SMT Incoming
A Logger’s Lament
- A Poem by Douglas L. Heseman, 2nd generation logger (formerly owner/operator of Eldorado Logging Co., Inc. Twain Harte.
“I was a logger back when logging was a well-respected profession; But then came environmentalists with their numerous obsessions.
Our back roads were once covered with ties and rails; Now they are nothing but bicycling and hiking trails.
Yes, now roads which once served our loggers; are set aside, reserved for bird watchers and joggers.
There are Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Earth First and others; To the hard working logger they’re anything but brothers.
Endangered Species now include amphibians, mammals, insects and fowl; a logger’s first encounter was the infamous Spotted Owl.
The U.S.F.S’s daytime attempts to spot them could have been eternal; till the guys at the mill said, “Hey, these critters are nocturnal.”
They then searched the trees and searched the airs; and lo and behold, they found a plethora of nesting pairs.
But alack and alas it was far too late; the infamous Spotted Owl had sealed the logger’s fate.
Loggers and mill workers losing their jobs by the dozen; A proud bunch including Grandpas, Dads, brothers and cousins.
Besides the Endangered Species, environmentalists have other parameters; loggers can no longer cut trees over 30 inch diameters.
Unlike redwoods our indigenous species don’t live to thousands of years old; sugar pine, yellow pine, white fir and incense cedar aren’t that bold.
If left alone as we have done with redwood groves; Our trees will mature, rot and fall in droves.
Our local forest should be treated as a crop; not left to stand, then die, then drop.
Not to say we should clear-cut and take every one; but selective cuttings have been and can be done.
I’ve logged the same ground three times in 35 years; and I know I share a love for logging with most of my peers.
Lumbermen have been around generation after generation; They are part of a profession which helped build this nation.
And when the books are written of our nation’s history; it won’t be much of a mystery.
Without a doubt, our path downhill got its start; with the environmentalist’s bleeding heart.
Yes! I’m a logger at heart, having started in sixty-seven; And I know when I go, there’ll be a loggin’ side in heaven.
God bless loggers everywhere; Past, Present, Future?”
