and economic security,” the order states.
“All relevant agencies shall eliminate, to the maximum extent permissible by law, all undue delays within their respective permitting processes related to timber production,” the order states. “Additionally, all relevant agencies shall take
all necessary and appropriate steps consistent with applicable law to suspend, revise or rescind all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and other agency actions that impose an undue burden on timber production.”
The order gives Directives to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture. By April 1, through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Chief of the U.S. Forest
each were to issue new or updated guidance regarding tools to facilitate increased timber production and sound forest management, reduce time to deliver timber, and decrease timber supply uncertainty, and submit any legislative proposals that would expand authorities to improve timber production and sound forest management.
By May 1, the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Secretary of
Administrator for Fisheries, is expected to complete a strategy on USFS and BLM forest management projects under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to improve the speed of approving forestry projects. The Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the FWS, shall also examine any applicable existing authorities that would permit executive departments and agencies to delegate consultation requirements and, if necessary, provide a legislative proposal to ensure consultation is streamlined.
By June 1, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are together expected to submit to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, a plan that sets a target for the annual amount of timber per year to be offered for sale over the next four years from federal lands managed by the BLM and the USFS, measured in millions of board feet.
By September 1, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are expected to reduce unnecessarily lengthy processes and associated costs related to administrative approvals for timber production, forest management, and
Trump Administration wants to boost the wood products industry. (Photo of new home construction, Point Clear, Ala., March 2025)
wildfire risk reduction treatments.
By the first of next year, the Secretary of the Interior is expected to establish a new categorical exclusion for timber thinning and reestablish a categorical exclusion for timber salvage activities.
Former IFG VP
Named FS Chief
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that Tom Schultz will serve as the 21st Forest Service Chief. Schultz replaces Chief Randy Moore, who recently announced his retirement.
“Tom is the right person to lead the Forest Service right now, and I know he will fight every day to restore America’s national forests,” Rollins says. “Together, Tom and the incredible employees at the Forest Service will work to execute the agenda of President Donald J. Trump to make America’s forests healthy and productive again.”
“I will work tirelessly to further support and protect our rural communities,” Schultz comments. “Working with our partners, we will actively manage national forests and grasslands, increase opportunities for outdoor recreation, and suppress wildfires with all available resources emphasizing safety and the importance of protecting resource values.”
Schultz previously served for more than seven years as vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group, where he led timber procurement operations and managed relationships with government officials at all levels. A former U.S. Air Force officer, Schultz also served as director of the Idaho Dept. of Lands, overseeing the management of several million surface acres of endowment lands and minerals. He held leadership roles in Montana’s Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation, managing the Trust Lands and Water Resources divisions.
Schultz holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wyoming, and a master’s degree in forestry from the University of Montana.
Telfair Plans Small Torrefaction Plant
Telfair Forest Products announced it is constructing a torrefaction
facility at its operations in Lumber City, Ga. Telfair will implement biomass torrefaction technology from TSI.
Telfair Forest Products is a manufacturer of premium quality southern yellow pine wood shavings.
A TSI-designed and fabricated Torreactor will be paired with Telfair’s logistics for the torrefaction and densification of biomass to provide commercial demonstration samples for industrial users. Torrefaction, thermal treatment of biomass in a
low-oxygen environment, enables the use of ordinary biomass like wood residuals and agricultural waste.
In addition to promoting new applications for sustainable biomass, the project also enjoys the support of state government for its contribution to the local community.
“For years now, Telfair Forest Products has worked with Telfair County and Lumber City community to enhance and breathe new life into a former industrial site on the Ocmulgee River,” says Senator Blake
Tillery. “I am glad to see their work with the local leaders will continue with today’s announcement and the investment of $7.6 million dollars.”
The project is expected to bring 15 new and retained jobs for Lumber City and Telfair County with the development of a small torrefaction unit.
