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A Hatton-Brown Publication HATTON-BROWN PUBLISHERS, INC. Street Address: 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Telephone (334) 834-1170 Fax 334-834-4525 Publisher David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan

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Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell Managing Editor Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor David Abbott Senior Associate Editor Jessica Johnson Associate Editor Patrick Dunning

Vol. 68, No. 5: Issue 682

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McManus Timber in Winnfield, La. is Timber Harvesting’s 2020 Logging Business of the Year. McManus has grown from humble beginnings in its 37 years and now employs 30 and averages 300 loads a week running two “big” crews and one “small” crew. The family has strongly supported logger issues and worked to boost political impact in their community and state, beginning on PAGE 20. (Jessica Johnson photo; design by Brad Jackson)

MIDWEST USA, EASTERN CANADA John Simmons (905) 666-0258 • Fax: (905) 666-0778 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com WESTERN USA, WESTERN CANADA Tim Shaddick (604) 910-1826 • Fax: (604) 264-1367 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca

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Shasta College HELO Training New Operators

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MyTake JESSICA JOHNSON

McManus Reaches Out: In Crisis, Look For Helpers

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here’s a saying attributed to Mr. Rogers that his mother used to tell him when he was a little boy and would see something scary on the news: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” If you really start to think about it, in every crisis, there are always people who are willing to help.

And for loggers in Louisiana, every time there’s been a crisis, Timber Harvesting Logging Business of the Year award winner Tony McManus and his wife Liz, daughter Toni and son-in-law Josh McAllister are those helpers.

McManus set the tone for the Josh McAllister, left with Toni McManus McAllister family of helpers 25 years ago when he bound together with other land got elected, “We began helping loggers in their timber rich community with issues he had, supporting him, beof Winnfield, La. over the price of cause he was going to support us. As workers’ comp. So over the winter of things continued we realized there was 1993, McManus and a few others another crisis that was going to push chipped in and started the Louisana loggers to stay together. And you really Loggers Self-Insured Fund, After two do have to have a crisis to make a or three years, rates began coming group of logging contractors become down pretty considerably, McManus interested enough that they’ll show up.” says, and in the years since workers’ McManus and McAllister brought a comp pricing hasn’t been a problem. voice that had been desperately needed As part of the Self-Insured Fund, around the Capitol: the working man’s which has loggers pay their own covvoice. This time, the legacy of being the erages and then each winter provides helper fell to McAllister, with full supany unspent funds as dividend checks port of his father-in-law. In January to each member, the group created 2019, McAllister resigned from the the Louisiana Loggers Assn. (LLA).

LLC and called a meeting of his own— The LLA had been by and large inacno association or umbrella organization, tive serving mainly as the umbrella just a logger who wanted to talk about for the Fund and little else. Until anthe crisis that is trucking insurance. other crisis arose.

And 45 loggers showed up.

Five years ago, after McManus famMcAllister says his motivation for ily friend and fellow Winnfield, La. the meeting was to start a Political Aclogger Jack McFarland got elected to tion Committee (PAC) that could go the Louisiana State House of Represencampaign, and most importantly donate tatives, the always politically-minded to the races of those in power who Josh McAllister (who at the time was would help further bills that would acserving on the board of the Louisiana tually help the logging industry. “The Loggers Council, a offshoot of the Louworking man has been missing for a isiana Forestry Assn.) started going long time,” Josh’s wife Toni says. with his father-in-law to Baton Rouge, “There’s been a disconnect between to advocate for pro-logger laws. Mclobbyists and the candidates/legislators.

Manus says the decision to go to the Someone can tell our story, but loggers Capitol was an easy one once McFartell their own story much better.”

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At that first meeting, and in the days following, the Board of the LLA told McAllister to take the association and use it for this critical work in Louisana—that’s what it was created for. So with the blessing of the sitting Board members at the time, Andrew Tant, Spencer Gaar, Allen Lang, Darryl Franks and Adrian James, he did. The sitting Board added McAllister to their group, and they went out to find the best loggers to serve on the association board with its new purpose.

The only problem was, if the LLA was going to do this work, and really go head first to advocate for laws that benefit the largest ag crop in the state, (in Louisiana timber taxes each year account for $925 million) it would need a full-time executive director. Someone who knew the industry, had the heart for its people and would have gumption by the mile; someone who could coordinate having the new Board. And McAllister found her sitting right next to him at the dinner table every night: Toni McManus McAllister.

“From there, we took off. We expanded from six to 17 right now, plus an advisory board with older loggers and those who have been around the industry. We were received very well. No one ever recognized loggers. The unity of the loggers was why we were able to get something done. We’ve never had that before,” Josh says of the success the group has had. Toni says the 2019 legislative session was one of the busiest times of her life, but she was able to advocate for the industry and pass four pieces of legislation that directly affect the industry she loves.

“Loggers go out to the woods and do their thing. But what we realized was we’ve been on the chopping block for so long—and because we’ve not been at the table, we’ve been eaten alive at the table. Now we’re holding a lot of representatives accountable, because their constituents are loggers. It’s 15 million acres; it’s 50% of Louisiana.”

Affectionately called Little Toni by most in Winnfield, and even her mother at times, McManus McAllister watched her dad be a helper 25 years TH ago, and now it’s her turn.

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NewsLines

Log Haul Routes: Interstates Are Safer Research by the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources shows that log hauling and trucking operations are inherently safer when able to use interstate highway routes as much as possible. The findings bolster support for the federal Safe Routes Act, co-sponsored

by Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and multiple other timber state representatives and the American Loggers Council. Introduced into Congress last year, it would allow logging trucks that meet state-determined requirements to travel up to 150 miles on interstates.

According to Joe Conrad, assistant professor of forest operations at UGA, “The goal of the research was, if you made the weight limit the same on interstate and state highways, would it improve the efficiency of our timber transportation industry? The results were a resounding yes.”

Interstate highway weight limits, 80,000 total lbs. and no more than 34,000 lbs. per axle, are generally less than state limits. For example, in Georgia the weight limit on state and U.S. highways is 84,000 lbs. total, including 48,300 lbs. per two axles (including state weight tolerances). In Alabama the limit is 80,000 lbs. with a 10% tolerance so most loggers load for around 88,000 lbs. As a result, log trucks are kept off interstates and must spend more time starting and stopping, going through red lights and intersections and encountering numerous additional safety concerns on state highways and county roads.

Research shows log hauling is safer on interstate routes.

Conrad’s research compared log truck haul routes and how each might change if they were allowed on the interstate. His research found that, on average, nearly half of the trucks’ routes could be over the interstate instead of on local roads, which would significantly lower transportation costs.

The project was supported by the Georgia Forestry Foundation Center for Forest Competitiveness and the Forest Resources Assn. and examined timber transportation in Macon, Brunswick, Augusta and Savannah, Ga. and also Brewton and Prattville, Ala.; Eastover, SC; and Roanoke Rapids, NC. The research team counted intersections, school zones and other potential hazards between logging landings and mills. Conrad noted that in the eight areas studied, if log trucks were able to use interstates they would encounter 33% fewer traffic lights and at least one less school zone per trip. Unloaded trucks are allowed on interstates, and research showed fewer than 5% of log truck accidents occurred there. Using interstates also shaved eight minutes off each trip, reducing fuel consumption in addition to increasing safety.

American Loggers Council Cancels 2020 Annual Meeting With low registrations and an indication by many of the meeting’s sponsors regarding policies restricting travel, some until January 2021, the American Loggers Council (ALC) has made the decision to cancel the 2020 Annual 8

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Meeting, scheduled September 24-26, in Branson, Mo. Continuing concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic and the ability to safely travel to and from Branson, as well as meet face mask and social distancing requirements, led to the decision. The group has reorganized plans and will hold a virtual Board meeting on Saturday, September 26,

with notices and details sent out once that information is available.

In an email, ALC President Shannon Jarvis remarks, “Our sincerest thanks to everyone who continues to support the American Loggers Council as all venture together through these unprecedented times. We look forward to getting back together, and wish everyone a continued safe and healthy future.”

Virginia Logging Business Loses Shop In Fire Diversified and highly recognized Virginia entity Tapscott Brothers Logging suffered an apparent electrical fire in May that wiped out a shop and office space. “We had a shop that had been there since 1994,” says Binky Tapscott, who owns the company with his brother Guke. “We ran our trucks and logging equipment and the office for the company from there in Scottsville.” Investigators think the blaze started when a faulty wire in a wall shorted out.

