Logging industry professionals want regulations eased

ANDERSON — The Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference on Saturday attracted hundreds to the Shasta District Fair grounds where spectators had the chance to check out the newest industrial equipment and watch men compete in the World’s Strongest Logger Competition.

Ted James, president of the 68th annual Forest Products & Construction Equipment Exposition, said seeing all the attendees was encouraging, especially for an industry that’s suffered its share of hardship with extensive government regulations. His hope is now that President Donald Trump is in office, regulations on the timber industry, especially logging on federal lands, will ease.

“Federal lands also need to be a producer,” he said.

Although he doesn’t know what the administration specifically has in mind for the logging industry, he still finds it to be an exciting time, where innovation and technology have advanced so much in the timber industry itself, that in the future, instead of steel and concrete, wood could be used to build some of the country’s skyscrapers, he said.

John Dunlap, owner of Dunlap Enterprises in Sonora, was at the expo where he showcased sawmills, bundlers and firewood splitters. Having been in the lumber industry since 1978, Dunlap isn’t holding out too much hope on what the new administration might have to offer.

“I’m a pragmatist,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of legislators say lots of things.”

Dunlap said the industry has been heavily regulated, and for private landowners who might want to log some of their timber, gaining permission itself is very expensive.

“By the time they pay the logger to work, there’s no profit,” Dunlap said. It in turn discourages people from the whole process, he added. While his hope is the permit process and the costs associated with it would change, he’s not completely banking on it.

But on the other hand, James remains optimistic. He said the timber industry, especially in Shasta County, has already survived the worst, and he believes things can only get better. It’s the main reason why he chose “Logger Strong” as this year’s them for the expo, stating that logger families are resilient.

“It’s about being prideful in the job they do, and the people that they are,” he said.