Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference & Equipment Show Review

By Kurt Glaeseman

Thanks to sunny, clear February weather and an increased number of machinery and associated service displays, the 54th Annual Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference and Equipment Show (SCLC) held in Anderson, Calif. February 6-8 was an unqualified success. Walk-in traffic was particularly heavy on Saturday morning, but special events spaced throughout the conference attracted steady attendance each day. Mike Mitzel, District Manager for Sierra Pacific Industries of Redding and newly-elected President of SCLC, was very pleased with the new combination of equipment and logging boards, which allowed the two separate entities to work together more efficiently.

Bill Dennison, retired forester and CEO for the California Forestry Association, has been executive director of the Conference for many years. His inspirational message —"Our Right and Obligation to Be United/Confident/Courageous" — was a reminder that the various facets of the logging industry must work together to maintain the right to manage our forests, or to lose them to catastrophic wildfires, insects and disease. He was referring to the 14 million acres of watershed, wildlife habitat and valuable timber lost in the past two years.

Dennison reminded groups that they must work cooperatively with Under Secretary of Agriculture Mark Rey and Region 5 Regional Forester Jack Blackwell to sort out and turn around the convoluted effects of the Sierra Nevada Framework. To clarify specific issues, the SCLC invited speakers and moderators that included Bruce Vincent, President of the League of Rural Voters; Jack Blackwell, Regional Forester; Congressman John Doolittle; Laura Skaer, Northwest Mining Association; and Rick Haines, Farm Broadcaster of the Year. On Thursday morning Mike Albrecht, outgoing SCLC President, gave the Welcome and President’s Address. He cited that one major accomplishment of the year was the unification of the Sierra- Cascade Loggers and the Equipment Committee into one focused organization.

Keynote Speaker Bruce Vincent was followed by the Education Day report by Mike Mitzel and the SCLC Logger of the Year Award presented by Jim Headrick II to Larry Strawn. California Women In Timber (CWIT) were again very much in evidence. President Kathy Losekoot reported that the group sold tickets at a fundraising booth for educational programs and for the Log-A-Load children’s program. The following were also notable features of the 2003 SCLC show:
• Golf Tournaments Awards by Tom Hickman
• Roy Derek Berridge Memorial Award
• Logging Competitions and Exhibitions — announced by Buzz Eades and executed by forestry students from the University of Nevada at Reno, Humboldt State University, and Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo
• "Wild Things" Wildlife Show
• Tri-Tip Sandwiches provided by the Anderson Future Farmers of America
• "Talk About Trees" by Kelly Fredrickson
• A Fantastic Machinery Row
• An exhibit of the Dolber Donkey Engine, an 1882 invention consisting of a wood-burning boiler that powered a single piston engine
• Old-time logger photos collected and displayed by Bill Dennison in Fusaro Hall.

Attendees were particularly interested in obtaining prologger credits offered after the educational seminars. These included a session on "Sudden Oak Death Syndrome," presented by Mark Stanley; "Practical Spill Cleanup," by Don Hossler; and the Saturday morning Truckers’ Seminar, presented by the California Highway Patrol and the California Trucking Association. Attractive and lively vendor booths offered everything from insurance to tire chains, from log scaling information to super lubricants. Steve Jolley, Events Photographer said he left the SCLC feeling more optimistic than he’d been in a long time. If the group can stay united and confident and courageous, they should have a powerful conference next year in Reno.

TW

Photos courtesy of Steve Jolly. Steve has worked for Weyerhaeuser Co. in Klamath Falls, Simpson Timber Co. on the northern coast of Calif., Roseburg Resources Co. (Anderson CA), and is presently the Fuel Manager at Wheelabrator Shasta Energy Co., also in Anderson where he has worked for the past 13 years.

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