The Tapscotts, who also own Tigercat dealer Forest Pro’s three locations in the state, have temporarily relocated their offices to Forest Pro’s Scottsville location, and are using an old family farm shop for trucks and equipment until they can rebuild.

Arizona’s 4FRI May Ride On Elections It’s a long shot, but an election year shuffling of candidates for Arizona’s Corporation Commission (ACC) may bring new life to the near-derailed 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) that’s seeking to restore healthy conditions across 2.4 million acres on four national forests.

Just last year the five-member ACC voted 3-2 against a proposal to require state utilities to purchase up to 90MW of biomass-fired power, a critical market expansion for the biomass and brush material produced by each individual forest restoration project.

Three seats appear to be up for grabs but the pro-biomass forces must win them all. One of them includes a pro-biomass incumbent. Two commissioners not having to run both voted against the biomass proposal, so the commission’s position on biomass will depend on the remaining two races.

Expanded markets for biomass are critical to forest health in Arizona, and TIMBER HARVESTING & FOREST OPERATIONS

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NewsLines most involved agree that lack of biomass markets is severely hampering progress.

Awarded in 2012, the first 4FRI contract (Phase 1) to treat 300,000 acres in 10 years has woefully underperformed, treating roughly 15,000 acres total compared to its goal of 50,000 acres a year, with lack of biomass markets a big reason.

Meanwhile, national forest officials in Arizona are hoping to award 4FRI Phase 2 contracts in September following several contract modifications. The contract time frame has been doubled, to 20 years, with several years of “ramp up” time to develop forest products infrastructure included.

The Phase 2 contract also more than doubled the acreage to treat to more than 800,000 acres. A five-year timber harvest plan included in Phase 2 solicitation materials identified 101 projects on 203,000 acres estimated to produce 1.097 billion BF in logs and 152 million cubic feet of biomass that must be removed or handled and reduced on site.

Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

Enviva Purchases Large Pellet Mill Enviva Partners is purchasing the Georgia Biomass wood pellet production plant in Waycross, Ga. with associated export terminal capacity in Savannah, Ga. from innogy SE. The purchase price is $175 million (US). In operation since 2011, the Georgia Biomass plant exceeded 800,000 metric tons in annual production last year.

The Waycross plant exports its wood pellets through a terminal at the Port of Savannah under a long-term terminal lease and associated services agreement.

Enviva will now operation nine plants in the Southern U.S. with a combined production capacity of nearly 5 million metric tons.

Ashton Lewis Buys Virginia Sawmill Ashton Lewis Holding Co., an affiliate of major southern pine lumber treater Great Southern Wood, has ac-

quired the family-owned W.T. Jones & Sons, Inc. southern pine sawmill in Ruther Glen, Va., and is planning to invest $11 million in the facility. The company has also committed to source 90% of all the mill’s pine timber purchases from Virginia forestland owners.

Virginia Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) worked with Caroline County on incentives to secure the project. A $50,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund assisted Caroline County with the project. Funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

SC Loggers Working With Roads Officials Officials with the South Carolina Timber Producers Assn. (SCTPA) have been working closely with local roads ➤ 11 officials to reduce the impact

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Virginia Loggers Receive Tax Relief Following passage of a state law giving local governments the option, Virginia loggers are working with counties and other jurisdictions to adopt language exempting logging equipment and machinery from taxation—just as farming and agricultural equipment already is.

Previously under Virginia’s commercial code, logging equipment was listed as “unlicensed machinery” and subject to state and local taxes. Since the new law went into effect, localities can now exempt logging equipment from taxation.

According to Virginia Loggers Assn. Executive Director Ron Jenkins, VLA is now following up with counties and localities to make sure the exemption is included in next year’s budgets. The law went into effect this year after many budgets were already finalized.

VLA Vice President Chad Shelton reports his county, Pittsylvania, was able to add the exemption this year, and he encourages other loggers to begin working with county supervisors and other officials.

Action now shifts to counties to get exemptions written into next year’s budgets.

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NewsLines 9 ➤ from potential road and licensing ordinances implemented by counties.

Going through a wet spell earlier this year, officials in Marion County had received complaints, mainly mud and dirt on roadways and overall condition of some county dirt roads, and were considering instituting a logger and truck licensing policy. SCTPA President Crad Jaynes along with representatives from the Forestry Assn. of SC met with Marion County officials and heard their concerns.

The informal group came up with a plan to have roads officials contact either SCTPA or FASC if any road problems arise, and those groups will address the issue by working with the logger, logger’s wood supplier and receiving mill.

According to Jaynes, the approach has proved useful in working with other counties having roads problems, but loggers should never let it get that far. He adds, “It’s imperative that our industry do its part” in assisting counties and not having local road budgets take a hit due to logging operations.

Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

WVU Developing Feedstock Solutions Aided by a $10 million competitive grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, West Virginia University is spearheading the development of a perennial multi-feedstock production system that is sustainable and economically feasible for the region.

The project includes establishing the Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Biomass (MASBio) for Value-Added Products Consortium, a regional group of universities, industry partners, national laboratories and governmental agencies interested in advancing the science and practice of sustainable bioproducts.

Led by Jingxin Wang, professor of wood science and technology in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, MASBio will leverage research, education and extension strategies for increasing utilization of available resources in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Consortium partners include Penn

State University, Virginia Tech, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, West Virginia State University, Eastern WV Community and Technical College, U.S. Dept. of Energy Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S.Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory and Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Georgia Power Seeks Biomass Plant Bids Georgia’s Public Service Commission recently voted to allow major utility Georgia Power to solicit bids for a new 50 MW biomass-powered power plant.

The move is part of a Georgia Power effort to purchase more energy from a variety of sources as the company seeks to retire some of its older power generating facilities.

In addition to biomass, the utility is also looking at streams turbine, battery energy storage and solar sources. The move is also driven by forest economics: Georgia landowners had few places

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NewsLines to sell the mountain of timber damaged

by Hurricane Michael in 2018, much of it salvageable only as boiler fuel.

Georgia Power now purchases more than 335 MW of energy from 15 biomass producers, with most of the fuel coming from woody biomass. By comparison, Georgia Power is looking to add more than 2,200 MW of solar powered electricity in the near future.

Cousineau Plans Rebuild After Fire The owner of Cousineau Forest Products, Randy Cousineau, says the company is rebuilding after a late May fire at its wood processing facility in Henniker, Me. According to Cousineau, the fire caused $500,000 in damages at the plant that produces playground surfacing materials, biomass fuel, chips and bark mulch. The facility has brought in mobile equipment to continue some operations during a rebuild that’s complicated by having to replace custom shredding equipment.

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News reports say the fire initially ripped through a building at the plant before spreading to a nearby treeline due to high winds. The facility is a key regional market for loggers looking to sell low-grade wood, and is a major supplier of playground chips.

The Cousineau family began operating a small sawmill in Strong, Me. in 1959 Randy Cousineau took over the business in 1973 from his parents and has since expanded it in Maine and into New Hampshire.

Salamander Lives With Logging Following a seven-year study of 88 timber tracts across Oregon’s western Cascade Range, researchers have concluded no “discernable difference” in populations and occupancy of a rare salamander on recently harvested stands compared to stands older than 50 years. The project, which ran from 2013-2019, was a collaboration of Oregon State University, Weyerhaeuser, Port Blakely Tree Farms, Bureau of

Land Management and the Oregon Dept. of Forestry, and the findings were published in the journal “Forest Ecology and Management.”

Found only on the west slope of the Cascade Range, the Oregon slender salamander is considered “sensitive” by state wildlife officials, and other groups have petitioned for its listing under the Endangered Species Act. It lives primarily underground or burrowed into decaying woody material and is found on both older age class tracts and timber plantations.

Researchers did note that a more commonly found salamander was negatively affected by timber harvest, and recommended that landowners leave more moisture-holding wood on the ground after logging to provide habitat for both species.

Coming Next Issue: Steep & Wet Logging

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NewsLines

Shasta College Training Next Logging Generation

Program is gaining momentum and can now sell its logging services.

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ation of logging workers and log truckers is among the highest priorities of our industry – these are good jobs upon which one can build a life, a family and a career in the outdoors.

Opportunities abound as the current generation retires. FIRST SEAT provides on-the-job training with experienced companies and can place workers in jobs right away.”

Additional partners are California Women in Timber (CWIT), Sierra Pacific Industries, Creekside Logging, Del Logging, Hat Creek Construction, Pape Machinery, Peterson Timber and more.

Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) is a key supporter of the program by allowing it to operate on a 45,000 acre tract of company timberland. SPI contracts with the HELO program on small jobs that allow students to train on mechanized logging tracts, conduct log loading and species identification, sorting and how to safely secure log loads onto trailers before delivering to SPI mills in the area.

