Mendocino NF Chainsaw Class and Instructors
Managing sustainable OHV and other recreation programs on
federal lands is a complex challenge in the 21st Century. Most successful programs have these common
factors; appropriated funds, support from line-officers, dedicated recreation
staff, supplemental monies from fee programs, state or other grants, and
volunteers.
QWR's Don Amador
For this article, QWR wants to focus on trail volunteers
and their growing import in the aforementioned equation. To bolster their volunteer workforce, the
Mendocino National Forest recently held a chainsaw certification class for volunteers.
Blowdown on FS Motorcycle Trail
According to the agency, before Forest Service volunteers
can operate a chain saw or a crosscut saw on a Forest Service project, they
need to attend an official Forest Service training course on the safe and
proper use of these saws. The Forest
Service has training courses specific to the use of saws for firefighting and for
other purposes. Usually, the Missoula
Technology and Development Center (MTDC) course is the preferred crosscut and
chainsaw class for non-fire personnel. The operational and safety based training
course for volunteers will help both experienced and inexperienced sawyers use
chain saws and crosscut saws for limbing, bucking, brushing, and—to a limited
degree—for felling smaller and less complex material. Safety is the number one element emphasized
in the chainsaw training.
Trail Crew Clearing Blowdown on FS 4wd, SxS, ATV, and MC Trail
The training is very comprehensive. Topics include, but are not limited to:
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), area size up, proper body positioning and
stance, familiarity with OSHA
requirements and regulations, physics of “binds”, physics of “kickback”, sawyer/swamper
communication, cutting area control, danger tree awareness, job hazard analysis and emergency evacuation
plans, Forest Service radio
communication, radio procedures and how to use a Forest Service radio; parts of the chainsaw, how to sharpen chainsaw chain, and saw maintenance; and of
course the inclusion of safe chainsaw handling, starting and stopping
procedures, use of escape routes, and
field practice with limbing and bucking practicum.
LINK to FS Chainsaw Course (with volunteer section)
Bill Aaron, a Region 5 chainsaw instructor who taught our
class, states, “Trail volunteers are an important part of the Forest Service
trails system. Without their assistance
the upkeep and maintenance would be much more difficult, and they are an
integral key in the trails program.”
Chainsaw and Rack on QWR's DRZ400 Trail Maint. Bike
The Forest Service also states that volunteers who have
completed saw training successfully are usually certified at the "A” or “B” level. The level of certification
indicates the types of saw work, along with any restrictions, that the
volunteer can perform. The "A"
level is considered “apprentice” and the "B level is considered
“intermediate” with restrictions limiting them to limbing, brushing, and
bucking.
After training is complete, a line officer (usually the
district ranger or unit manager) issues the volunteer's saw qualification card.
Saw training and recertification is required every 3 years.
Don Amador, QWR President, states, “A skilled trail
volunteer workforce is a force-multiplier and they not only help keep trail
clear of trees and other vegetation, but their donated hours can be used as a
match for grants from the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation
Division. Volunteers continue to be an
important factor in the land-management equation.”
Chainsaw Certification Card
“I considered it a privilege to have been part of this
chainsaw class where safety and proper cutting techniques were emphasized. Recent wildfires at popular OHV areas such as
Stonyford on the Mendocino National Forest and Hull Creek on the Stanislaus
National Forest highlight the need for a skilled volunteer workforce,” Amador
concludes.
# # #
