Auburn, Aug. 27---Concerns about the safety and environmental risks associated with logging prompted the logging industry to develop professional certification requirements for loggers.

That was several years ago.

Loggers are now required to obtain certification as professional logging managers by taking courses dealing with safety training, first aid, business management, timber harvesting and forest management. They also must attend an additional 6 hours of training each year to maintain certification.

In the future, logger certification will be a standard requirement for companies affiliated with the American Forest and Paper Association’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

Most loggers were not blindsided by these new regulations. Nor did they mind abiding by the new rules. Virtually all professions now require some minimal level of certification, and they knew it was only a matter of time before their own industry enacted similar requirements.

What they did mind were the extensive travel and money required to obtain this certification.

With this in mind, several loggers in Clay and Randolph counties contacted their local Extension offices to see if there was a way certification classes could be offered locally and at minimum expense.

"After taking an inventory of our local resources, we said, ‘yes, we can do it,’" recalls Stan Roark, one of two local Extension agents who organized the certification program for Clay and Randolph counties.

Organizing the training turned out to be a tall order for Extension Agents Roark and Tom Farrow, Roark’s counterpart in neighboring Clay County. After first determining what

was required for this certification, they then had to enlist the help of local agencies and faculty at Auburn University and the nearby community college.

Despite these challenges, the arrangement seems to have turned out to be a near-perfect fit for everyone involved. In addition to Clay and Randolph counties, the training has reached loggers in four other adjoining counties.

In addition to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, key players include the Alabama Forestry Commission and Auburn University’s School of Forestry. Southern Union Community College, located in nearby Wadley, helped set up first-aid training.

Roark and Farrow also enlisted the help of Wellborn Cabinet, one of the nation’s largest cabinet manufacturers and Clay County’s No. 1 employer.

As an integrated plant operating its own sawmill and processing facility, Wellborn was considered an ideal place for holding the training.

"Wellborn Cabinet really is where the rubber meets the road," Farrow says. "Companies like this are really why these loggers are employed in the first place."

Virtually all of the approximately 60 loggers who attended the training August 22 at the Wellborn plant have sold logs to the company at one time or another, he says.

In addition to touring the 1.2 million square-foot facility, loggers also received training on hardwood log grading by Dr. Mathew Smidt, an Auburn University assistant professor of forestry. Smidt also has conducted safety training for new loggers.

"We hope they will come away with a better insight into the whole process -- from the raw product all the way to the finished product," Roarke says. "We also hope they’ll gain a better understanding of what it takes to get a better price for their products."

Among the 60 loggers attending the training was Gary Holloway from Roanoke. While conceding he’s attending the training purely to stay in business, he admits he’s gained some useful insights through taking part.

"It’s pointed out some things we’ve never heard about," Holloway says. "Sometimes we feel like we know more than those who are teaching it, but we still learn a little bit from every seminar we attend."

Even with 31 years of professional logging experience, Wedowee resident Charles Wright says the training he’s already received has encouraged him to make several improvements in his operation.

"I’ve been logging for a very long time, but there were some things I didn’t know," Wright says. "Since I’ve been to these schools I’ve bought a medical kit and safety glasses."

"I believe the training is going to help."

"This has been a good program for Extension," Roark says. "With the help of our local partners, we’ve been able to offer effective low-cost continuing education for loggers within a six-county area without their having to miss a day of work."