The program recently gained a timber operator license that will create an income stream through the sale of logs and logging services. Its first load of 3.9MBF of Douglas fir logs went to SPI’s Anderson mill in July. Instructors predict students will average four to six loads weekly during in-woods training. Funds raised will help pay for fuel, consumables, equipment maintenance and repairs.

Truck driver Class A & B License Training training was added to the HELO program after organizers and supporters saw projected demand for drivers in the future. Extended training courses offer instruction on hands-on driving practice, in-cab and on-road training, walk-around inspections and more.

LANC Executive Director Mark Lathrop comments, “Shasta College is doing a wonderful job of attracting students who love heavy equipment and the outdoors. We see our participation as helping financially but, more importantly, by providing members of our logging organization to be the on-the-job mentors.

TH Win-win for all!”

he Shasta College Heavy Equipment and student exposure to opportument Operations (HEO) program nities in the timber and logging indushas added an “L” to its name this year try, will premiere in Fall 2020 and offer with a new Heavy Equipment Logging instruction from industry professionals Operations (HELO) certificate that on commercial driving as well. Through now includes truck driving training. the program, students can eventually Program managers are also moving become licensed timber operators. forward with an internship program Key FIRST SEAT supporters inbegun last year, and recently anclude the Sierra-Cascade Logging nounced licensing that allows the proConference (SCLC), which donated gram to sell logs harvested during $10,499 through the Sierra-Cascade training sessions.

Environmental and Resource Fund Shasta College’s HEO program offi(SCERF), the Associated California cials started the in-woods internship proLoggers (ACL) provided a $10,000 gram in Summer 2019. Working with donation and the Loggers Assn. of major civil and commercial contractor Northern California (LANC) has made Lepage Co. of Red Bluff, the Forest Ina $10,000 commitment. dustry Real-World Skills Training SusEric Carleson, ACL Executive Ditaining Employment and Applying rector, notes, “Training the next generTechnology program (FIRST SEAT) is now placing students into positions this fall. Interns will be trained on fire watch and patrol, mastication operations to sustain forest health, and fire resiliency through critical fuel management work in the community’s at-risk areas.

The newly launched HELO program, a grantfunded expansion of the college’s heavy equipment program to include training on Heavy equipment operations students are being placed in internships. specialized logging equip-

Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

Contact Shasta College EWD division: (530) 2427638

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Disaster Drives Innovation On Hurricane-Damaged Tract Extreme catastrophe requires out-of-the-box recovery plan.

DANShell

YOUNGSTOWN, Fla. ocated 20 miles north of Mexico Beach, Fla. and just east of Youngstown, the 98,000 acre tract in the Bear Creek watershed had the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Michael rip right up the center of it in October 2018, leaving in its wake a scene of blast-zone devastation that’s hard to describe: In mere hours a thriving, working forest of almost 100,000 acres—growing everything from seedlings to 35-year-old sawtimber—was reduced to an epic disaster of downed and windblown trees, stems and snags, much of it flooded in the storm’s immediate aftermath.

The storm hit on October 10 two years ago, 160 MPH winds raging as Michael made landfall. Barely missing the major Panama City population

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center that would have made the human toll much worse, Michael churned through north Florida and southwest Georgia for 150 miles before hurricane-force winds dissipated.

Later reports would show 31 direct and 43 indirect deaths from the storm, noted as the fourth-strongest wind speed landfall hurricane in contiguous U.S. history. While much timber was destroyed and damaged in the mostly rural storm path, Michael’s estimated $25 billion in damages included things like $6 billion to replace fighter jets at Tyndall AFB east of Panama City, at least $6.23 billion in insurance claims and almost $4 billion in agricultural damages.

According to a timber damage report by industry analyst Forest2Market, in the most heavily affected areas

Michael’s impact was the equivalent of 10-15 years of timber inventory removals—compressed into several hours of timber-destroying fury.

The tract along Bear Creek is a rarity as Southeast investment tracts go: More than 98,000 acres of contiguous timberland that takes 23 miles to drive from one end to the other without getting off the property except for one small stretch. A pension fund owns the tract as a long-term investment, which is managed by Forest Investment Associates (FIA).

A TIMO with $4.7 billion in timberland assets under management in North and South America, FIA has a 33-year track record. The Southeast U.S. is FIA’s largest investment area, managing 1.7 million acres in the region— and roughly 37% of those assets are

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within 60 miles of the Gulf or Atlantic coasts. The company has experienced hurricane impacts over the years, yet the damage to the Bear Creek tract “was unlike anything ever experienced on our properties,” says Mike Clutter, FIA Vice President, Director of U.S. Investments and Operations.

According to Clutter, at Bear Creek 3.4 million merchantable pine tons were removed due to storm damage, and 7,500 acres of pre-merchantable plantations were lost. Overall, he says, about 92% of the tract’s standing inventory was lost to Hurricane Michael.

Aerial reconnaissance right after the storm confirmed the extent of the catastrophe, and it took the better part of a month’s hard work by American Forest Management (FIA’s on-site field service provider) and the Florida Forest Service to reopen the primary woods roads and allow up close inspection. The closer all involved got to the disaster, the bigger the challenge grew.

Once the assessments were made and inspections completed, the magnitude of the silvicultural demand before them became clear: the complete re-establishment of 55,00060,000 acres of bedded plantations on low wet ground—as soon as possible. In spring 2019, the FIA team hoped to get it done in five years.

Older stands have heavy debris loads, tougher conditions.

Region Hammered “The eye of the storm centered (the tract), so you had wind going east to west, then the eye went over and you had wind going west to east,” says Frank Corley, forest engineer, longtime logging industry veteran and owner of Corley, Inc., who was brought in as a consultant for the recovery project.

Corley and Clutter have worked together several times over the course of their careers, including 14 years when both were with Union Camp “I had no clue what to do the day I arrived. Nothing was obvious. Only some of the youngest

Massive anchor chain brings material to the ground.

Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

stands, about five years and younger, were able to carry forward. The rest of it was gone.

That’s what I found,” he says, adding that after their first drive through the tract his only honest response to Clutter asking what they might do: “I have no idea.”

Forestry specialists Larson & McGowin used digital modeling software to predict debris loads remaining on the ground, and the Silvics Solutions S2 program identified many areas of older merchantable plantations that had 150-200 green tons of debris per acre that had to be removed, piled or otherwise dealt with before plantations could be re-established and the tract placed back into production.

Increasing the impact of the storm at all levels was the human costs and suffering, property damage and power outages that had to be addressed immediately. Many loggers had to tend to their own families and their employees’ families and property issues before they could even think of addressing timber damage.

Infrastructure of all types was hammered. Civil authorities said that after power outages, one of the top priorities was reconnecting cell phone service. In just one of thousands of examples, a local CVS in Lynnhaven, Fla. north of Panama City was still filling prescriptions from a house trailer in a parking lot months after the storm had passed.

It didn’t help that much of the merchantable timber was broken off in snags, jumbled on the ground in pieces, extremely unsafe to log conventionally and virtually unsalvageable. Working with local contractors, AFM was able to harvest a small amount, but with the WestRock paper mill at Panama City down due to storm damage and other wood consumers at greatly reduced capacity if not down, wood prices dropped drastically.

Corley says even if more could have been salvaged, “People don’t realize how the mills were impacted too, so the markets SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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Chaining remains the biggest block of remaining work because it’s slower going in the worst stands.

weren’t really there for a while.”

Trying to devise a plan of action, Corley brought in several others to give perspective, among them Mark Sauer, President of reforestation specialist Savannah Global, and Johnny Boyd, District Manager with Tigercat Industries.

It became apparent that the remaining timber and debris, snags and leaners had to be taken to the ground before anything else could happen. And the tremendous amount of debris made windrowing unfeasible because of handling and piling costs and lost planting space.

Boyd says his role wasn’t too formal outside a few conversations about ideas, though Tigercat did help with some technical issues as the machine was coming together.

A push-bar system—simply a 22 ft. piece of heavy square-tube steel with a slight bow on each end mounted to the front of a D6—is being used to take down material that’s just at thinning age or a bit below. Some of these stands were the toughest to deal with, Corley says.

“The ones that hadn’t been thinned yet were really ugly, and it was hard to even get into these stands,” he says, adding that some of those areas were sprayed to make the stems lighter and easier to break up. Some of the initial trials included a dozer with straight blade pulling a chopper, then running with only the blade before the team decided a push bar would do the job and also more productively, taking out

several rows at a time.

