Large Machines Help Little People
Story and Photos by Dave Wester

WPLA Southwest Chapter members contributed lots of large equipment to log …

A Log-A-Load event near Neillsville, organized by the Southwest Chapter of the Wisconsin Professional Loggers Association, could be summarized as large machines helping little people.

The large machines were the six timber processors, three forwarders, and numerous trucks that harvested and hauled more than 200 cords of wood. The little people were the more than 300 students from surrounding schools that visited the harvest site, as well as those who will be helped through the Children's Miracle Network. The Oct. 17-18, 2002, event raised more than $10,000 for CMN hospitals in Marshfield and LaCrosse, Wis. 

"I was extremely impressed with the loggers' commitment to helping Children's Miracle Network. The funds they raise make a tremendous difference in lives of children throughout north-central Wisconsin," said Becky Adler, who attended the event and who works with CMN at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

Fourth and fifth graders from Abbotsford, Granton, Greenwood, Osseo-Fairchild, Owen-Withee and Thorp, and a few high school agriculture students from Fall Creek took field trips to the harvest area at various times during the two-day event.

WPLA had arranged for educational presentations as the students toured the harvest area. The Timber Producer tagged along with the Abbotsford group.

At one site, Scott Henker of Domtar helped the students understand the many products that people get from trees. "We want them to consider all the products that come from trees so that they might accept logging in a little better light than what they may hear from other sources," he said. He described how paper was made, showed the students what pulped wood looked like, described how it was dyed to make colored paper, and he told the students that Wisconsin made more paper than any other state.

…numerous loads in the Clark County Forest, for the Children's Miracle Network.

"Watching the processor cut the tree, then
cut it into individual lengths all at one time was pretty
amazing, and the kids thought so too. …"

At another site, Clark County Foresters Rick Dailey and Rick Anderson explained that because trees grow back, harvesting does not destroy the forest. The foresters also mentioned that the 133,000-acre Clark County Forest is managed under the principle of multiple-use.

At a third site, DNR Ranger Jonathon Stone from Augusta, Wis., gave one of the most thorough demonstrations of fire suppression equipment that we have seen. He wore and explained safety gear, then showed the students tools including the fire rake, Pulaski, drip torch, signal mirror, global positioning unit, manual hose clamp, McCloud, fire shelter, compass, two-way radio, backpack water pump, and portable fire shelter. 

Forestry Technician Wayne Norris, who drove a crawler tractor and demonstrated use of the fire plow, and trainee forester Janette Rucinski, assisted Stone. Students were also able to watch the timber processors at work, and they were treated to a close-up look at a forwarder.

As is often the case, the students were impressed with modern logging equipment. "I think the size of the equipment kind of awed them. Half of them were smaller than the wheels," said Abbotsford fourth grade teacher Kris Krueger."

The students weren't the only ones who were amazed. Many of the teachers were as impressed as their students. "Watching the processor cut the tree, then cut it into individual lengths all at one time was pretty amazing, and the kids thought so too. I've never seen it in my life and I don't think the kids have either," said Abbotsford fifth grade teacher Gary Gunderson. 

Jeff Salisbury, another Abbotsford fourth grade teacher, had a similar reaction. "It's kind of amazing that you don't have to use a chain saw anymore. What amazed me is how much wood they can cut in a day," he said.

Abbotsford is a farming community, and although forests are not far away, most students were unfamiliar with logging. Salisbury said that when he mentioned logging in his class, he had to explain what it was.

Krueger pointed out that many students seldom got out of the city. "This is a great opportunity for them to see a little of the outdoors. I think it's good that they can see that there's a world outside of Abbotsford," she said.

The teachers also felt that the field trip fit well with the students' studies. Fourth and fifth graders study Wisconsin industries, such as logging. They also discuss natural resources and environmental issues.

"It's just amazing all the things that people get from trees. It would be a shame not to take advantage of cutting the trees, since they replace themselves and are useful for so many products. It's good for the kids to see this so that in the future they will know it is something that is needed," Gunderson said.

Gunderson had been teaching for 14 years. He felt that today's students might be somewhat less aware of resource issues than their predecessors. "I don't know if it's video games or whatever. They like doing things with computers, so they don't always see things like this. This is very beneficial," he said.

Both Salisbury and Krueger thought that recycling had influenced today's students more than any other resource issue. Recycling was also included in the Log-A-Load presentations.

"They learned that the tree becomes paper, the paper becomes something for us to use, then we recycle it and use it again. They know that the trees will re-grow, and it's not going to be barren land forever. I haven't had any negative comments," Krueger said.

"If we didn't have loggers we wouldn't have wood
for our mills. We want to do what we can to help
the loggers with these kinds of events. We 
want to support the loggers," Henker said.

Forester Dailey, who has been working in Clark County for about 12 years, conducts several school tours every year. He said that he has noticed a change in the local attitude toward timber harvesting. When he first started, timber harvesting was a fairly contentious issue. During the last few years, however, he has seen little resistance to the timber sale program.

"We try to educate the public every chance we get about what we're doing and why we're doing it. Maybe that's paying off," he said.

Scott Henker, Domtar's area procurement manager for western Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, agreed that educational events were important. He said that WPLA was doing a good job of getting the message out to the public that logging is an important part of everyday life in Wisconsin and an important part of the economy. 

"If we didn't have loggers we wouldn't have wood for our mills. We want to do what we can to help the loggers with these kinds of events. We want to support the loggers," Henker said.

He further explained that Domtar caters to specialized paper markets. He said that Domtar's Nekoosa and Port Edwards mills are older and have relatively small paper machines. They can't compete with huge state-of-the-art mills for commodity white paper. Instead they have developed a niche for specialty and premium grade papers with a variety of thickness and colors. Domtar's smaller machines are better suited to the smaller runs required for the specialty papers.

Domtar has also developed the capability to make quality paper from tree species not previously utilized, such as oak, basswood, black locust, box elder, and hickory.

"In order to procure wood for our mills, we don't want to be locked into an individual species. Our mill folks have done a good job of experimenting with many types of wood, and they have succeeded. That allows us to use wood more effectively. If the wood is there, the mills will come," he said.

Domtar and Stora Enso bought most of the wood from the harvest. They included a bonus for the Log-A-Load event. Levis Creek Forest Products (formerly known as Black River Forest Products) and other smaller mills bought lesser amounts.

Wayne Hamann, Southwest Chapter chairman and state WPLA vice-chairman, was the project coordinator. WPLA organized the event with help from Rose Wich of TPA, the Clark County Forestry Department, and the Children's Miracle Network staff at St. Joseph's Hospital. 

WPLA member Nick Klapatauskas of Thorp, Wis., coordinated the school attendance. He sent the schools information by mail, then followed up with personal visits to the principals.

"I didn't have to spend more than fifteen minutes at each school. All except one of the schools that I made personal contact with showed up. Personal contact made a world of difference as far as school attendance," he said.

Klapatauskas has been logging for 30 years. He believes that loggers today are doing a better job than ever before. He thinks that the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and "best management practices" have had a lot to do with that. He said that the few loggers who abused the land are not in business anymore. "I know the quality of logging has improved," he said emphatically. He felt that it was important to get the teachers and students into the woods and show them that logging was a good practice.

The teachers thought so too. They expressed their appreciation to Klapatauskas and Hamann, and most were so enthusiastic that they asked that similar events be held in the future.

"We had a great many favorable comments from the teachers. They were excited, happy and enthused about what they saw. It was a great couple of days. I appreciate what everyone did," Hamann said. ©