In the current Congress we have a great opportunity to pass the Future Logging Careers Act to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in mechanized logging operations under parental supervision. This bill is a part of our efforts to recruit and retain the next generation of loggers. You can help by taking just two minutes of your time to send a message to your Congressional representative
The Future Logging Careers Act (HR 1785 & S 818) would extend an existing agricultural exemption– now enjoyed by family farmers and ranchers– to enable family-owned logging businesses to train their sixteen- and seventeen-year-old sons and daughters in mechanical timber harvesting.
The exemption would ensure that the next generation of mechanical timber harvesters can gain the needed on-the-ground training and experience under the close supervision of their parents who have a vested interest in their children’s safety and in passing down the profession to the next generation of timber harvesters. Like farming and ranching, the timber harvesting profession is often a family – run business where the practice and techniques of harvesting and transporting forest products from the forest to receiving mills is passed down from one generation to the next. Timber harvesting operations are very similar to family farms with sophisticated and expensive harvesting equipment that requires young family members to learn how to run the business, including equipment operation and maintenance, prior to reaching the age of eighteen.
Please support the Future Logging Careers Act (HR 1454). The ALC has pre-drafted a message for you to send, but you can customize if you’d like. This is easy! Just go to your computer and click on www.amloggers.com, then click on “News” to locate the link to contact your House and Senate member.
We thank U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Angus King (I-ME) and U.S. Representatives Jared Golden (D-ME) and Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) for introducing this important legislation for America’s loggers.
For more information, don’t hesitate to contact Ron Jenkins at (804) 677 – 4290 or by email at info@valoggers.org, or Daniel Dructor, (409) 625- 0206, americanlogger@aol.com.