“For years, the industry has struggled with the chicken or the egg problem, where industrial users need large samples to demonstrate commercial readiness to build large pro-
duction facilities, but without large facilities, production of large samples has been impossible,” comments TSI CEO Benny Teal. “We intend to solve that problem. The combination of a skilled workforce, abundance of sustainable wood, and supportive government makes Georgia, and Telfair’s Lumber City mill, the ideal location for the birthplace of the next generation of sustainable biomass products.”
Tracy Gunter Left Legacy Of Leadership
Tracy C. Gunter, Jr., long respected for his leadership in the logging industry, and owner of Tracy’s Logging, Leesville, SC, died March 23. He was 84.
ger of the Year in 1994 and American Pulpwood Assn. selected him as its National Logger of the Year in 1996.
“We take a lot of pride in our work,” Gunter once said of his multiple-crews operation. “When people see Tracy’s Logging is on the job, we want it to be a first class job.”
Gunter was following voluntary BMPs long before they became regulated. He made sure employees respected the landowner’s property and he maintained a whistle-clean worksite.
“I’d like to think I practice what I preach,” Gunter said. “My word is my bond, so whatever I tell people I’ll do, I try to do it even if it hurts or costs me money.”
In October 1997, in the 25th anniversary issue of Southern Loggin’ Times, Gunter was named as one of “25 Men Who’ve Made A Difference” in the logging industry during the previous 25 years.
South Carolina Forestry Assn. named Gunter its Outstanding Log-
Gunter was a role model and father figure to many of his employees, who were like family.
Gunter served on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Forestry Assn., as well as on its Logging Advisory Committee, Timber Harvesting Task Force, Logger Accreditation Subgroup on Insurance/Safety, and TOP Task Force.
Gunter grew up in the woods helping his father operate a portable sawmill, and then got into logging on the wings of an older brother, Robert.
Gunter was married to his late wife, Wynette Gunter, for 62 years.
He was also a loving father, a doting grandfather and a devoted Christian. He and his wife were members of Steadman Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. He was an avid sports fan, especially of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football and baseball teams. An athlete himself, Gunter was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles as a catcher in 1959.
Gunter is survived by his children, Lisa Gunter Price, Jennifer Gunter Scruggs (Joey), and Tracy Capers Gunter, III (Gariane); as well several grandchildren and a great grandson.
Gunter’s funeral service was March 29 at the Steadman Baptist Church and he was buried in the church cemetery.
China Bans U.S. Hardwood Log Imports
On March 4, China announced it would no longer accept hardwood logs imported from the U.S., among other U.S. agricultural products. Last year, China imported just over half of all logs exported from the U.S.— more than $600 million worth of hardwood logs, along with more than $230 million in softwood logs, according to USDA Foreign Agricul-
tural Service data. Another 30% of export logs went to Canada, 9% to Vietnam, and the remaining balance was dispersed in small percentages among various countries.
The official reason for the suspension, according to the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), was concern over forest pests like beetles allegedly having been detected in recent import shipments. Many, however, believe the move was in retaliation to President Trump’s tariffs.
Mike Rowe Talks With Mike Albrecht
Currently on his second one-year term as President of the American Loggers Council, California logger Mike Albrecht was a guest on the March 11 episode of the podcast The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel’s series Dirty Jobs. Albrecht took the opportunity to educate Rowe and his audience about the logging industry, its history, challenges, and importance to society and the economy. You can search for and listen to the episode from a variety of platforms: Google podcasts, iTunes, mikerowe.com, iheart.com and other sites.
Tracy Gunter
MACHINES-SUPPLIES-TECHNOLOGY
Komatsu is pleased to introduce its newest log loader, the TimberPro TN230D. The new machine was built from the ground up based on customer and distributor feedback and was carefully engineered to help improve productivity and provide additional operator benefits.
The 197-HP
TN230D offers a 36-ft. reach and 58,224 foot-pounds of swing torque. It also features Power Max, which temporarily increases engine horsepower and hydraulic flow to support tough forestry tasks.
The machine is built with proven, high-quality Komatsu components and its hydraulic system, powertrain, control valve and interior components are designed and manufactured in-house to help ensure performance and quality control.
The TN230D is the first machine in its class segment to feature dual service platforms with electrically actuated platforms on the left and right sides, offering improved access for service and cleaning.
