Training Pays Off For NY Loggers

*excerpt from Northern Logger - March 2008

In 2006, eleven sawmills in the Catskill and Lower Hudson regions began supporting New York Logger Training’s Trained Logger Certification (TLC®) program by paying certified loggers a $5/MBF bonus. Though it was slow to catch on the first year, with only $3,000 reported,  a recent survey of participating mills by the Watershed Agricultural Council’s (WAC) Forestry Program found that an estimated $21,000 in TLC® bonuses were paid to certified contractors or gatewood suppliers in 2007. That’s an increase of 700%!!

To receive the bonus, loggers are required to show a valid TLC® wallet card or other proof of certification. The following mills will continue offering the TLC® bonus in 2008:

• Andrews Forest Products (formerly Mallery Lumber) – Hancock, NY
• Ballie Lumber – Smyrna, NY
• Cannonsville Lumber, Inc. – Deposit, NY
• Clune Lumber Corporation – Otego, NY
• Greene Lumber Company, LP – Davenport, NY
• J&J Log and Lumber Corporation – Dover Plains, NY
• McGraw Lumber – Woodbourne, NY
• Pawlikowski’s Sawmill – Delhi, NY
• Wagner - Nineveh, LLC (formerly Pomeroy Lumber) – Nineveh, NY
• Wagner Lumber – Owego, NY

In addition to the sawmill bonus payment, the WAC Forestry Program partners with Marilyn Wyman at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County to offer training opportunities and other incentives to loggers working within the New York City watershed. Certified loggers who conduct 25% of their annual workload in the NYC watershed qualify for bonuses and preference on all Best Management Practices (BMP’s) and temporary bridge loans available from the WAC Forestry Program. They also receive a high quality TLC® roadside sign and an OSHA-approved Logger First Aid Kit.

The WAC Forestry Program would like to thank all of our partners in the forest products industry who share the goal of sustaining working forests in the Catskill and Lower Hudson regions of New York State.

To receive a copy of the new full-color 2008 Calendar of Logger Training Events or learn more about programs available for loggers in the New York City watershed region, contact Collin Miller, WAC Forestry Program Specialist at (607) 865-7790 ext 112 or visit www.nycwatershed.org/clw_logger.html.

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