October 12th Is National Loggers Day

Think back for a moment to the year 1607 when Jamestown settlers began to build their new lives in a New World. One of the first things they needed in order to survive was shelter. They made this shelter with whatever materials they could find in the vast wilderness in which they had settled. Stones, rocks, tree branches, and felled timber were the most commonly used materials. With these materials they made some of the first log cabins in this country.

Producing timber for construction didn’t really become an industry, though, until the late 1700s. This is when the American colonies started to supply England with lumber so they could make ships for the British fleet. By the 1790s, New England was exporting millions of feet of pine boards to Britain. About 40 years later, Maine had the largest shipping port of lumber in the world.

Due to high demand, timber started to become scarce. The Homestead Act in 1862 helped solve this problem by expanding the logging industry westward. In 1910, thanks to the new supply of wood, Idaho was distributing 745 million board feet of lumber to the rest of the country. The logging industry continued to expand west into Oregon and Washington. By 1970, the Pacific Northwest was producing just over 40 percent of the country’s lumber.

Through the years, the growth of the logging industry has been helped along by many new inventions. Waterways, horses and oxen, and railroads were all key components to transporting logs from one location to another. The improvement in cutting methods also helped immensely. At one time, an ax or handsaw were the only means to fell timber. Chainsaws and motorized vehicles sped up the process immensely. Today, logging in the United States is a 16 billion dollar industry that employs nearly 90,000 people.

National Loggers Day Resolution

Despite the logging industry being around for hundreds of years, and the fact it’s played such a huge role in our nation’s economy, loggers have not always received recognition from our nation’s government. Until now, that is. Thanks to the bipartisan efforts of a handful of U.S. Senators, October 12th has now officially become National Loggers Day. Each year, this event will highlight the contributions and economic benefits of the logging industry in the United States.

Two U.S. Senators, Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) were primarily responsible for creating the resolution. Other senators that played a part in making this day happen include:

• Senator Jim Risch (R-ID)

• Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

• Senator Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME)

• Senator Steve Daines ((R-MT)

Senator Baldwin says, “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort with Senator Collins to spotlight the importance of logging businesses and workers who keep our forests healthy and support our Made in America forest products supply chain.”

Dana Doran, Executive Director of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine says, “At no prior time in our nation’s history have loggers been recognized for their selfless and heroic efforts by our nation’s government, and we especially want to thank U.S. Senator Susan Collins for leading the effort to honor their contribution to our nation’s economy on behalf of the hard-working small family businesses in the industry here in Maine. Loggers work hard day in and day out to supply every American with products that they need to live safe and productive lives.  It’s important to not only honor this heritage industry but to be sure that every American recognizes the importance of their contribution now and in the future.”

The resolution also had strong support from the American Loggers Council (ALC). The ALC formed in 1994 to serve as a unified voice for loggers across the country. The ALC is also committed to furthering sustainable forestry practices, which they do by cooperating with public, industrial, and private timberland owners. The ALC represents logging associations, professional timber harvesters, and log truckers across 38 states.

Importance of the Logging Industry

There are many reasons the logging industry is so important. The most obvious reason is that logging produces timber, which is used to construct homes and other buildings. Some specific types of construction materials timber is used to make include studs, joists, rafters, beams, and supports. Timber is also used in the construction of piers, docks, railways, and utility poles.

Timber is essential for making furniture. IKEA is one company in particular that uses a lot of wood to make furniture. In fact, IKEA is the world’s largest single consumer of wood. Each year, this company uses 1 percent of the world’s wood, which is used to make 100 million pieces of furniture a year!

Timber is also used to produce paper and paper products, which includes newspapers, marketing materials, envelopes, parchment, and packaging paper. Boxes, crates, barrels, and shipping containers are also made with timber.

One more important aspect of the logging industry is that it provides the world with a renewable source of energy. According to some estimates, up to 40 percent of the timber harvested across the globe is used as an energy source to heat homes, cook food, and heat water.

Here are some more benefits of logging:

• Removes dead or diseased trees, which can improve the health of other trees in the area.

• Removes trees at the end of their life cycle, which helps to minimize the competition for younger trees that are in need of nutrients to grow.

• Removes weakened trees, which improves safety, as it’s these trees that are more likely to fall onto the roofs of houses or other buildings, powerlines, streets, and sidewalks.

• Decreases the chances of a forest fire spreading rapidly, which in turn protects the habitats of wild animals.

Many loggers work closely with sawmills. It’s oftentimes loggers that provide the timber for sawyers to turn into lumber. For this reason, and many others, if you see a logger thank them for all their hard work.