New benefits include easy access via a large, rear entry cab with service walkways and safety railings, premium heated and cooled seats with
adjustable armrests, an elevated cabin with large windows and a front view camera to improve visibility, LED lights and a large overhead skylight.
“We know how demanding forestry environments are – the tough work requires equipment capable of standing up to the job,” said Kyle Kovach, product planning manager. “When we set out to develop a new log loader, we gathered feedback on customer needs then unleashed a team of talented engineers to design this product from the ground up. The result merges quality components with the latest technology to offer a range of productivity, safety and comfort benefits.”
For more information, contact a Komatsu distributor or visit Komatsu.com.
Waratah Grapple Line
Waratah Forestry Equipment has introduced its new line of forestry grapples, designed to deliver exceptional performance and reliability across a wide range of forestry and non-forestry applications. With focuses on productivity and versatility, the 15 new grapple models are engineered to deliver the same durability and trusted reliability as Waratah’s harvesting, processing and felling heads.
“Waratah’s new line of forestry grapples reflects our commitment to providing high-quality products that improve efficiency and reduce downtime,” said Brent Fisher, product marketing manager for Waratah. “These grapples complement our customers’ job site productivity from our other products and can be utilized for a wide variety of applications.”
The Waratah forestry grapple line includes three model categories to cover all types of forestry and non-forestry applications:
C Models: Designed for traditional forestry needs
C21, C26, C30, C36, C36HD, C42, C46, C46HD: These models are ideal for traditional forestry applications and machines, including forwarders, log loaders, shovel logging machines and bioenergy recovery. With a symmetric frame, timing links and jaw tips designed to engage the pile at an optimal angle, these grapples ensure full loads are consistently secured.
Large C Models: Built to tackle heavy-duty tasks
C60HD, C80, C100: Utilizing the same successful technical design as the C series, large C-model grapples are specifically designed for larger material handlers used in wood yards, ports and other large-scale operations. These robust grapples offer optimized frame structure and hydraulic features that minimize structural stresses, making them ideal for heavy-duty tasks.
E Models: Made for maximum material handling
C21E4, C30E4, C42E5, C46E4: Purpose-built for handling slash, logging residues, stumps and bioenergy applications, these grapples offer specialized features for use with forwarders and chippers. The E models feature unique design elements, including a choice of four or five fingers for maximum material handling flexibility.
In addition to being tough, Waratah grapples are designed for ease of maintenance. Greasing the grapple is straightforward, with a single position to safely perform maintenance while the grapple is lowered. The open frame structure further facilitates maintenance by offering easy access to hydraulic hoses.
As with all Waratah products, these grapples come with easily accessible support for dealers and products, as well as genuine Waratah parts with an industry-leading warranty.
Waratah grapples are now available to customers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific, Brazil and Latin America.
For more information on Waratah’s new forestry grapple line, visit Waratah.com. For application recommendations, consult your local Waratah dealer. For more information about Waratah, please visit Waratah.com or contact Olivia Martinez at omartinez@mindfirecomm.com.
DEADLINES:
CONTACT:
COMING EVENTS
May
5-7—Forest Resources Assn. Joint Annual Meeting and Southeastern Region Spring Meeting, The Hilton Sandestin Golf Resort, Miramar Beach, Fla. Call 202-296-3937; visit forestresources.org.
7-9—2025 Virginia Forestry Summit, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Call 804-278-8733; visit vaforestry.org.
19-22—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Omni Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.
20-24—SLMA 2025 Annual Conference, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 504-443-4464; visit slma.org.
25-26—Missouri Forest Products Assn. summer meeting, Chateau on the Lake, Branson, Mo. Call 573634-3252; visit moforest.org.
August
6-8—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Music City Center, Nashville, Tenn. Call 504-4434464; visit sfpaexpo.com.
7-10—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, The Inn at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. Call 804677-4290; visit valoggers.org.
19-21—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Resort, Lake Charles, La. Call 318-443-2558; visit laforestry.com.
22-23—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com.
