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LEAP announces August round of workshops

Submitted by tim on

Attention LEAP Loggers

As you all are aware if you are a hand cutter you will need to have taken Game of Logging (GOL) - Levels 1-4 to remain current with LEAP.

Quotes from Loggers who have taken GOL – “I’ve been using a saw my whole life and I
cant believe what I got out of that training”, “Thought I knew everything there was to
running a saw and being productive, wrong! Great training!”

These workshops are coming up in the next few weeks. There are still a few spaces
available. The days are hands on, outside and limited to 10 loggers. Please register
ASAP as spaces are filling quickly. No walk-ins!

Game Of Logging (8 LEAP Credits per Level)
Levels 1 - 4 are mandatory for all Non-Mechanized LEAP loggers. If it’s been over 5 years since taking all four levels then taking a L5 (Refresher) is mandatory. Levels 1& 2 are being offered this year. If you would also like Levels 3 & 4 this year, let me know, otherwise you may take them next Spring.

Chester VT - Across the road from 138 Farrar Road, Chester VT

Level 1-August 12, 8:00am to 3:30pm

Level 2-August 13, 8:00am to 3:30pm

Level 5-August 6, 8:00am to 3:30pm

West Berlin, VT - 1532 west hill, West Berlin, 05663. Be aware, sometimes GPS takes people to West Hill in Northfield which is the same zip code, but 8 miles away. Folks need to make sure they go to West Berlin. If it sends them up Union Brook Road that’s not right.

Level 1-August 26, 8:00am to 3:30pm

Level 2-August 27, 8:00am to 3:30pm

Level 5-August 20, 8:00am to 3:30pm

Cost $100 per day The State of VT is subsidizing the cost of this training this time
through a Grant, normal cost is $150 for LEAP. Instructor: John Adler, Northeast
Woodland Training

Please bring your Saw, PPE – Hardhat, Leg Protection, Eye and Ear Protection. The
training will be in the woods all day so make sure you have plenty of water and whatever
food you may want.

Must register by going online- www.vtleap.com or email David Birdsall-
[email protected] or call 802-345-7438

Forest Watershed Program is announcing the next round of skidder bridge grant applications.

For this round, there are two types of bridges available:
Temporary Wooden Skidder Bridges- there will be 22 bridges available free of charge to eligible loggers and foresters who work in the Lake Champlain watershed. These bridges are the standard 12’ wide and 20’ long Hemlock bridges that are made up of three panels. Any logger or forester that makes 51% or more of their income from logging is eligible to apply. A lottery system will be used to select the bridge grantees, and each grantee will have to sign a grant agreement with the State of Vermont. Grantees will be responsible for picking up the bridge in East Montpelier. The bridges are being built now and will be available later in the summer. Funding for these bridges is from the Lake Champlain Basin Program and priority will be given to those loggers and foresters working in the Champlain Basin. Applications are Due August 5th for the Wooden bridges.
Temporary Steel Skidder Bridges- there will be 5 heavy duty steel skidder bridges available at a 75% cost-share. The bridges are made of two panels 6’ wide and 25’ long with 3 I-beams per side and a Hemlock deck. These bridges cost $15,668 to build and the cost to the grantee will be $3,917.05. Any logger or forester that makes 51% or more of their income from logging is eligible to apply. A lottery system will be used to select the bridge grantees and each grantee will have to sign a grant agreement with the State of Vermont. Grantees will be responsible for picking up the bridge in Putney. The bridges are being built now and will be available later in the summer. Funding for these bridges comes from State Capitol funds and Clean Water Funds. Applications are Due August 10th for the Steel bridges.

Copies of the applications are attached. Please fill them out and sign them and send back the signed copies as a scan or as an original copy in the mail.

Pictures of the two bridges are attached. The steel bridges will not have the curbs as in the photo. They are 12’ wide and 25’ long when put together and will span 21 feet.

There will be both 10” thick and 12” thick wooden bridges available.

If you have any questions please email Dave Wilcox or call Dave Wilcox at 802-793-0265.
2021 Portable Steel Skidder Bridge Grant Eligibility Form
2021 Portable Wooden Skidder Bridge Grant Eligibility Form

USDA Announces Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers
Farm

Service Agency Will Begin Accepting Applications on July 22

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing up to $200 million to provide relief to timber harvesting and timber hauling businesses that have experienced losses due to COVID-19 as part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Loggers and truckers can apply for assistance through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) July 22 through Oct. 15, 2021. The Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers program (PATHH) is administered by FSA in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, authorized this critical assistance for the timber industry. Timber harvesting and hauling businesses that have experienced a gross revenue loss of at least 10% during the period of Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2020, compared to the period of Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2019, are encouraged to apply.

Read More Here

The Logger Education to Advance Professionalism (LEAP) Program is a not-for-profit educational organization that strives to remain non-political. LEAP recognizes that the logging profession is an essential link between Vermont woodlands and forest industry. Along with landowners and foresters, loggers are partners in managing our forests for wood, water, wildlife and recreation. Vermont's forests have a legacy of providing these resources and are capable of sustaining these public benefits if properly managed. We see education as offering a positive approach, bringing everyone together to reach this common goal. The LEAP program is an instrument to encourage life-long learning among loggers. We will strive to promote professionalism through education and instill a stewardship ethic among loggers. The outcome of this endeavor, we envision, will be a well managed and productive forest landscape, and a positive public perception of the logging profession.
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