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"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damages morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, quickly tried and hanged." ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Colorado Logger was exceedingly impressed with the young men whom made Michael Phelps swim so fast he had to set world records to beat them- what an amazing feat for Mr. Phelps! On the other hand, not even the two fastest humans ever caused the Jamaican Bolt to run any faster than he wanted to while he boldly set two world records (and a third in the 4x100 relay). We didn't care for his attitude, but still thought it absolutely amazing how so soundly he crushed the previous two world record holders in the 100. Coloradologger online!
Judge Clarence A Brimmer of Federal District Court upheld a request by the State of Wyoming to issue a permanent injunction against the Clinton administration rule that banned the building of new roads on undeveloped parcels of our federal forests- again. Judge Brimmer threw the rule out the first time in 2003, and while it was being appealed, a Bush alternative took effect. However, in 2006, a San Francisco magistrate judge, Elizabeth D. LaPorte, threw the alternative out arguing that the alternative had been created without the reviews required under the national environmental laws. Thus, the Clinton Roadless Rule was reinstated. In August, Judge Brimmer issued his latest ruling again invalidating the Clinton Rule. In his opinion, he declared that former President Clinton and the Forest Service railroaded the country's environmental laws in an attempt to build a legacy the outgoing President desired for himself. Judge Brimmer also penned that he was "disturbed and, frankly, shocked" at Judge LaPorte's decision, since he obviously outranked her in his view. Of course, attorneys for Earthjustice and other so-called environmental groups cried foul and said Judge Brimmer's ruling would be appealed- again. Imagine that. Coloradologger online! THE ARTICLE BELOW IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE YOU WILL READ THIS YEAR...especially if you have children
Reader's Digest, August, 2008. Did you know... ...the crash rate for 16 year-old drivers is almost double the rate of 19 year-olds? ...speeding is a factor in 35% of crash deaths involving young drivers? ...cell phone use increases the risk of a crash by 300% (that's like driving drunk)? ...adding one passenger increases the fatal crash risk by 48%? ...a second passenger increases the fatality risk by 158%? ...87% of teen deaths involve distracted drivers? Radios rank as the top distraction. Coloradologger believes that cell phones and texting must be a close second. ...eating at the wheel causes 2% of teen crashes? ...young drivers cause 55% of fatigue-related crashes? ...teens are 3 times more likely to die in a nighttime crash than in a daytime crash? It's a pain in the butt for those of us in rural Colorado not to have teen drivers whom can get themselves to football or band practice, or to a summer job. It's tough making them follow the rules of the road when they do get their permits, especially when many, many parents don't know the rules themselves. For example, turn signals aren't optional equipment & NEITHER ARE SEAT BELTS. It's hard to make them do everything right when they first learn. But we have to try- 5,000 teens die in car crashes every year. Wouldn't it be easier to teach them the hard lessons than to bury them? Coloradologger online!
The Forestry Source: An 11-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled that courts must defer to US Forest Service expertise when it cannot be shown that the agency acted in scientific uncertainty in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and that the agency could choose the scientific methods it uses in meeting the requirements of the National Forest Management Act (NMFA). What this means is that environmentalists will have to focus on key issues and problems instead of taking the course of addressing every little detailed flaw in a project and throwing it into the court system. It also means that judges are not to act as scientists, as many have in the past, in trying to sort through the myriad of potential flaws every project may have. Coloradologger online! FIRE GEAR Several years ago, the Forest Service changed the requirements of fire tools on federal timber sales. In the old days, loggers were required to have a fire box (on each landing, if we recall correctly) with enough shovels, axes, and/or pulaskis to outfit each man on the job. The new provision requires the following fire tools to be readily available from the ground (in Colorado):
GENERAL FIRE EXTINGUISHER INFORMATION Fire extinguishers are rated A, B, or C or any combination thereof. The "A" means the extinguisher is rated for products that will make ash, like wood or paper, for example. The number in front of it, "3A", for example, means the extinguisher is rated for 3 square feet of "A" type fires when properly used. The "B" rating is for petroleum based fires, like oil, for example. Again, the number in front of it stands for the square feet the extinguisher is capable of putting out when properly used. The "C" rating is for electrical fires. Once again, the number in front stands for the square feet the extinguisher is capable of putting out when properly used. The Forest Service timber sale contract requires the use of an extinguisher rated at least 3A-40BC. So, a 4A-60BC extinguisher exceeds the requirements of the contract and is, therefore, acceptable on Forest Service timber sales. However, many Forest Service inspectors (Harvest Inspectors, Sale Administrators, Forest Service Representatives [FSR's or COR's], and Contracting Officers [CO's]) are not well-versed in the facts concerning fire extinguishers, so they may say (and have done so many, many times) that unless is says 3A-40BC, it is not acceptable. DO NOT LET THEM BULLY YOU INTO THIS BELIEF- IT IS INCORRECT. Now that you are knowledgeable of the requirements and the rating system, you can educate your sale administrator and we strongly encourage you to energetically and enthusiastically, perhaps even fanatically, do so. That being said, do not go out and buy a 1A-10BC fire extinguisher and expect to bully the Forest Service into accepting it. It looks exactly like the 3A-40BC and costs about half as much (it is only 4 pounds and not 5 pound, however), but as you now know, it does not meet the minimum requirements- and of that the Forest Service is sure. Likewise, do not buy an extinguisher without all three ratings (A, B, C). There are many fire extinguishers on the market rated only for "A" fires, or "B" fires, etc. Make sure you have the correct rating and mitigate liability down the road if you are unfortunate enough to experience a fire. The required extinguisher can be bought at Home Depot, some Wal-Marts, most ACE and True Value hardware stores, and we have bought them at Lowe's and Murdoch's, too. Timber fallers are required to carry a small fire extinguisher (8 ounce or more) on their person while cutting. They must also have a shovel (sharp, size 0, 48" length) with their gas/oil jugs and no more than, usually, 200' away. One last thing. You are required to have an extinguisher on each piece of operating machinery and one extinguisher for each internal combustion engine on an operating piece of equipment. Colorado Logger strongly encourages loggers to have a set of fire tools and extinguishers for each piece of equipment and for each pickup and log truck on the job. We won't get into welding, cutting, or blasting- that's another story. Colorado Logger has provided this information as a guide only for our loggers. It is not intended to replace or supercede any information contained in your timber sale contract. That being said, Colorado Logger has logged on 27 National Forests and way too many districts in this region over the past 30+ years and has a fairly good idea of what's going on with Forest Service timber sale contracts. If you have any questions, please contact us- we can help and will gladly do so. Colorado Logger Online!