Presenting the biggest overall challenge were the older age stands, some up to 35 years, that had the highest debris loads.

Working typhoon recoveries in Australia and reservoir land clearing in Africa among other recent offshore jobs and projects in 35 countries, Savannah Global has a reputation as a major mass land-clearing specialist.

Sauer advised the group to try chaining: dragging a large ship chain between two D8s to knock the debris onto the ground.

Sauer put the group in touch with an Australian contractor he had worked with on a chaining job after a typhoon, Different Approach who gave his thoughts on using the In this case, disaster was the driver system. “There’s not a lot of places to of innovation as the group developed justify it, but that is one area you systems to handle the various condicould do it,” Sauer says of the Bear tions on the tract and ultimately re-esCreek tract’s flat and sandy conditions. tablish plantations in the debris fields: The recovery team settled on a 450 A modified Tigercat sawft. deep sea ship anchor chain head with bunching arms repulled between two Cat D8s moved and custom housing with running parallel roughly 60-80 v-blade atop the tower was deft. apart depending on debris veloped to take down much of conditions. “You pull it behind the smaller pre-merchantable in a u-shape, and the chain sort material up to around 10-12 of sags behind. The chain years old. The machine goes breaks up the debris and gets it down each row, “mowing” as on the ground where you can do close as possible to the ground something with it,” Corley says. and letting the trunks and snag He bought the massive chain stems just fall away. This leaves from a shipyard in Louisiana, the bed in place and makes for and it weighed only a couple Push-bar machine knocks down material just under thinning age. quicker replanting. hundred pounds short of high16

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Crager heads chaining crew.

Buck: Don’t get stuck.

way weight limits to get it hauled to Bear Creek.

The D8s used for the job are fitted with full forestry protection packages, custom chain attachments and additional component protection behind and large Savannah v-blade and plenty of guarding up front.

“It’s a slow process and can be dangerous,” says Quint Crager of Quinco Contracting in Chatom, Ala. “Ground conditions are pretty rough, there’s lots of really heavy debris in most areas.”

Noting the extra guarding all around the dozer, he adds, “A main concern is safety of the guys operating. We’ve never done the chain pull before.”

Crager says that as time has progressed, and the timber has deteriorated it’s lighter and can work easier; some of the wetter areas where fallen material has more green volume continue to be a hard pull and slow-go. Another issue is keeping equipment cooling systems running smoothly in all the debris.

“You can’t take just anybody who operates a machine and put them in this, but we’ve got some really good operators,” Crager says.

In the summer of 2020 there were five main contractors on the site doing chaining, push bar or sawhead work.

As each system is applied to the tracts where it works best, the big chunk of remaining work continues to be the areas that need chaining, with its slower operations and larger debris loads.

Wet ground is a big issue yearround for all the crews. Super low elevation and flat terrain make any form of precipitation problematic for operations, and some areas are wetter than before the storm because there’s no timber and cover to help absorb groundwater. Taking advantage of any short-term dry conditions, crews try to cover as much of the low ground as Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

Second-pass chaining: Overhead view shows scope of challenge.

possible when possible, but some areas may have to wait for an extended dry spell to be worked.

“This is by far the biggest project we’ve ever taken on,” says Travis Buck of Tree Farm LLC in Fosters, Ala. “Trying not to get stuck—that’s the biggest issue because there’s mud and water everywhere and it’s all flat ground,” he adds.

Once all material is on the ground, there’s at least one pass with a shear v-blade required to open it up, and another pass with a bedding plow to get

Redesigned sawhead for smallest stems

the row ready to replant. The crews are going with slightly wider row spacing due to the remaining debris, which is several feet high on each side of some planting rows.

Sauer says that while many contractors in the area run a trailing plow, he’s seen good results on the job with a mounted plow that he believes has been more productive in such conditions and turns easier.

While disaster is the driver of innovation in this case, he adds that outside the sawhead design and chaining work, much of the work has been done with standard equipment such as beefed up v-plows and trailing and mounted units—although in extreme operating conditions.

The difference is the overall scale, volume and land mass of the Bear Creek recovery project demanded a different approach than traditional pile and burn. Lots of local landowners were raking and windrowing in recovering much smaller tracts after the storm, but that was definitely not an option at Bear Creek.

Looking ahead, there’s plenty of work out in front of the reforestation contractors. Clutter believes there’s four more years of work to completely regenerate the 55,000 acres of plantations that had to be put back into production, and the project is moving along roughly on schedule.

Clutter notes that even with years of hurricane impacts around the Southeast, an event like what hit the Bear Creek tract emphasizes that geographical diversity is important for timberland investors. Strategies like standing timber insurance policies and pursuing shorter rotations to reduce hurricane exposure are other options to consider, he says.

“Very large contiguous holdings close to the coast need to be viewed as more risky than those that are geographically dispersed,” Clutter adds.

These are investment, timber and weather factors that make up a swirling dynamic as the Southeast feels the hottest part of another hurricane season draw near while the Bear Creek tract recovers thanks to innovation, skill and hard work, with still miles and miles of TH planting rows to go.

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WINNFIELD, La. n 1983, Tony and Liz McManus, alongside Tony’s father, borrowed $35,000 and started a logging job with just their family and one other—a log cutter who ran the chain saw, Robert Nichols, whose son ultimately became one of McManus’ best friends. The families have remained close to this day because that’s the kind of guy McManus, 62, is: He hires you in 1983 and remains your life-long friend. He doesn’t see employees as anything other than family. He says part of that is because when he first started the company, he ran the job himself and really didn’t have any help—it was just Tony and Liz. “We had to depend on each other,” McManus says of the early years. “I am so thankful to her.” It was just his family, so once McManus Timber got big enough to add on, those employees became the McManus Timber family.

When his youngest daughter, Toni McManus McAllister, 35, known throughout their Louisiana community as “Little Toni,” began working for her father as a child, and working alongside her mother during college, she decided to make logging her career. After Little Toni’s husband, Josh McAllister, 36, got out of the oilfield/pipeline work he was doing and joined the timber company, the second generation of the McManus/McAllister family became as deep rooted as the timber they cut.

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Tony McManus

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Crews are typically on bigger tracts of 150-250 acre clear-cuts.

McManus’ nephew, Jeremiah Womack, who used to run his own contract truck, sold the truck to the company and joined McManus Timber. Womack helped the family grow again, and began to run a second crew.

With the addition of “the redheads” as the family calls Womack and McAllister for their strawberry red hair, the company that now employs 30 and produces an average of 300 loads per week wouldn’t be nearly what it is.

McManus says sincerely, “That’s why my family means so much to this business; they’ve been an integral part for several years now,” before quipping, “I am so glad that they are here, as my wife and I age, we’re looking to lessen our stress level and pass a lot of that onto the children and that’s what we’ve done.”

Liz, 60, who began working for her family’s grocery store at age 11, knew

how to handle the bookwork, so she was able to keep their heads financially on straight even though they started out with just the borrowed $35,000 and have grown to become one of the strongest logging companies in Louisiana. Without his wife, McManus says the company might not have made it. She laughs, and admits, “I’m really stern about the checkbook.”

But without that strict checkbooking, McManus says the company wouldn’t have been able to have the steady growth it has been afforded the last almost 40 years. For Toni, that steady growth means the family has expanded and doesn’t just provide for them, including her and Josh’s son, Landry, 8, but about 27 other families.

Toni says that the reason all the moving parts work is because it is a combined effort by the four of them.

She breaks it down like this, “For

everything to work right, with McManus Timber Co., I am more concerned about my families and taking care of them and them being happy on the jobs, being appreciated and respected. Josh is straightforward, this is how the job works; my dad brings another element. It’s a perfect balance. Unlike where it is just one person’s business, it’s a like a family, so we all feel like we’re all family.”

McManus echoes his daughter and says his faith plays a large role in working with employees and leads him to care for them just as if they are family.

Family Dynamics While some might balk at the idea of working with their parents every day, Toni says she never takes the time they have together for granted.

McManus is loyal to Caterpillar, and will make the transition to Weiler Forestry when it comes time to update his iron roster.

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Tony McManus, left, with nephew Jeremiah Womack

Both she and her mother are quick to say they are exactly alike—and can both be a little hotheaded. “But me and my dad work well together. Part of my job is reading his mind; that works out well too,” she laughs.

For Josh, working with his fatherin-law wasn’t exactly what he had envisioned for himself, calling himself a very ambitious person. But working with Tony, Josh says learned more about business, finances and hard work in a single year than he did during his four years of college. The ambition he had as a young man never went away, instead his focus shifted: “I was always wanting to have my own name brand and make a lot of money while I was young so I could do like he does—I could slow down when I got older. But he’s such a wellrespected person in our community, the name of the company, carrying that on, McManus Timber, I always envisioned McAllister Timber, but it’s really a badge of honor to carry on McManus Timber.”

