Jesse Greer - Outstanding Logger
By Janet Tompkins
The award to Jesse Greer as the Louisiana Outstanding Logger brought excitement not only to the Greer family and the Sarepta community but also to all those involved in forestry worrying about the next generation of loggers. Here is a 22-year-old logger following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who wanted nothing more than to go to the woods each day.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do,” he said. “I’d rather be out here than vacation in Florida.”
The last two years have been memorable for the Greer family, even without an award. His father and partner in K&J Logging had to retire last year after surgery for colon cancer. Then Jesse and his high school sweetheart married and this summer, just six weeks before the award, his first child was born.
His father and mother, Kenneth and Judy, were there for the award ceremony along with his wife Danyale, daughter Ryland, forester Charles Neal and his brother Kyle. Kenneth’s health has rebounded in retirement and all were proud of the achievements that were recognized in K & J Logging.
“Most of all I have to hand it to my crew,” said Jesse. “They are the backbone of the company.”
There are eight on the woods crew, seven truck drivers, a mechanic, an office manager and a forester.
Kenneth Morgan, last year’s Outstanding Logger, was on the judging team this year. “K & J Logging has a full service maintenance department as part of his logging job, even doing his own engine and warranty work,” said Morgan.
Greg Cohrs, district ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, was also on the judging team. “They consistently maintain a high rate of production with two cutters and two skidders working at an efficiently set up logging set,” he said. “Two loaders worked concurrently to trim, stack and load material.”
Dr. Mark Gibson of Louisiana Tech and Dr. Clyde Vidrine, retired Tech professor, were also part of the judging group. “What impressed me most about Jesse’s first thinning operation was how efficiently everything was run,” said Gibson.
The employees of K & J Logging include Jason Henley, Stephen Young, Tony Hall, Jimmy Harris, Bobby Jackson, Ben Jackson, Jeff Stephens and Greg Boyett. Charles Neal is the company forester, Andy Staten is the mechanic and Kat Freeman is the office manager. Truck drivers are Willie Harris, Glen Herin, Shannon Striplin, Chris Miller, Greg Carraway and Jim Carter.
Equipment for the company includes:
• 2008 CAT 573 fellerbuncher
• 2008 and 2010 CAT 545C skidder
• 2010 CAT 559B loader
• 2010 John Deere 643K feller- buncher
• 2010 John Deere 753J track fellerbuncher
• 2011 John Deere 437D loader
• 2001 Barko 225 loader
• 2001 John Deere 650J dozer
• 2008 CAT D6N dozer
• 2010 Chambers delimbinator
The logging tradition goes back to Jesse’s grandfather, Woodrow Greer, who left a job at the papermill to buy an old log truck and start a business with his mules, chains and crosscut saw. Woodrow’s son Fred went into the logging business and Jesse’s father Kenneth did only after working in construction for many years after leaving the military.
Kenneth started by buying a truck and hauling for Travis Taylor of Goldonna. “I appreciated the learning experiences with Travis,” said Kenneth. After he formed his own logging crew, Jesse became a regular working every summer beside his father.
Jesse went to college to major in forestry at his father’s urging, but it wasn’t what he wanted to do. “I wanted to go to work,” he said. “I wanted to go to the woods.”
“We knew Jesse before he was born,” said one of the crew. The others recalled him playing with his logging equipment toys in the dirt before he was old enough to be on the crew. His rapport with the crew is good—he respects them and they respect him.
“I fall right in there with them and work right beside them,” he said. Jesse also works closely with the K & J forester Charles Neal. “He’s my right hand man,” said Jesse.
Danyale and Jesse knew each other through high school and she has seen Jesse take to the job of running the business with determination. “He is very driven,” she said. “He takes care of his job and his men.”
Jesse said he learned so much working alongside his father. “We are very production oriented,” he said. His father schooled him not only in the smaller points of logging but also in dealing with equipment sales, repairs and insurance. “For such a young man, he is very good with people,” said Charles Neal.
Jesse is much like his Dad in many ways but is more comfortable with technology because of his age. He is watching and waiting for the markets to rebound but has a dangle head harvester on his wish list for the future.
Weyerhaeuser forester Mike Branch said he is impressed with the Greer job. “Everybody works really hard maintaining the production levels no matter what it takes,” he said. “It’s good to see someone as young as Jesse going into the business.”
(For more photos from the annual meeting, see the website at www.laforestry.com)
Meeting with State Police
By Buck Vandersteen
We have heard from numerous loggers that State Police inspections are more frequent and appear to be directed at the logging industry.
Inspections had quieted down when State Police offered the courtesy inspections and trucks could get an inspection without fear of a violation ticket if any problem was found. The courtesy inspections were popular until Washington changed the rules and made any violation on the courtesy inspection a reportable event on the driver’s record.
Logger’s calls to local public officials have been heard and a meeting with the Logging Council Board, State Police, and State Senators and Representatives is being organized to address the issue and see what can be done. We are optimistic that the meeting will be productive and we can come to some resolution beneficial to the logging industry.
