Timber Talk: Managing Your Woodlands (Part II): Always Use a Master Logger

By Jenna Reese, Executive Director of the Ohio Forestry Association

Having completed the steps outlined in Managing Your Woodlands (Part I), you are ready for a timber harvest. Time to contact a certified crop advisor and trained professional to do the technical and dangerous work of felling timber, which in Ohio is a Master Logger. The Ohio Forestry Association, Inc. (OFA) maintains a safety training and voluntary certification program for logging contractors and their employees known as the Ohio Voluntary Master Logging Company Program. The program involves training loggers in chainsaw safety, Best Management Practices (BMP) for soil and water protection, and first aid and CPR. It also requires participating companies to maintain Workers’ Compensation coverage on employees and provide liability coverage on request. In addition, each logger must sign a code of ethics agreement.

Through the certification program each logger must complete re-certification every three years, keeping the logger up to date on new innovations, techniques, industry issues, etc.… Continue reading