Across the three crews, two large

and one small, with 11 log hauling trucks and 12 log trailers, 30 families make their living through the timber company. Most employees are longterm, with the trucking foreman, Brent Weatherford, having been with the company 25 years, and the cutterman on Josh’s crew being with the company 37 years.

Seeing how the business affects their town has changed the way Josh has viewed his father-in-law, and the impact McManus has made on their community. “He taught me how to handle the men that work for you.

They respect you more if you work just as hard as they do. Don’t ask them anything you’re not willing to do yourself,” Josh says proudly as he stands with McManus at the landing of the crew he serves as foreman on.

Of course, McManus adds the quip, “It helps if you can do it better than they can.”

But on the serious side, both men feel the weight of being responsible to help better the community, first through the private sector with the

timber company, with their involvement in the Louisiana Loggers Assn. where Josh is the President of the PAC, and at the Louisiana Loggers Self-Insured Fund where Tony is the Vice Chair, and now in the public sector with Josh having been elected to serve as the Police Jury President for Winn Parish.

McManus says once the younger man decided to step into that arena, he had the family’s full support. “Years ago when Josh was just beginning to get into politics and I encouraged him to make the best civil servant he could because I knew the kind of time that would be involved,” he explains. “Be the best juryman he could possibly be and McManus Timber Co. would pick up the slack. We’ve got men that can carry on and will do so. We don’t have to worry the jobs are going to go right along.”

Though Josh is quick to say, with as many moving parts as we have there’s always something that needs attention, and no matter the other commitments, the McManus-McAllister family focuses on their family first, taking care of the timber company is a number one priority.

“We’ve always worked together,” Liz says. “We’ve survived when others haven’t. It all comes back to what we can get and what we can’t.

We learned to manage and save and only get our needs. What we’ve accomplished we learned from experience. When we made mistakes we tried not to make them a second time. It’s just a cumulative effort.”

That cumulative effort hasn’t gone unnoticed and McManus Timber Co. has enjoyed long standing relationships with mills, other timber companies and their equipment dealers for decades.

The use of two loaders on the big jobs mean quick truck turnaround.

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Harvest Plans The two large crews contract cut for Weyerhaeuser, working with a harvest manager to develop cutting plans typically a year out so the best ground can be saved for the typically wetter wintertime. McAllister likes to have the crews on clear-cuts to maximize production; typically on tracts sized from 150 to 250 acres.

Toni, whose primary job with the company is to process tickets and payroll, says with the two big crews structured the same; it is easy to see they are doing all they can do every day. “They have the same equipment, about the same manpower, and on identical tracts they stay within a load or two of each other,” she adds.

“They are all great operators and get the maximum production in a safe manner.”

The third smaller crew was started in 2019 to handle smaller, pet projects for a TIMO that the family had previously worked for but couldn’t dedicate one of the high production, larger crews to.

“They were short production in 2019 and asked us if we had the ability or desire to help them out and we saw an opening,” McAllister says. Thanks to moving the larger crews to tracts closer to existing markets the company had some spare trucking power and just had to come up with some machines and men.

Timber from all three crews is marketed all across the state of Louisiana, which can stretch out 100 miles, but most is hauled no more than 40 miles.

Largest log markets are Weyerhaeuser in Dodson, West Fraser in Joyce and Winn Lumber, with LaSalle Lumber in Olla as a new market; plywood goes

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to either Boise in Oakdale, or Hunt in Pollock. Hardwood heads to IP in Standard, Hanna in Winnfield or West Rock in Hodge.

Trucks depend on mill turnaround time, but try to pull five loads per day operating on what McManus calls a buddy system. Ensuring that no one is operating alone, trucks drive at times together, everyone working in a roundabout in 12-hour shifts. Each cab is outfitted with Verizon Fleetmatics GPS and road facing dash cams. Trail-

ers carry Vulcan onboard scales.

“We’re literally hauling almost 24/7, 5:00 p.m. to midnight is the only dead time for us,” he explains.

McAllister says that all parts are as important as the others—especially if you want to run the kind of operation the family does. But, if he had to point to one piece of the puzzle, he says it’s the men in the machines who are absolute number one. “All the major brands of equipment are good, but the service on whichever

Daily maintenance keeps equipment rolling.

brand you chose to use is critical.

We’ve had really great service with Caterpillar.”

Iron Care While Liz must first approve all equipment purchases, the McManuses typically value input from the operators when it comes time to purchase a new machine. “The people that run the equipment, whatever they want kind of goes,” Tony says. “We do buy a lot of Cat stuff; we have a good relationship with them. Trucks are mostly Kenworth.”

Since the fleet is all Caterpillar and John Deere, with eight loaders, eight ground saws, six skidders, three feller-bunchers, and three dozers, the company uses Louisiana Cat and Doggett Machinery, respectively, as their dealers. Any major work goes to the dealership, but as far as typical service, McManus tries to handle as much as possible in-house. James Leyda, an outside mechanic based in Atlanta, La., handles truck maintenance. Bear Manufacturing handles all trailer work. The company has its own fuel plant in Joyce to handle all off-road and over-the-road needs. BITCO provides commercial liability insurance, while workers’ comp is obviously handled through the Self-Insured Fund.

McManus says during his almost 40 years of logging, one of the biggest changes to the industry has been the advances in equipment. “One man and one machine can do so much more in a day’s time than they used to be able to do. Machines have doubled in size, what a man used to do in a day’s time can be doubled or tripled on today’s logging job.” But coupled with the inwoods advancements have been lag times at the mills. With half the loggers doing twice the production as before, wait times are long; McManus says he thinks part of the reason is that extra production. Of course, the other 26

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change to the industry, and perhaps most obvious change as been the doubling, and tripling of costs down through the years.

But in spite of everything, McManus says he still loves what the industry has done for him and his family; especially now as the middle of the night phone calls fall to his daughter

Iron Lineup Broken out by crew, McManus Timber Co. uses the following pieces of equipment:

and son-in-law, not him and his wife.

Looking at the legacy Tony and Liz are leaving Josh and Toni, and possibly even the McAllister’s son eight-year-old Landry, he says, “In the beginning you’re hopeful, and sometimes doubts arise that they’ll ever be able to carry on, but then as time goes by and you see that they make wiser decisions than bad ones; you’re confidence starts going up.

They will be able to carry on without missing a beat. They can continue on

knowing we struggled so hard in the beginning. It gives me a sense of pride and comfort. If the company continues on and Landry wants to be part of it, he can do it that makes me happy.”

Liz says as long as the company has her son-in-law, nephew Jeremiah, and Jason Blundell who is Josh’s right hand man, the company “will be totally fine.” Adding, “This job is fantastic and God has blessed us 100%. But this is hard mental and physical work.”

TH

Big Crew #1, Jeremiah Womack, foreman

– 2418 Prentice track loader – 559D Caterpillar loader, with ground saw – 559C Caterpillar loader, with ground saw – Two 545C Caterpillar skidders – 843L John Deere cutter – Model? Prentice truck loader – D6 Caterpillar dozer

Big Crew #2, Josh McAllister, foreman

– Two 559C Caterpillar loaders, with ground saws – Two 545D Caterpillar skidders, with one 545C Caterpillar skidder as a spare – 843L John Deere cutter – T240 Tigercat track loader – 750J John Deere dozer

Small Crew #3, Terry Avant, foreman

– 563 Caterpillar cutter – 535D Caterpillar skidder – 559D Caterpillar loader, with ground saw – D6 Caterpillar dozer

Trucks, Trailers

– One Peterbilt dump truck – One Mack lowboy truck – Three Mack haul trucks – Seven Kenworth haul trucks – One Peterbilt haul truck – One Pitts lowboy trailer – One Load King lowboy trailer – Two FMI 4 bolster trailers – Seven Magnolia 4 bolster trailers – One Pitts 4 bolster trailer – Two Bear Manufacturing pole trailers Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

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Skidders&Components Deere L-Series Skidders: Streamlined Systems, Better Guarding Deere’s L-Series II Skidder models have been simplified to enhance customer experience. Streamlined electrical and hydraulic systems increase uptime and have been redesigned to ensure better guarding and protection of key components. An increased grapple squeeze force of up to 10% and a two-speed winch enhance productivity and tackle tough terrain with ease. Articulation steering sensors improve the operator experience, ultimately increasing productivity. A variety of grapple options, including the 17.5 sq. ft. grapple on the 648L-II or a 22.3 sq. ft. option on the 948L-II, deliver more wood to the landing with fewer skids. Designed by loggers for loggers, the L-Series II models have spacious cabs and feature ample storage space, configurable controls and a highly effective HVAC system. The armrest-mounted electrohydraulic controls provide accessible, hand-finger operation of all machine functions while the joystick steering provides smooth control of steering, direction and ground speed. Reducing neck strain, an optional rotating high-back seat improves rearward visibility to the grapple.