Fires across Louisiana, especially in Northwest Louisiana, have disrupted the fiber supply for loggers and mills. Over 30,000 acres have burned in 2011 and this fire charred wood is causing supply problems for landowners and loggers.
We anticipate a loss over $30 million in timber value and $120 million in loss of value added from logging and manufacturing. With weather forecasts remaining much like they are today, we need to be vigilant with any outside burning and watchful for those who set other people’s property on fire. Our future is at stake and we receive little if no value from wildfire.
Efforts are underway to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from requiring permits from loggers to build a set or logging road to cut and haul timber.
Environmental groups in the West were successful in having a Federal court agree that permits are required under the Clean Water Act. The forest community believes the Clean Water Act provides an exemption from permitting if the activity is normal forestry work which logging falls under.
The time, resources, and frustration trying to obtain permits for virtually no gain in protecting water quality could be the final nail in the coffin for loggers struggling to stay afloat.
The Logging Council and Louisiana Forestry Association continue to meet with the Congressional delegation to stop this regulatory burden on our industry that EPA is proposing.
Most recently Logging Council members met with Senator Landrieu asking her support for legislation that would prohibit EPA from requiring permits for logging. She agreed to co-sponsor legislation in the Senate that protects loggers from such permitting requirements.
The Council has been informed that Cleco plans a test burn of 6,000 tons of woody biomass in its boilers in Boyce, Louisiana.The success of this burn may lead to a demand for woody biomass in the millions of tons each year.
Rayonier has purchased 72,410 acres in Louisiana in a three state agreement with Joshua Timberlands and Oklahoma Timber.
The company paid $330 million for a total of 250,000 acres in Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Alabama.
Lee Thomas, Rayonier chairman and CEO, said the transaction “is a major step forward in our strategy to grow and diversify Rayonier’s timberland ownership while allowing for further expansion of our rural land sales program.”
Most of the Louisiana acreage is in Allen Parish (about 57,000 acres), with small amounts in Beauregard, Calcasieu, and Jeff Davis.
In July, Rayonier also bought another 50,000 acre parcel located in Calcasieu, Natchitoches, Rapides, Allen, and Vernon with a small acreage in Winn.
After the September transaction closes in the fourth quarter of this year, the company will own, lease or manage about 2.7 million acres in 10 states and New Zealand.
(C.A. “Buck” Vandersteen is the executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association and the Louisiana Logging Council.)
Rash of fires in Caddo and Natchitoches
Northwest Louisiana missed out on the rains from Tropical Storm Lee but they have suffered through a rash of wildfires including one in Natchitoches Parish that burned 10 residences.
In September there were 81 fires in Caddo Parish that burned 3,572 acres. Natchitoches Parish had 39 fires that burned 4,398 plus the 10 homes. The worst of the fires is believed to have been arson.
“The average size of the fires increased from 14 acres to 50 acres,” said C.A. “Buck” Vandersteen. Drought conditions and high winds during the Natchitoches fires were part of the problem.
State forester Wade Dubea said that the crews have been effective because most of the fires were in the same region of the state. Due to budget cuts last year, the state had fewer fire fighters but a few replacements had been hired this fall.
Total fires for the year in Louisiana were 2,489 for a total of about 35,000 acres. The number of fires has nearly doubled since this time last year along with the acreage.
The Natchitoches fires in early September were fueled by the winds from the tropical storm and fire fighters reported that the blaze moved quickly through the Ashland and Creston communities. It started on a Friday afternoon about 1:30 p.m. and by 4:30 p.m. it had destroyed 10 homes, according to Commisioner Mike Strain who visited the site.
“We estimate that the fire spread to several thousand acres,” he said at the time. “We had 12 fire crews and 28 personnel deployed on the scene. The U.S. Forest Service had five crews and helicopters to drop water.”
Strain and State Forester Wade Dubea were at command headquarters in Caddo Parish. The largest fires were identified as the Oil City Fire, Airport Fire, Texaco Road Fire and Ida Fire.
The Oil City Fire, which burned 1242 acres, was west of North Market Street and south of the upper reaches of Caddo Lake.
The Airport Fire, which burned 162 acres, was located in the area south of Crawford Road (Parish Road 140) near Thacker’s Airport.
The Ida fire started in Arkansas and burned 285 acres and another blaze burned 686 acres.
The estimated loss in the Natchitoches Parish fires was $10.6 million and the estimate on the Caddo fires to date in September was about $9.4 million.
In a report to the Louisiana Forestry Commission, Dubea said the estimated costs in fighting the Natchitoches and Caddo fires in September at about $520,000.
“The fire crews had been helping in Texas with their fires that threatened Louisiana but they have all returned,” said Vandersteen. “The Louisiana crews have been working around the clock with little time off.”
Private cooperators also had a meeting in September to try to coordinate efforts if the fire problem escalated. “It was a good initial meeting,” said Vandersteen.