Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Training For Loggers Begins

Potlatch Corporation announced a new environmental and training requirement and incentive program for all contract loggers that deliver to Potlatch operations in Arkansas. The new program helps assure the company and the public that contract loggers use sustainable forest practices. All Potlatch contract loggers and suppliers will be required to complete a logger education and training course offered by the Arkansas Timber Producers Association (ATPA) and Arkansas Forestry Association (AFA) by December 31, 1997.

"As a member of the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), Potlatch has made a company-wide commitment to adopting the principles and guidelines of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative as part of our forest resource management plan," said Dick Bullard, Southern Wood Products Division vice president. "This new requirement continues our commitment to advancing professionalism in timber harvesting and to forest management practices that will assure sustainable forests for future generations."

Loggers will be eligible for an incentive payment upon registration for the logger education and training program. If a contractor fails to complete the course, Potlatch will terminate all contracts with that logger. Contract loggers currently enrolled in the logger education and training course will be immediately eligible for the incentive payment. The incentive payment program was established to recognize the commitment of contract loggers to assure healthy, sustainable forests for the future. "This is one of the best ways we can work together to produce the forest products people use every day and assure healthy forests to support the recreation, environment and economy of future generations," said Robin Jolley, Potlatch resource manager in Arkansas.

"This new requirement of loggers is in addition to our long term contractual requirements to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) and environmental audits on all timber harvests," said Jolley. "Helping launch Arkansas' Logger Education and Training Program was a first step in Potlatch's Sustainable Forestry Initiative implementation. We have already trained 1,255 loggers in the southeast region of Arkansas and have set a reasonable deadline so that all Potlatch contractors will complete training by 1998."

SFI is a National Initiative by AF&PA to ensure that future generations of Americans will have abundant forests. It emphasizes the importance of practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates the managing, growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water quality, wildlife and fish habitat and aesthetics of timber harvesting.

Potlatch owns approximately 500,000 acres of timberland in Arkansas and has operations in Warren, Prescott and McGehee.