Arizona Forest

Restoration Products Inc.

MasterLogger™ and ProLogger Programs

Improper logging activities have a major negative impact on the environment and the employment constituencies and cannot be tolerated.

Environmental Damages

Logging damages caused to the forest during improper logging typically result from direct contact between the machine(s) and the residuals (roots, stems and branches); impacts of falling trees on residuals; and through compaction and damage to the soils. Damages take the form of bark abrasion and/or removal, stem crushing and/or breakage, branch removal and/or breakage, and root damage. Damages often lead to decay as an entry to interior tissues is thus provided. These damages generally cause subsequent mortality and growth reduction due to wounding and/or decay. Removal and death of branches can also lead to reduced growth and perhaps death. When considering selective harvesting operations, much work done in Scandinavia is applicable to North American forests. Critical features of the actual logging operations which affect the amount and severity of damages incurred are the planning of the trail/road network, the equipment used, and the operator and supervisor training and expertise.

Source: Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. http://flash.lakeheadu.ca/~carbon/Nlgdm.htm 

Safety Risks

The data show that the logging industry has one of the highest injury incidence rates. For example, the most recent (circa 1994) injury incidence rate for the logging industry (15.6) compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was almost double the incidence rate for the combined private sector (7.9). The logging incidence rate was also well above the incidence rate for the manufacturing sector (11.2). In reaction to this situation the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued, effective on February 9, 1995, a final standard specifying safety requirements covering all logging operations, regardless of the end use of the forest products. Among other requirements, the standard requires training for all employees in this high risk industry.

Source: Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 29 CFR Parts 1910 and 1928 [Docket No. S-048]: Logging Operations.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=13420 

Undocumented Workers Issues

Logging has long been perceived as a basic harvesting activity requiring no specific skills or knowledge, and, as with many other agricultural activities, the comparatively low economic value of its yield has driven salaries toward the lower end of the scale. As a result, undocumented and generally uneducated workers are common in the industry, especially in border states, and their presence exacerbates the environmental and safety issues.

Arizona Forest Restoration Products will fully comply will all applicable laws, and will only contract logging operations that fully comply with all applicable laws and that demonstrably respect the environment.

Master logger programs

Various types of master logger programs currently exist under various names in many Eastern and Midwest states: Maine, Vermont, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio, etc. as well as several Western states: Washington, Oregon (Professional Logger program), etc.

Essentially, these various master logger programs are designed to address the issues identified above, and focus, with minor variations from states to states, on training loggers in:

• Following a management plan that is site specific and agreed to by the landowner;

• Protecting water quality and soils;

• Compliance with government regulations appropriate to a logging business;

• Compliance with acceptable silviculture and utilization standards;

• Providing and participating in an on-going training regimen;

• Aesthetic management techniques;

• Sound business management techniques.

      Source: Vermont Master Logger Program. http://www.vermontloggers.org/Masterlogger.htm

These various master logger programs are typically based on 3 to 5 day trainings that cover:

• Best management practices: this course provides technical information necessary to properly design timber harvests, including how to locate stream crossings, stream buffers, skid trails, roads, and landings to help prevent erosion and sedimentation.

• Logging aesthetics: many people object to timber harvests simply because they may look bad. This course provides simple, inexpensive methods to improve the appearance of harvests.

• Forest management: this class discusses the elements of forestry: forest Science, ecology, and wildlife management in terms of logging production.

• Field practicum: loggers spend half a day in the field. Here they apply principles learned by laying out a simple harvest area on the ground.

• Logging safety and OSHA: this course covers general safety, safety equipment, communications, and operating procedures. The course also covers the specific requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

• First aid and CPR: because accidents can happen at anytime, and most logging jobs are in remote areas, OSHA requires by law that all crew members have this training.

• Continuing education: at least once each year, a Master Logger will attend one additional course on a topic related to his profession. Log grading and marketing, environmental regulations, deed and title research, trucking safety, and timber estimations are some of the courses that may be offered.

       Source: Maryland Master Logger Program. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/programs/mlprogram.html  

These training are typically conducted with the assistance and expertise of the relevant state agencies and state Universities’ Schools of Forestry.

Third Party Certification

Maine was the first State to establish a master logger program that offers third-party independent certification of logging companies' harvesting practices. The certification system is built around standards that have been cross-referenced to all of the world's major green certification systems. Field verifiers visit actual harvest sites to determine whether candidates for Maine Master Logger Certification are meeting and exceeding the standards that are required for certification. Their findings are submitted to an independent board that makes the final decision on whether a company will be certified. To remain a Maine Master Logger, each company must be recertified every two years. There are also random audits between re-certifications; the requirement for a continuous improvement process for upgrading skills within the company; and a demonstrated attitude of partnership with other forest professionals and their associations.

Source: Maine Master Logger Program. http://masterloggercertification.com

American Loggers Council national MasterLogger™ program

In 2002, the 27 state associations that form the American Loggers Council created a national MasterLogger™ program that captured the contributions of several different state programs.

As of July 2006, 8 states (Maine, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut) and 3 Canadian Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) are implementing master logger programs based on the national model created by the American Loggers Council.

The MasterLogger™ program is owned and sanctioned by the American Loggers Council and the American Loggers Council is the only group that can approve a state’s implementation of the program and the use of the term and logo of MasterLogger™.

Arizona ProLogger Program

The Northern Arizona Loggers Association has developed its own ProLogger program, a professional curriculum that is recognized nationally by the American Loggers Council.

Arizona ProLogger courses includes sessions in many additional topics including among others:

• Loss Control,

• Job Costing/Estimating,

• Harvest Systems,

• Computer Technology,

• First Aid,

• CPR,

• Workers Compensation Law.

      Source: Arizona ProLogger Program. http://www.aziof.com/forestry/Certifications.asp

The program also requires continuing education for its participants available through regional logging conferences and from the association workshops.

In order to insure compliance with ecologically and legally sound logging practices, Arizona Forest Restoration Products will actively promote and support the extension of the Arizona ProLogger Program and the possible implementation of a MasterLogger™ Program in Northern Arizona, and will ultimately only contract certified ProLoggers or MasterLoggers™.

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