The Definition of a Logger

According to Google, a logger is "a person whose job is cutting down trees for their wood, especially on a large scale for industry."  From the Penn State Extension Series, Forest Stewardship #4 Terminology, a logger is defined as "the professional hired to harvest trees from the forest."  Both are correct on the job the logger does, but there is a lot more to being one.

After completing my two-year Forest Technology degree from Penn State Mont Alto, and before moving to Penn State University Park campus to finish my bachelor's degree in Forest Management, I worked as a logger. My purpose for this article is to give some insight into those who make a living working in the woods. Logger is the term I hear most often in society, but several other names might be used, such as timber cutter, feller, or faller; lumberjack; and lumberman. No matter the name, there is a lot more to the individual known as a logger.

For me, I was just an employee working for an owner-operator (1-3 employees) who bought some timber on their own or worked for a sawmill as a contract logger cutting trees the mill purchased. We hand-cut every tree with a chainsaw, then processed the tree into merchantable lengths and removed all limbs. A skidder is a heavy piece of equipment that has cables to attach to cut logs either by the skidder operator or the tree cutter) or a grapple that grabs and closes by hydraulics. The skidder will then pull the logs to the landing, a location where logs are stored and prepared for hauling to the sawmill. This is an example of a small logging company. Logging is a separate entity from the sawmill due to today's high insurance premiums.

Mechanized logging is operated by a large company with numerous other professional employees. This style of logging is safer because specialized equipment cuts the tree down, unlike hand-felling with a chainsaw. An example of this specialized equipment would be a feller-buncher, a track machine with an extendable arm and a cutting attachment that grabs the tree, cuts it off at six to twelve inches from the ground, picks the tree up, and lays it down on the ground. The tree never falls on its own, which prevents value loss from broken or split wood. Some of these cutting heads can also remove limbs and cut the tree to merchantable length, without anyone having to use a chainsaw to manually process the tree.

From here, either the skidder is used to move the harvested timber out of the woods to the landing, or another piece of equipment called a forwarder is used to pick up and load the material and then haul it to the landing. This method of moving cut trees prevents skidding damage to the surrounding area and trees not being harvested and is safer for everyone working.

Here are several websites where you can see what the equipment discussed above looks like:  John Deere , Caterpillar, Komatsu, Tigercat, and Ponsse.

Training is a vital component in keeping loggers safe while working in the woods, and everyone goes home every day the way they started, only tired from their workday.

The Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative (PA – SFI) Implementation Committee provides logger training on a variety of topics, including professional timber harvesting essentials, chainsaw safety, and basic first aid. These three topics make up the Core Level training, and after completing these, annual continuing education training is offered to be considered an SFI Qualified Logging Professional. This is not certification; it just shows the individual has continued to educate themselves about Pennsylvania's forests and the industries they support. Even though I work as a Penn State Extension Educator in Forestry and Wildlife, I have maintained my SFI training to keep the Qualified Logging Professional title. If you have any questions about a logger's training with SFI, the SFI website Training Record Search will allow you to check training records.

Loggers are individuals who harvest and process trees into merchantable logs that will be manufactured into numerous products. They are small and large business owners who are facing the same challenges as all of us daily, with rising costs. Their work site is their advertising. I was recently asked why the logger had not been on the job for several weeks on a project I am assisting with. I replied, "The weather has gotten warmer, and the ground is getting muddy; they are waiting for drier weather and ground." Just another challenge for those who call themselves Loggers!

Reviewed by Katie Brooks, Penn State Extension