The rugged Outboard-Extreme axles, standard on the 848L-II and 948L-II models and optional on the 748L-II machine, provide maximum durability while the heavier weight boosts machine stability. The easy-to-use Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) combines the efficiency of a direct-drive transmission with the smoothness of a hydrostatic drive. The CVT provides more power to the ground by sensing the load, delivering more torque and tractive effort as needed to maintain the operator’s wanted speed. Visit deere.com

Forest Chain Fixed, Multi-Ring Features Forest Chain’s wide range of ring skidder chains, are available in fixed ring, multi ring, and studded with 9⁄16 in., ⅝ in., or ¾ in. tag chains to fit all popular tire sizes. Designed to give as much as 60% more traction to your skidder, Forest Chain Skidder Chains provide quicker skid times, more production and increased bottom line profits. Forest Chain premium MultiRing heavy duty chains offer superior traction putting steel in strategic points, providing protection from rocks, stumps and site debris, protecting your expensive rubber tires and are available in 9⁄16, ⅝, ¾, ⅞ and 1 inch. The DoubleDiamond configured chains equipped with U-shaped studs are especially effective in the worst conditions like mud and snow, the deep biting lugs dig deeply into the terrain to keep production moving. All Forest Chains are manufactured with top quality materials and workmanship and designed to provide puncture protection from rocks, stumps and debris. Repairs are easy using common welding techniques and materials for longer life. Call 800-288-0887; email forestchain@gmail.com

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Skidders&Components NAF Gear-Drive Bogie Axles Support All Applications NAF AG has been manufacturing axles and gearboxes for 60 years! As one of the world’s leading drive train producers for self-propelled forestry machines, we bring our proven modular minded approach of rigid and bogie axles to the forests’ functional, economical, and logistical challenges. CTL, whole tree, harvesting, mulching, transporting, loading, and planting all have unique opportunities. NAF is proven in the forest and ready for your next challenge.

NAF has created a durable lineup of our bogie axles. Our bogies are gear driven, can be equipped with our patented Permanent Bogie Balancing System (PBBS), oil immersed capsuled brakes and have multiple differential lock options. Optimized ground clearance allows our bogie axles to walk the timber with six or eight wheeled machines. The bogie can be a portal type, or fix planetary allowing for up to 28 tons of timber payload.

NAF AG has spent the last five years supporting the North American market with its most recent location NAF NA, in Morris, Ill. Opening in 2015 as part of the NAF AG company, this owned subsidiary has taken North America’s forests to the next step in the NAF family. Sales, support, parts, and just in time axle delivery is available from this location. NAF AG and NAF North America are here for forestry, construction, agricultural and material handling needs of the world. To meet your next challenge, we will listen first, work with our staff to define a modular approach, then support you with our engineering team’s technological solution to fit your needs. Our Modular Minded approach will balance proven methods and new technology against your technical requirements and economical needs. Visit nafaxles.com

Nokian Ground King Tires Offer New Sizes Released by Nokian Tyres in 2019, the innovative Hybrilug technology effectively combines the best features of lug and block patterns, enabling excellent mobility on soft fields as well as comfortable road transports. In 2020, the Nokian Ground King tire has eight new sizes, making it compatible with an even broader range of equipment. With the new, powerful and versatile tractors, there has been a bigger and bigger need for a truly universal tractor tire that could open up whole new job opportunities for the contractors. Nokian Ground King is that tire, as it goes smoothly on the road while offering excellent performance on the field as well.

“All you need to do is look at Nokian Ground King tire and its distinctive Hybrilug pattern to see that it’s entirely new concept,” says Tero Saari, Product Manager at Nokian Tyres. “But of course, there is more than meets the eye, as the tire carcass is also very advanced.” The Nokian Ground King tire has been available for some time, and in-field feedback has been very positive. Truly comparable data about tire properties can only be achieved by professional testing. The experts in agricultural studies at German Kiel University put Nokian Ground King tire through extensive tests against a typical high-quality lug-patterned tire. The measurements indicated that its Hybrilug pattern really works. The tire noise on the road was noticeably lower than the reference tire, there was less wheel slip, less soil compression and the tire wear was just half of that of the reference tire.

What’s more, the fuel consumption was 11% lower than with the lug-patterned reference tire. By the end of 2020, the Nokian Ground King will be available in 14 sizes. “The trend is towards bigger and more powerful tractors,” says Saari. Visit nokiantyres.com/groundking

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Skidders&Components Olofsfors ECO-Wheel Tracks Increase Traction, Efficiency Olofsfors is a Swedish based company founded in 1762 with North American operations in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Olofsfors Inc. specializes in attachments and accessories for full-tree and cut-to-length machinery. The two main product lines are ECO-Tracks and Iggesund Forest. Olofsfors is the market leader in bogie tracks for CTL machinery and wheel tracks for skidders and wheeled feller bunchers. Specific to skidders, Olofsfors offers ECO-Wheel Tracks to boost productivity and increase traction. ECO-Wheel Tracks are traction aids developed and designed to suit the most demanding terrain and machine sizes.

ECO-Wheel Tracks provide numerous benefits over conventional chains including increased traction, less spin and grab, easier and less maintenance, and can fit on used tires.

ECO-Wheel Tracks are available in the following sizes; 23.1 x 26, 28L x 26, 24.5 x 32, 30.5 x 32, 35.5 x 32 and come standard with the 1" link system. For the skidders, ECO-Wheel Tracks are only available in one model which is based around the bestselling ECO-Track model. The ECO-Track profile is self-cleaning and reduces ground disturbance. With all the added benefits, you can extend your operating season while increasing overall productivity. Olofsfors also produces ECO-Wheel Tracks for CTL machinery with metric sized tires.

They are designed for harvesters and forwarders where traction and stability are the primary requirements. They feature lighter cross members for the lighter machines and can come in many different models to suit your operating conditions. Call 519-754-2190; visit olofsfors.com

Tigercat H-series Skidders: Larger Cab, Improved Serviceability The Tigercat H-series skidders introduce a new larger cab onto the successful E-series platform, while also improving serviceability, reliability and efficiency. The new skidder line will see the release of the 620H, 630H, and 632H 4-wheel skidders, as well as the 625H and 635H 6-wheel skidders.

The newly designed cab on the H-series skidders provides 30% more interior volume than the E-series design. Window area has been increased to provide unmatched visibility. The new Tigercat designed seat rotator allows the operator’s seat to rotate from facing the rear of the machine to facing the left side cab door, allowing the operator to exit on either side of the machine. An innovative rotator design uses a spring applied, hydraulic release brake to lock the seat in any position Operators controls are located on armrests and include many new features. Differential lock buttons are on the joystick and can engage front and rear separately. LED lights above the buttons illuminate when they are active.

All H-series skidders feature load sensing hydraulics with larger, more efficient valves. Hydraulic tank capacity has increased 20%, and includes improved level detection and more robust mounting. Increased horsepower and larger cylinders on some models provide ample power and strength for any job. Engine enclosure doors have been reinforced and use “T” style compression latches to keep them securely closed. Belly doors now use pivot bolts to swing open and a new smaller door gives access to fluid drain plugs. When tilting the cab is necessary, quarter turn pins, adjustable sweep brackets and a larger tilt cylinder make to the job much easier. Visit tigercat.com

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Skidders&Components Wallingfords BABAC Chains: Longer Wear, Less Breakage Since 1986, BABAC has been an industry leader in the design and development of skidder chains.

BABAC skidder chains are 100% American made and hand assembled for optimum quality control. Chains are built from 10B21 Through Hardened Boron Alloy steel, with a uniform hardness and tensile strength throughout. Extensive tests and field experience have shown that BABAC tire chains wear longer, more uniformly, and without breakage associated with case hardened products. The two featured styles are the Double Diamond stud chain and the Multi Ring models. Double Diamond chains feature BABAC’s unique U-Form Stud produce constant traction on ice and rock, have the best wear characteristics of any chain in the world, and offer a smooth operator ride. The U-Form studs are specially welded on the flat (square) side of the link remaining upright for better wear and superior traction. These studs do not lay down like traditional studded chains, improving traction over rock, frozen/wet wood, ice or ledge. Studs are formed wire with finished ends. The Double Diamond pattern is ideal for larger tires and has 10 studs per diamond.

