Oregon Department Of Forestry Announces State's Top Forest Operators For 2023 (Photo) - 12/04/23

SALEM, Ore. – Two loggers and a forestry consultant have been chosen as Operator of the Year for their respective region of Oregon. Three regional advisory committees to the Oregon Board of Forestry selected the trio earlier this fall. The recipients will be recognized in Salem at the January meeting of the Board. The honorees are:

• Eastern Oregon – Leigh Ann Vradenburg with the Klamath Watershed Partnership in Klamath County
• Northwest Oregon – Ron Staley of Ron Staley Enterprises, Inc., of Lebanon, Ore., in Linn County
• Southwest Oregon – Wally Plikat of Plikat Logging, Inc., based in Roseburg, Ore.

The award recognizes forest operators who, while harvesting timber or doing other forestry work, protect natural resources at a level that consistently meets or goes above and beyond requirements of the Oregon Forest Practices Act *. That law requires people to manage forests responsibly and protect streams and water quality, protect and enhance habitat, and reduce landslide risks. The law also requires landowners to replant forests after harvesting. Videos about each of the three Operators of the Year and five  Merit Award winners can be viewed on the ODF website at https://www.oregon.gov/odf/Working/Pages/default.aspx

Eastern Oregon

Leigh Ann Vradenburg is a forest consultant working with Klamath Watershed Partnership, a community based non-profit organization focusing on the needs of landowners and sustainability of natural resources. In her role, Vradenbrug brings together landowners, agencies and other partners to conserve, enhance, and restore the natural resources of the Klamath Basin, while ensuring economic vitality for the community.

ODF Stewardship Forester Jason Pettigrew works with Vradenburg in the Klamath-Lake District. He said, “She works tirelessly to educate owners of small forest parcels about health risks to their forestland, including overly dense tree numbers, insect pests, mistletoe and fire danger, and to identify their objectives for their property. She then works to obtain federal grants to fund the work. By assembling many small jobs into larger projects, she makes it economically viable for local logging firms to do the work. And she is very hands on, meeting multiple times with landowners before marking trees to be thinned or retained and inspecting the work at every stage. She is a trusted partner for landowners and loggers in this area.”

Because of her work, Pettigrew says large swathes of overcrowded forest stands have been thinned and had brush cut back, reducing drought stress on remaining trees and improving their health and resistance to pests. “It also makes it safer for landowners and firefighters to control any wildfires that occur,” he adds.

Northwest Oregon

Ron Staley was recognized for working with conservation-minded landowners to protect forested buffers around fish-bearing streams while minimizing soil compaction and disturbance. 

Staley was singled out for use of new tools and technologies to enhance harvests and protect resources to the highest standards of the Oregon Forest Practices Act*, such as high-end custom drones to fly rigging lines over buffers, a safer and more efficient method. The selection committee was also impressed that Staley protected buffers by moving his yarding rig from one side of a protected buffer to the opposite side in order pull logs up and away from the buffer, thus avoiding any chance of damage to the buffer. He was also praised for excellence in logging road construction and clean up, and for his crew’s willingness to shut down during heavy rainfall to avoid possible runoff of sediment to streams.

“Of all the operators I have worked with, this company consistently does by far the best job of post-harvest cleanup of the road system,” said Jerrin Robbins, an ODF Stewardship Forester familiar with Staley’s work. “Examples include shaping of roads to minimize runoff, cleaning ditches and catch basins and pulling any temporary crossings.”

Southwest Oregon

Landowner Roseburg Resources nominated Plikat Logging for Operator of the Year. They pointed out Plikat’s willingness to protect streams by shutting down winter operations unprompted during heavy rainfalls. They also pointed out how Plikat safely logged steep hillsides while carefully protecting buffers around fish-bearing streams by careful placement of rigging corridors where logs were passed over the buffer or through pre-existing gaps in trees. 

ODF Stewardship Forester Donnie Widener said Plikat also maintained access to a popular tourist attraction – the Doerner Fir, also known as the Brummit Fir. At 327 feet tall, the Douglas-fir is one of the tallest trees in the world. “The only road to the fir passed right through Plikat’s logging operation, which they would halt to let visitors pass through safely,” said Widener.

Merit Awards were also given to five other companies.

Eastern Oregon

• Tim Rude of Rude Logging based in John Day for protecting waters of a fish-bearing stream while harvesting in steep forests needing thinning to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Northwest Oregon

• Olav “Ole” Berg of Big O Logging, Inc., based in Birkenfeld in Columbia County for helping thin overcrowded forestland during ongoing road repair work.
• Greg Pelham of Pelham Cutting, Inc. based in St. Helens, for consistently high performance in harvesting and reforestation, with care to avoid high landslide-risk areas and identify and leave important old-growth wildlife trees.

Southwest Oregon

• Butte Falls-based Don Hamman of Don Hamman, Inc. in Jackson County for assisting small landowners in urban-adjacent, high-visibility areas with thinning to reduce wildfire risk.
• Austin Weber of Weber Logging and Construction, Inc., based in Roseburg for consistent employment of innovative logging technology in steep-slope areas to protect fish-bearing streams and minimize soil disturbance and erosion.

ODF Forest Resources Division Chief Josh Barnard said, “This year’s honorees harnessed innovative technology and techniques to protect water quality, and helped small landowners improve the health of their forests and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire through careful planning and coordination. In challenging harvesting sites, they have shown extraordinary care and diligence to protect resources and meet landowner objectives. We’re proud to recognize the community spirit and leadership these operators have shown.”

* Oregon enacted the Forest Practices Act in 1971 as a national model for forest management laws. The law focuses on ensuring responsible forest operations and protecting natural resources in forestland. The Act has been updated many times based on new scientific information and values to create a balanced approach to natural resource management.

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