Spring 2006

2005 LOGGER OF THE YEAR

For various reasons, many people don't like loggers. Blame it on a past reputation created by misinformed, over-zealous environmental groups. Blame it on how some forests look after logging. Blame it on a negativity that loggers add to childhood fairy tales that we read when young. For whatever reasons, society has given the logging profession an undeserved, bad rap. But people do like wood and the beauty of wood products. You can't have one without the other! Loggers are an integral part of bringing wood into our homes and being able to enjoy the natural beauty that lies beneath the bark of trees. If you use any wood products in your life, and we all do on a daily basis, you can't ignore the importance of loggers.

If you've ever watched a logger at work, you quickly realize their job is not easy. Loggers work outside during some of the hottest and coldest times of the year. Their job is strenuous, dirty, and dangerous. Logging is considered one of the most dangerous professions in the United States. They pay one of the highest insurance rates and their workman's comprehensive insurance is through the roof. Yet despite all of this opposition they continue to log for a living.

The Indiana Tree Farm "Logger of the Year Award" is annually presented to recognize loggers who do an outstanding job of logging Indiana's forest. Foresters who work closely with these professionals often nominate loggers. This is an individual that logs trees with minimal impact to the forest environment. The 2005 Indiana Logger of the Year is Phil Etienne. The award was presented to Phil and his wife Joanne by Jack Seifert, State Forester, at the Indiana Hardwood and Lumberman’s Association annual meeting on February 1, 2006 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Phil’s logging operation and family sawmill is located in St. Croix, Indiana, which is in the south central part of the State. I have watched Phil Etienne evolve from a logger to a sawmill manager and back to one of the best loggers that I have had the pleasure of working with. Considering his logging practices in the woods, his relationship with the landowner, his relationship with the forester, and his dedication to the forest industry, he is truly an exemplary logger.

Items that contribute to his excellent logging quality include minimizing skidding and felling damage to unmarked, residual "crop" trees; skid roads graded and water bars installed; ditches and streams kept clean and protected; log yarding areas left clean of trash and pollutants; and a safe and accident free work environment.

But his logging goes much deeper than getting trees out of the forest to supply his mill. Every landowner that Phil buys timber from receives a box of pamphlets and goodies that not only kindles a working relationship between the landowner and his company, but informs them about the forest industry and how trees grow and should be properly managed.

Phil is one of the most "common sense" loggers I know that just does the right thing at the right time. Even when it means spending his own time and energy after normal working hours to beat bad weather, or please the landowner, or make adjustments for a better logging job, Phil does the right thing. In talking to Phil, you quickly realize that from his logging operation, to his sawmill, to his landscape mulch mill, to his web site, he is an asset to the forest industry and has a true love for the forest and wood. Phil is the kind of professional logger that Indiana needs to maintain the high quality of hardwoods we are world famous for and one that Tree Farmers hope to have logging their forest resource.

Loggers are not held in very high esteem in our society. But they are individuals we can't live without. We should be grateful for this group of professionals who continue to work under difficult conditions and survive. For without the dedication and hard work of loggers like Phil Etienne, we as consumers of wood products would be at a loss. The next time you meet a logger, thank them for the job they do! And if you happen to run into Phil Etienne, take your hat off to someone who deserves our respect.

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