Page 18 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Second Quarter 2020

they all weighed in on the same question. “It is a way of life up here, but you have
to like to work,” said John Moses Teague. “We always stay pretty busy, but it
is very rewarding work. I have been around long enough that I can ride by
a tract that I cut on years ago, and it
will have mature trees on it today. You can see the results of logging and forest management in your lifetime if you have worked in the business long enough,” said Frankie Simmons.
Greg pointed out that the tract the crew was working on that day “was a field at one time; it is fully mature timber now. That shows you how our resources in western North Carolina, agriculture and timber, are interdependent and connected. It is not uncommon for us
to log tracts that used to be agricultural fields or pastureland.”
“I can’t think of a more valuable resource in the western part of the state than timber. One of the most important things to remember, as the others have said, is that logging is the beginning of
a new start. It’s definitely a renewable resource,” said Justin. “[Logging] has kept our families warm and it has kept us fed.”
“I can’t think of a more valuable resource in the western part of the state than timber. One of the most important things to remember, as the others have said, is that logging is the beginning of a new start. It’s definitely a renewable resource.”
“I think that a lot of people just don’t realize how much this industry impacts their day-to-day life,” Greg agreed.
ProLogger Program Benefits Western Loggers
The crew also took time to discuss the impact of the NCFA’s ProLogger program for them personally and its impact in the western North Carolina logging community.
“ProLogger has been invaluable,” Greg said. “We have learned a lot over the years and it has been very helpful to us and to the industry in North Carolina.”
Justin said the brothers are “huge supporters of the NCFA’s ProLogger program; everyone going to the classes should pay attention. It is always relevant information that is being presented, even if some of the information is redundant. The message of safety on and around the
logging job, and reducing environmental impacts like preserving water quality,
is important for loggers. Early on,
the program caught some static with
the western North Carolina logging community, particularly with the older generation. But, by the time that Greg and I started logging, it was the norm. Not having that ProLogger certification definitely limits your perspective. I can’t say enough about how the program has benefited us.”
The biggest learning curve for Simmons and other western loggers of his generation, he said, was the hinge cut/notch. “Most of us had been cutting differently all of our lives. But it has made a huge difference in the safety of hand-felling timber.”
Teague added that every ProLogger class teaches him something new. “I think that all loggers should be a part of the program — it is designed to help them.”
16 ncforestry.org / SECOND QUARTER 2020
Greg Moretz secures a load of logs on the brothers’ other tandem-axle log truck.