Hearne Hardwoods to see their specialty lumbers.
Thank you to our generous sponsor, John Deere!
Can Assisted Migration Help Working Forests Adjust to Climate Change?
It is no secret to anyone in the industry that logging today is not like logging 100 years ago, for many reasons. Lumbermen from years past wouldn’t recognize today’s markets and they wouldn’t recognize today’s equipment lineups. But another aspect of the working forest that would shock an early 20th century logger, were he to find himself in today’s north woods, is the winter logging season. Gone are the days when the ground freezes before Thanksgiving and thaws in May. Today’s loggers are lucky if they can get a good freeze between Christmas and St. Patricks Day. Rather than solid ground, northern loggers face mud, mud, and more mud.
The climate is warming, and quickly. Carbon emissions over the past century have raised global temperatures at a rapid rate. 21st century attempts to reduce global emissions in order to slow climate change have, so far, not been successful. The prospect of a quickly changing climate is a staggering one, especially from the perspective of those who rely on the land to earn their living. Northern silvicultural systems are sensitive to temperature and a change of even a few degrees in winter temperatures affects the ability of species to regenerate. Many who work in the northern woods wonder what will happen to working forests by 2100, when the climate in parts of Maine is projected by scientists to more closely resemble the climate of North Carolina.
Foresters are already thinking about these issues, not as hypotheticals but as realities they’re already seeing on the job. Groups like the Northeastern Institute of Applied Science (NIAC), the Forest Service, the USDA, and the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change project have begun to actively embrace a handful of climate adaptation strategies, to help land managers plan for an uncertain future. On this month’s episode, we spoke with these foresters about strategies that will help working forests weather climate change.
So, How Is the Industry Faring?
It has been a rocky year for log and lumber markets, to say the least. In this month’s podcast, we give an update on the state of the industry in the northeast and talk to friends of the podcast, procurement forester Allan Ryder and logger Andy Clark , about the state of things.
Candra Burns on Communication and Women Leadership in the Wood Products Industry
We spoke with Candra Burns, a young professional who has made a name for herself as a communicator for the forest products industry, as well as an advocate for women leadership in the industry. Candra currently lives in Germany, where her husband is stationed in the military. We spoke about growing up in a logging family and how Candra decided to become a voice for the industry.
The Covid-19 Crisis and the Forest Industry
The Loggers Protecting New York's Watershed
We speak with the Watershed Agricultural Council and Jaeger Logging about the work that goes into providing drinking water for 9 million people — and how loggers are preserving the quality of the watershed. You can read our print story here.
How Workers Comp is Changing for Vermont Loggers
We speak with the people on the front lines of the fight to change workers compensation rates in the state of Vermont. You can read our print coverage of this important story in our March Northern Logger magazine or online.
Game of Logging Goes Pacific!
We interview G Van Gils and David Birdsall about their experience bringing Game of Logging to the Pacific Island of Saipan for storm clean-up. Read the print version of this story online or in our February Northern Logger magazine.
Thanks to our sponsor, John Deere!
Industry Trends for 2020 with Eric Kingsley
Eric Kingsley, a forest industry consultant with Innovative Natural Resource Solutions, wrote our January 2020 cover story on forest industry trends for 2020. We interviewed Eric about what to look for in the new year, and talked about everything from workforce to biomass.
Run, Loggers, Run!
This month, in honor of the holidays, we bring you a very special The Northern Logger podcast. We interviewed several Maine loggers and foresters who decided to do something a little crazy this winter: They ran a marathon with chainsaws. That’s right — a group of loggers in hardhats, wearing PPE, ran a marathon in Millinocket, Maine in December. What’s more, they did it for a good cause! Listen to our December episode to find out more about this wild story.
To read our print coverage of this same story in our December issue of The Northern Logger, click here.