The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - A3 A_snapshot at the end of the millennium | Loggers have witnessed huge change By MIKE COX BUG DOPE. ._ A logger’s best friend when he’s out in the bush. Over the years loggers have -gone through a lot of bug spray and a lot of changes,too, And -there’ll be more going into the next millennium. ~ Larry’ Munson, owner of: Clear’ Creek Contracting, has been in ‘the logging industry for over 30 years and has seen-all the ‘changes firsthand: “It's -tough-now;”-he ‘said. then yau could. leave a fob .in ‘the ‘Morning and have a new one by the: afternoon.” » Munson started: in the industry three | ‘years before he graduated from high ‘school, and ‘has operated almost every ‘type of machinery used to log. He started out-in’ Nass Camp, and even that has: changed considerably. - “It was-a. big community when’ | ‘was there,” he said. “It's nothing like it was when we were there.” | Logging is still-a huge industry, but -Munson said when he first started the ‘number.of guys-in the camps was alot ‘higher than today. : “It. used to. be that‘a guy could go into the bush and you wouldn't know his full name for three days,” Munson joked... “ -That’s not the case any more, he said, and many loggers stay in the ia- ‘dustry once they get on. +. "One of the loaders working for Mu- -Hson has been in the bush for over 30 ‘years. "+ “He’s one of the best loaders that -we have,” Munson said: » The average salary for loggers is ‘$23.per-hour,:but Munson warned that the: high pay comes with hard work. : Most logging crews start work al 7 sam. and work until 4:30 or 5:00. But, ‘given that logging sites can be up ta -two hours away from town, that makes ‘for a Sam. wake-up call. “IPs hard on your body for sure,” he ‘added. ‘Hazards in the bush are a constant ‘problem too. ’“As soon as you step out of the: pick-up there’s hazards.” With the improvements in safety pear.the number of fatal and serious accidents has gone down, Munson said, but less severe injuries are still very common. Forestry has a bad name, he said, but it’s a. learning experience. * “We followed the rules of the day then, ” he said of logging done in the pasl. “We did what was acceptable.” Munson said some of the practices “Back” JOBS for loggers have become more scarce with more seasonal interrup- tions. It's also become safer, with fewer serious and fatal injuries. from the 1960s and 70s look bad now, but the acceptable practices now could be frowned upon in the future. “Ten years from now somebody will say ‘what were they. doing there?’ It’s all about learning.” - The image’ of raping and pillaging ‘the forests. for timber, he. said, has stuck ‘to the industry, but isn’t true. — “They. call us. the. Brazil of the north, but the trees are 30: feet high” where 1 used to tox.” ‘The biggest change he’s seen 16 the © shift froma ground- based. logging “ta high-lead logging. «| “Munson drove. CAT for five yeuts in the bush and then drove a ‘skidder, but now that equipment isn’t used ‘as much, Tower logging and = grapple-yarders are the most common types of logging in the area, he satd, and even: that technology hasn’t changed much over the years. “The basic way of logging is still the same,’ * he said. ; Fallers go into a cut black - which is amaximum of 20ha as opposed ta the 50ha to 100ha blocks of the past — and then grapple-yarders and towers take out the felled trees. : The trees-are graded, cither as saw . ops" or pulp: logs,"by buckers and then ‘loaded on ‘to a truck, . The arca between ‘Hazelton and Terrace, Munson said, consists mostly LARRY MUNSON, owner of Cleer Creek Contracting, has seen a lot of change in his 30 years in the bush. Even more change is coming soon when second-growth stands are ready for harvest tio begin. of hemlock and balsam, but also has 2 a lot of rot. About 50 per cent of the trees in the area have some degree of rot — called: a cull - in them: “We couldn’t survive up here with- out a pulp mill,” he said. ~ Changes are expected in any indus- (ry, but Munson said the one constant in this industry ‘is on-the-job training. “There’s no place where you. can send peuple to get trained except: on the job,” he said Most ‘training is done within the company and that is how. Munson learned so many of the different posi- tions. He has been a CAT driver, a grap- . ple-yarder, a faller, a truck driver, it mechanic, a foreman and now a super- visor in the span of his career- Thal amounts to-a lol of changes during his life, so.what.does the’ future hold for this industry? - Munson said change has been fun- damental, to. the logging industry so-it will just be another shift in, practices. “We're used to changing so il’s-just going to be a different way of _ logging.” -Because the industry has made so many shifts, Munson said, little things are taken for granted. Logging roads are all controlled by C.B. radio. It seems like a simple thing, but when Munson first started logging they weren't used, “Edon’t know how the hell we used lo work without them,” Munson said, And with the focus on post-harvest, he said,.a new wave of logging is coming in the future. '“A huge change is coming,” Mu- nson sdid of the imminent switch to logging second-graowth forests. With trees almost neuring the stage where they can be logged once more, Munson said that switch will be mas- sive. New technology, he said, shouldn't be too different, but re-harvesting trees - will come with new regulations. He couldn’t predict the changes, but said this shows the impact that post-harvest has had on the industry. “Post-harvest was nothing before and now it’s a large portion of the in- dusiry,” he said, Logging will always be the back- -hone of B.C., Munson said, it’s just a matter of modifying over time. Kevin Schathauser Nadene Butler Dena Stewart: Ground Works Coffee Shop Swim is Committed (or committable] Jumpers as of Dec. 29th 1999 Name Representing Challenging Bruce Martindale Web North Jim Checkley Cedarland Tire Rick McDaniel Cold People everywhere Allan Bartman Kinsmen Club President Adam Ortiger Valhalla Pure Outfitters Chance Healey — People that aren't big {1."] Frecl Penner.& Word Bird Rolf Ahrens Ground Works Coffee Shop Troy Buller. Alexis Ahrens Ground Works Coffee Shop | Narclene Butler. Julius Komlos Skeena Cellulose Eva" Komlos Faith Glubis Ground Works Coffee Shop Roger Chicoine Jason Larson co workers, Make this years swim the biggest & best ever, JANUARY ‘ly 1200 At the Kinsmens Kiddies Camp, Ist Ave., Lakelse Lake Chamber of Commerce Members Other Tire shops in Terrace John Evans - Remax of Terrace « Presidents of other Service Clubs in Terrace All the other Aussies in town Alexis Ahrens | Independant Consullant for “The Pampered Chef” Name | Representing = ‘Name ‘Representing Layis Bibaud Valhalla Pure Outfitters Kelly McIntyre Big River Distributors Kurt Grabinsky Terrace RCMP. Daroyle Bracken. Tim Hortons Jennifer Barman The Kinette Club of Terrace Lance Dettwiler Valhalla Pure Outfitters Roger R Chicoine Ground Works Coffee Shop Dale Lufkin’. 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