BABAC’s Ring chains provide excellent traction for operating in mud or snow. All models feature alloy lugs that, unlike most other chains, are butt and wrap welded for unsurpassed strength and durability. Our slanted half links take out pre-load as the chain goes over the tire. This reduces friction and wear and allows for free tag chain movement. It is a standard feature on all of our ring chains. The Multi-Ring offers a smooth ride due to the 3 link tag chain design with close spacing of the rings. Fabricated in our plant in Winslow, Me. at BABAC, we are able design and build tire chains for custom applications and odd tire sizes, utilizing our in-house computer-aided design capabilities. Visit wallingfords.com

White Mountain NETLINK Chain Delivers Extreme Traction TRYGG case-hardened NETLINK Forestry Chain is designed strictly for forestry use for skidders, forwarders, and loaders with a quality second to none.

Double studs on top of the vertical links provide extreme traction. TRYGG SM2D heavy duty is a traction chain for forestry and construction. Ultimate traction, smooth riding and trouble-free operation, the chain has an unsurpassed number of studs gives better grip and better wear. Double or triple pattern depending on chain dimension and tire size.Optional sidewall protection as pictured.

The TRYGG SM2D is made in 11, 13, 16 and 19 mm. Chain tightener is recommended for heavy chains. The innovative interlocking between links will prevent the studs from lying down. The studs will stand upright at all times. Also for forestry, TRYGG BEAVER chain is extra long lasting chain designed for high tech machinery and tire protection and traction. It is specially made for forwarders, skidders and logging road friendly. It takes up little room at only 1½" (40 mm) height. Call 208-267-6215; visit whitemountainchain.com

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InnovationWay Komatsu Upgrades Feller-Buncher To better meet customer needs, Komatsu is upgrading its XT-5 family of tracked feller-bunchers, adding performance and operator improvements, as well as covering the machines with a special 2-Year/5,000-hour warranty program. The XT430-5, XT445L-5 and XT465L-5 models were introduced in 2018, and these advancements were made based on customer feedback.

Komatsu XT-5 machines let customers travel, operate the swing, arm and tool simultaneously for maximum usability.

To further boost multi-functioning performance for its customers, Komatsu added 7% more horsepower (331 HP vs. 310 at launch) to the Cummins QSL9 engine and increased the hydraulic flow, while maintaining excellent fuel efficiency.

Travel speed is increased by 25% to further improve productivity. The XT445L-5/XT465L-5 models now reach 3.3 MPH; the XT430-5 model, 3.2 MPH. Added lighting elements improve nighttime visibility of the right track and when using the rear camera, for a total of 13 LED lights brilliantly illuminating nighttime operations.

The special warranty program covers new XT430-5, XT445L-5 and XT465L-5 tracked feller bunchers purchased through March 31, 2021, as well as those purchased since launch. This coverage is in addition to the standard Komatsu CARE coverage which includes 100-, 500-, 1000-, 1,500and 2,000-hour maintenance services for the first three years or 2,000 hours, whichever occurs first. All of these services are performed using genuine Komatsu filters and fluids.

Visit komatsuforest.us

Remote-Controlled Tracked Slasher Spruce Creek Mechanical, operated by logger John Steciak and engineer Tom Johnson, introduces the remote-controlled tracked slasher saw, which requires no cords or hoses and is touted as a safer method to buck logs.

“Cut the umbilical cord” with a self powered slasher mounted on a self-propelled tracked carrier similar to tracked chippers and grinders. The low and long undercarriage keeps the slasher close to the ground and stable. It can be turned and adjusted at a moment’s notice to fit the ever changing scene on a modern logging job. No hydraulics or electrics to hook up. Cordless remote control can be used in any log handling machine. Picture how this can be so beneficial from an operator’s standpoint.

Whether you have a large style log loader on tracks, a turntable loader on wheels, an excavator or or even an older log loader, you can now cut up trees into logs at amazing 32

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speed with a small versatile and affordable self-powered slasher. For the small operator that is content with his size, he can back up his rear mount loader and pull trees sideways onto the slasher deck beneath him to cut them to length.

Two foot increment marks are built into the frame.

Other features: —100% stand alone power: no hydraulics, no electrics.

—Reduced downtime: separating the slasher from the loader allows production to continue when the loader goes down for repairs and another one steps in.

—Increased machine longevity: no oil contamination or overheating your loader hydraulics.

—Work efficiently: perfectly place and adjust slasher to operator’s preference without limts from hoses.

Visit trackedslasher.com

Compact Hose Assembly Device The Compact Hose Assembly Device (CHAD) series from Schwab Brothers Hydraulics—CHAD Max, CHAD Lite and CHAD Custom— gives you multiple size designs to fit your exact needs. The CHAD’s durable, service truck-mountable, compact design and air-over-hydraulic crimping capability easily gives you the ability to efficiently build hose assemblies on the job site. By implementing the CHAD on your job site, you are guaranteed to reduce downtime costs due to hydraulic hose failures.

The CHAD easily plugs into existing air compressors and is air-over-hydraulic operated, with 120-ton crimping force, manual adjustable micrometer and accurate crimp specifications. Maximum crimping ability is: 1" 4-wire and 1" 2-wire.

The CHAD is service truck-mountable, and built tough in a Camlocker truck cabinet that fits in tight storage areas.

The CHAD includes: air-over-hydraulic crimping machine, crimping dies, foot pedal for operation, air-powered hose cutting rotary saw, 10 durable cutting discs, crimp specifications and Camlocker Box. Visit schwabbrothershydraulics.com

Tigercat Enhances 220E Loader Tigercat has released the 220E loader with notable improvements, including an upgraded operator’s station and the addition of the Tigercat FPT power plant. Conforming to Tier 2 and Tier 4 emission requirements, the quick and lightweight 220E is powered by the Tigercat FPT N45 Tier 4f or the Tigercat FPT N67 Tier 2 engine, delivering 168 HP. The totally redesigned operator’s station has a significantly improved climate control system along with a number of adTIMBER HARVESTING & FOREST OPERATIONS

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InnovationWay ditional features to improve the operator experience. The new heavy-duty suspension seat is wider and standard equipped with heating and cooling. The seat has improved adjustability and many of the frequently used rocker switches have been repositioned into the armrest mounted joystick pod for enhanced ergonomics. The climate control system is further enhanced by the addition of window blinds for the front windshield and skylight. Acoustical engineering along with the quiet Tigercat FPT engine contributes to extremely low incab noise levels, while the new sound system with Bluetooth audio allows for hands-free calling.

A new main pump and larger hoses to the boom cylinders provide faster boom and swing functions. Hydraulic component layout remains unchanged with hydraulic valves easily accessible underneath the deck plate cover, allowing for clean, easy service access. The updated electrical system incorporates hydraulic pressure sensors that can be monitored on the display in the cab as well as improving fuel economy with an automatic engine idle down feature.

Visit tigercat.com

toughest conditions and highest weight load requirements, making them ideal for applications such as gantry cranes used at ports and shipyards, forestry log stackers in wood mills, steel mill pot haulers that move slag and more.

The CM100 comes in the 37.5-39 size, but in two options: an E-3 with 52 ply rating and the new dual rated E-3/ L-3 with the industry’s highest 60 ply rating. Its rock service tread, solid center line, new tread compound and Cut-Resistant Breaker (CRB) construction provide excellent wear and heat-resistance. The CM100 is ideal for steel slab haulers, steel pot haulers, scrapers and log stackers.

The CM150 comes in three sizes 18.00-33, 33.25-35 and 37.25-35. The newest addition is the 33.25-35, which is now offered as a dual-rated E-4/L-4 with the industry’s highest ply rating of 56. Its deep, non-directional tread, solid centerline and CRB give it superior strength and long life, while its dual rating makes it ideal for steel pot haulers and log stackers. Its superior weight load capacity also makes it well-suited to gantry cranes.

Visit titan-intl.com

AFM 75 Processing Head Has Punch

Indexator Harvester Rotators

AFM-Forest Ltd. launches the AFM 75 processing head model, a tough-built head with high feeding power and excellent geometry for the most demanding logging operations worldwide. With its new HD frame and pins made from SSAB RUUKKI Scandinavian quality steel and nylon bushings it can fit on different tracked base machines.

A wide tilt angle and the geometry of the front knives will guaranty an efficient and ergonomic way to pick up logs in steep slopes. Being designed in tight cooperation with customers, the new design of the AFM 75 offers easy access for daily maintenance and hydraulic hoses change, maximizing customer production.

