In the May 2015 edition of Southern Stumpin’, Southern Loggin’ Times magazine Managing Editor David Abbott tells the story of Keegan Brooks and his logging dreams. Abbott writes, “I’ve told my kids that they are spoiled—spoiled by all the superhero movies they get to see. Every superhero has a big budget live action movie franchise now, with actors who can actually act and special effects that make it all look real. And they get several of these movies every year. They just don’t know how good they’ve got it. Back in my day (I guess this is my version of my grandparents’ having to walk uphill barefoot in the snow to school), movies like that looked cheap and only came out every three or four years. We had the Hulk, but only on TV, and then it was just a guy in green paint flexing body builder poses (I still loved it, though). Until I was almost 11, there was only one real live-action superhero movie series: Superman.”

Southern Loggin’ Times magazine Associate Editor Jessica Johnson visits Justice Enterprises located in West Green, Georgia. Fourth generation logger Mike Justice, 61, is a kind man that is extremely mindful about his logging operation, Justice Enterprises, and its employees. Formed in 2001, after shifting away from a bigger family involved operation with roots dating back to the 1950s, Justice it was time to step out on his own. Alongside his son Justin, 38, Justice buys his own wood and runs three crews: a large roundwood crew, a chipping crew and a smaller crew that focuses on special projects for the bigger landowners in the area. Justin explains that the private landowners in the area are farmers, and they have little 10 or 15-acre tracts that they want to cut into a field. It would take a lot of moving for the bigger crew to handle those jobs.

(This feature story was submitted to Southern Loggin’ Times magazine by Caterpillar and was edited by Managing Editor David Abbott) It may be a long haul from Montgomery, but Wade Rolison says he operates in what he calls the “logging capital” of Alabama. “There are probably more loggers in this community than in much of the rest of the state,” he says. With operations based about a dozen miles east of the Alabama/Mississippi line, Rolison, 37, says his three harvesting crews spend a lot of time in both states—about 60% of it on the Mississippi side. In the 10 years since moving from truck driver to logger, the young businessman has grown his family’s operations into a group of thriving and successful entities. At the center of it, Rolison is president and owner of Bar Forest Products, the company he started to buy timber for what was then his father’s outfit: Rolison Trucking LLC.

Southern Loggin’ Times magazine Associate Editor Jay Donnell has the opportunity to attend Doosan Equipment’s 2015 media event in Tucson, Arizona. Doosan Equipment held its 2015 media event here March 25-26. The event attracted editors from construction, scrap and of course logging magazines. The opening dinner at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort featured Doosan representatives addressing the company’s extensive lineup of equipment, including several new models of crawler excavators, wheel excavators, wheel loaders, log loaders, material handlers and articulated dump trucks. Doosan product specialist, Mike Stark, announced the company’s newest logging machine—the Tier 4-compliant Doosan DX300LL-5 track log loader. The “dash-5” model replaces the interim Tier 4 (iT4) DX300LL-3 log loader.

Tidewater Demo Day on April 11 drew more than 1,000 including current and potential customers for a day of fun that included logging equipment demonstrations, chain saw wood carving, a loader competition, numerous children’s activities, food, giveaways and door prizes. No rain, but a little wind kept the gnats away from the event, which ran from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Representatives from Big John, CSI, Maxi-Load Scale Systems, Morbark, Pitts Trailers, R Squared Solutions, Rotobec and Tigercat were on hand to answer questions. Tigercat had more than 40 staff members on site, including its CEO, president, product managers and engineers from the factory in Canada. Tigercat President Tony Iarocci commented afterward, “We truly appreciate the effort that Tidewater put into this demo event. It was a huge success.

(Third of three parts sourced from U.S. Forest Service Archives) The indiscriminate but profitable logging exploitation of the mountain forests was soon challenged by a conservative approach. In 1892, amidst the timber boom, America's first experiment in practical forestry began in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. Practical forestry was a vital part of the general conservation movement that arose in the U.S. in the last quarter of the 19th century and reached its peak during the presidency of the progressive, Theodore Roosevelt. An intellectual and political phenomenon, the conservation movement was largely a response to the rapid industrialization and urbanization after the Civil War. Settlements had extended across the continent, the landscape had been altered, and American culture appeared increasingly materialistic.

The Lowly Jerrycan's Value In WWII

As We See It: Our Work Deserves Better Pay; Foley Timber Puts Up Timberlands; Bandit Continues Expansion Push; Pro South Plans For New Sawmill; IP At Riegelwood Goes To Softwood; FRA Picks Moore For SE Award; SWPA Annual Meeting June 5-6, St. Augustine; KFIA Gathering Celebrates 50th; Dorsey Announces Plant Expansion; VLA Meets August 27-29 At Wintergreen Resort

Mobile Application; Operator Safety Shield; Recycler Discharge

At The Margins is designed to help loggers manage and/or operate their business better. Each month an expert provides information, tips or advice on how to maximize profitability, enhance efficiency or increase business knowledge. This month’s column is provided by Tom Trone with John Deere Forestry. The article is titled, “’THEO’ Reaches Out To Young People.” Click here to view the full article.