Beginning May 15, 2008, employers failing to provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to their employees can be cited by OSHA. The ruling "Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment; Final Rule 72:64341-64430" became effective February 13, 2008, but OSHA allowed employers a compliance grace period until May 15. OSHA state partners such as OR-OSHA, WA-L&I, and WY-L&I are also using May 15, 2008 as the date for compliance. Colorado Logger Online!
The Secretary of Labor has found that the following jobs are too hazardous for anyone under 18 years of age to perform:
Once a youth reaches 18 years of age, he or she is no longer subject to the Federal youth employment laws. Different rules apply to youth employed in agriculture. Colorado Logger Online!
Colorado Timber Industry Association named Michael Rue as Logger of the Year at their Annual Meeting Banquet in Delta on April 25th. Michael has been in and around logging all his life, being a second generation Colorado Logger. As is the case with most loggers in Colorado, he has logged all over the state, as well as in most surrounding states. He and his wife, Valerie, were honored guests at the banquet. He received an inscribed plaque and a Stihl chainsaw for being Colorado's Logger of the Year. Congratulations to Michael, Valerie, and his three children (we know all too well it's a family thing) for a job done well. Colorado Logger Online NORTHERN COLORADO MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE
People should be outraged that this happened. Colorado Logger has a hard time understanding why anyone would vandalize logging equipment or attempt to halt timber sales designed to help solve the problems that we know are coming. Colorado Logger and others have warned that this was coming for years- why didn't anyone listen? Colorado Logger online!
The California Forest Foundation has released a report about forest fires and the carbon emitted from them, based on four forest fires in California. More about that in a bit. We need to vent a little about something called "carbon offsets" first. You have surely heard of carbon offsets. It has been in the news a lot as of late. Carbon offsets, for those not familiar with them, are a scam whereby the rich (or you and me, for that matter [yea, neither are we]) can "buy" their way out of all the carbon emissions their activities are putting in the air: owning several large homes (Al "Global Warming" Gore); driving big, gas-guzzling SUV's when it's only them and a driver; flying to Telluride for a weekend of skiing in their private jets, etc. All they have to do is pay someone to plant a few trees for 'em. Sounds stupidly simple and too good to be true, doesn't it? Yeah! We think so too, and we also know what they say about something that sounds too good to be true. Supposedly, carbon emissions are the chief culprits leading to global warming- if you believe the "Chicken Little Bunch" and buy into the global warming mindset. If you want some darn good reading, check out these two books: Environmental Overkill. Whatever Happened to Common Sense? by Dixy Lee Ray (former Governor of Washington) with Lou Guzzo (Regnery Gateway, 1993) and the Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Both are available on amazon.com for less than ten bucks each. Alright, we got sidetracked (it isn't hard to do with all the stupid things the environists put out there). The report basically says two things: 1) Forest fires put lots and lots of carbon into the air and, 2) Logging is good. The four fires cited in the report put an estimated 38 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions into the air (the equivalent of 7 million cars for an entire year); 10 million tons came from the fires themselves, and an additional 28 million tons from trees that fall over and rot, etc. Loggers, by virtue of their hard work and dedication to their industry, help offset the carbon emissions by thinning the forest and, thereby, decreasing the catastrophic effects of forest fires and their carbon emissions. To read a couple well-written editorials about the report, go to investors.com (you'll have to type it into your browser, we can't figure out their url [address]) Investor's Business Daily or washingtontimes.com Washington (DC) Times (click the underlined portion). Both of these editorials support our industry and are worth reading. OK then, perhaps carbon offsets are worth a second thought; maybe they're not such a bad idea afterall- especially if it turns out that loggers are carbon neutral or, step aside Mr. Gore (we may be well ahead of the curve), carbon negative (doing more good than harm) simply through our work. Wouldn't that turn the environmental community upside down? Colorado Logger online! | ||
The picture at the left was taken on Willow Creek Pass (between Granby and Rand) in August 2005 by Tom Troxel (Intermountain Forest Association- see 
The image on the right (thanks, Tom), was taken in August, 2007 at the same spot. You can clearly see the devastation the bark beetles have had on the forest (the reddish-brown look of the trees). Notice the completely dead ones in the center right? The US Forest Service estimates that 1.5 million acres of timberland and billions of board-feet of timber have been affected in northern Colorado since 1996 in this outbreak- and it's only gonna get worse, folks. As our Colorado Loggers know, most of the timber will go to waste because Colorado no longer has the sawmilling capacity to handle this much volume in the relatively short life span the dead timber has before is becomes worthless to sawmills- but we are trying. Some of it will remain viable for firewooders and perhaps wood pellet plants (if they get going) for awhile; the rest will simply fall over as the roots rot in the ground. Should this happen, it will be nearly impossible for hunters, hikers, campers, fishermen, other forest users and wildlife to even enter the forest, let alone use it. Of course, this is assuming that the stand-replacing fires looming on the horizon don't take care of that problem first. 