Optional feeding motors and rollers make the AFM 75 a perfect tool for harvesting and debarking operations in the most difficult species of plantation grown eucalyptus by offering good debarking results during the first feed.

AFM-Forest proportional saw system and saw control guarantee a fast and efficient sawing in all tree species.

Visit afm-forest.com

Titan Expands OTR Tire Lines Titan International, Inc., producer of Titan Wheels and Titan Tires, introduces the highest ply ratings for two of its existing OTR product lines—the Titan CM100 and the Titan CM150.

This higher ply rating allows for carrying significantly heavier loads, and doing so with greater durability and a longer life.

The CM100 and CM150 were engineered to withstand the Foremost Authority For Professional Loggers

Indexator’s low profile HX rotator is loaded with a multitude of advantages which combine to make the machine, driver and head work efficiently—quickly and with versatility. Day in, day out. All year round.

Indexator features a design where external loads are transferred through the outermost part of the rotator completely separate from the motor function. This significantly extends the rotator’s service life and makes machine ownership more profitable.

The new generation of Indexator rotators can handle radial and axial loads where the forces do not affect the motor.

Importantly, it withstands negative loads extremely well.

The modular design simplifies service and maintenance. Unlike today’s rotator solutions, the new patented design, the torque transfer solution, means that external loads go outside the engine and protect it from external forces. The new technology significantly extends the service life of the rotator, and makes forestry more profitable.

Indexator’s well-proven vane motor principle delivers high torque while at the same time being forgiving for forced rotation and large slewing mass, which increases the service life of the rotator. HX rotators are optimally designed to handle very large loads within the forestry industry.

Visit indexator.com SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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SelectCuts As We (ALC) See It

Update: Logger Relief Funds DANIEL DRUCTOR As of this writing in early August, Congress has yet to approve the next stimulus package to provide financial assistance to businesses during these unprecedented financial times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the American Loggers Council are pushing hard to Dructor seek a relief package that would help logging and log trucking businesses to cope with loss of markets, quotas and other coronavirus related issues that are dragging down their businesses.

What began as a request for a low interest loan to assist logging and log trucking businesses during these hard times has morphed into a bill, the Logger Relief Fund, House Resolution

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7690 and Senate Bill 4233, that would allow logging and log trucking businesses to compare revenues for the first seven months of 2020 to those of 2019. If revenues are down by more than 10% in 2020 as compared to 2019, then a logging or log trucking business would be eligible to apply for funds not exceeding more than 10% of the gross business revenues for the period between January 1, 2019 and July 31, 2019. These funds are not intended to make businesses whole, but rather to allow them the opportunity to reorganize as markets around them continue to recover.

American Loggers Council has secured support from both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate and are looking to try and push this legislation in the next COVID-19 or CARES-2 Act. Other trade associations are lending their support in these final days of negotiations between the

House and the Senate, but we still need as many of you to e-mail, or call your House and Senate members offices and request that they cosponsor the legislation, this week!

You can go online at www.congress.gov and track both of the bills and also see a list of the cosponsors that have already signed on. If you do not see your Congressman or Congresswoman on the list of cosponsors under H.R. 7690, or your Senators on the list of cosponsors under S. 4233, then you should reach out to their staff immediately and request that they sign on.

Quoting a message recently sent to this office from a former staff member: “The art of the blow-off is highly refined on Capitol Hill.� Do not allow them to simply send you a form letter that has been disguised with a blue ink signature that vaguely mentions your request for them to sign on to the legislation. Let them know that you are one of the folks back home that votes for them and that you are requesting that they represent you as one of their

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SelectCuts constituents. Be original and be firm.

To quote another mentor in the logging profession and long-time advocate for our industry, Bruce Vincent: “The world is run by those who show up.” Have you shown up yet? Have you taken the time to respond to action alert requests that have gone out over social media sites and web sites? If not, and you wish to see the relief fund move forward, you must do so now.

Thanks to all of you who have already made your voices heard, and thanks in advance to those who will reach out this week to help push this legislation across the finish line.

mine the extent of the insect’s spread.

The Asian longhorned beetle was found by a homeowner in Hollywood, SC, who contacted Clemson University’s Dept. of Plant Industry (DPI).

A DPI inspector collected the insect for identification and conducted a preliminary survey of the trees on the property. At least four maple trees appear to be infested and inspectors have

captured live beetles.

“We were very fortunate that the residents reported it when they did,” says Steven Long, assistant director of Clemson Regulatory Services who oversees DPI and invasive species.

“We think it is confined just to this local area, but we are just getting started with our surveys.” ➤ 38 South Carolina is the sixth

American Loggers Council is an 501(c) (6) not for profit trade association representing professional timber harvesters throughout the United States. For more information please contact the American Loggers Council at 409-625-0206, or americanlogger@aol.com, or visit our website at www.amloggers.com.

Federal Government Cuts Off H-2B Visas In late June the Trump Administration cut off most H-2B work visas for the rest of the year, and reforestation experts say as much as 50% of reforestation work may go lacking if contractors can’t find the labor they need for a planting season that traditionally starts in late October and runs through March.

News reports say the administration is planning to lift the policy January 1, but timber industry representatives are pressing officials to grant an exemption.

The Trump administration implemented the policy in an attempt to provide more job opportunities for U.S. workers affected by the coronavirus slowdown, but a Forest Resources Assn. report shows only 2% of advertised reforestation jobs are filled annually by U.S. workers, the remaining 98% by H-2Bs. In 2019, the U.S. Dept. of Labor certified 11,000 visas for forestry and conservation.

Longhorn Beetle Discovered In SC An invasive species of beetle found for the first time in South Carolina has state and federal officials conducting surveys in Charleston County to deterForemost Authority For Professional Loggers

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SelectCuts 35 ➤ state to detect an Asian longhorned beetle infestation. The pest has been eradicated from New Jersey and Illinois; eradication efforts are ongoing in New York, Massachusetts and Ohio with guidance from the APHIS Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program.

Conservation Group Buys Maine Tract The Conservation Fund has purchased 15,408 acres of Maine woodland from Chadbourne Tree Farms LLC in Oxford County. The primarily white pine tract was assembled by the Chadbourne family over 150 years and includes the site of what is considered the first sawmill in America at South Berwick. Conservation and officials said the acquisition is intended to protect the forest from development, expand drinking water protection for the Portland area and improve recreational access, while continuing sustainable forestry operations and related jobs.

In 2014, Chadbourne Tree Farms received the Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award, which recognizes people or organizations that stand

above their peers to further forestry, forests or forestland conservation in Maine.

“This forestland and its exceptional white pine timber resources reflect decades of long-term stewardship administered by my father, as well as generations of the Chadbourne family with the help of many skilled and hardworking employees, associates and contractors,” says Bob Chadbourne, adding that the goal is to ensure the land remains forested and continues to provide timber resources and other benefits.

Wood ID Lab Moves To Oregon State U Thanks to a five-year, $4 million federal grant from the Forest Service International Programs Office, the Wood Identification and Screening Center (WISC) is moving to Oregon State University, where it will join the College of Forestry.

WISC was established three years ago to combat illegal timber trade by using wood samples and their unique chemical signatures to identify the origin and species of wood in lumber,

Coming Next Issue Steep Logging

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Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

September 1-3—Florida Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 850-222-5646; visit floridaforest.org.

September 13-15—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334265-8733; visit alaforestry.org.

September 23—TEAM Safe Trucking Virtual Semi Annual Meeting. Call 207-841-0250; visit teamsafetrucking.com.

September 29-October 1—Arkansas Forestry Assn. Virtual annual meeting. Call 501-374-2441; visit arkforests.org.

October 9-11—Tennessee Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Westin Hotel, Chattanooga, Tenn. Call 615-883-3832; visit tnforestry.com.

October 14-16—Alaska Forest Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, Alaska. Call 907-2256114; visit akforest.org.

www.timberharvesting.com 38

furniture and even musical instruments. According to WISC Director Beth Lebow, illegal logging is the third most profitable transnational crime and costs the U.S. timber industry up to $1 billion annually.

When a wood product is imported, the importer has to submit a Lacey Act declaration that states the genus and species, as well as the origin of the wood. WISC also works with other government agencies including Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection System.

The WISC lab uses specialized mass spectrometry to analyze the chemical signatures in toothpick-sized wood samples. Cross-referencing the signature with others in its database, WISC can determine a product’s genus and species within seconds. To date, WISC has collected 16,000 chemical signatures from 1,100 wood species.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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