Visitors to northern Maine think of it as a 2 million acre playground where private landowners allow public access to their land to hunt, fish and pursue a wide range of water and winter sports activities.

The pressures of running multiple logging crews can be mind-boggling: finding available timber, securing satisfactory markets, dealing with “pop up” problems, coordinating all components, servicing debt, etc.

Ken Fallon, owner of Fallon Logging Co. Inc. (FLC), a coastal Oregon based firm, doesn’t think as much of his half century of business success as others do.

High school students in the Staples/Motley school district here recently learned firsthand the value of forest management by observing local logger Rod Enberg and his company, Enberg Logging, perform thinning work in the school district’s 80-acre forest.

Stretching from the northern reaches of Vermont to the warmer climes of east central Mississippi, spring logging and equipment shows are ready to burst forth with events that will undoubtedly rank among the best for 2006.

Mark Rey, the Bush administration under secretary for Natural Resources and Environment and overseer of the U.S. Forest Service, says the U.S. conservation movement has entered into its fourth era: “Cooperative Conservation.”

The opening line of that famous ’70s spiders and snakes song says it all for me. But I’d add bees and ticks. All of these creatures can cause major medical problems and, although rarely life threatening, they can inflict serious injury and even cause death.

Five years ago, the Northeast Region Production Efficiency Committee of the Forest Resources Assn. (FRA) held its first Equipment Maintenance Roundtable in Bangor, Me.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Prentice hydraulic loader (1956-2006), Blount will crown the first ever Grand National Champion of the Prentice Loader Championship at the Lake States Logging Congress, September 7-9, in Green Bay, Wis.

Forest Resources Assn. will hold its 72nd annual meeting at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., June 1-3. The focus of the meeting will be “The Road Ahead: Breaking New Boundaries.”

Franklin Equipment Co. has released the 185 T3 powershift cable skidder for production. This skidder is equipped with a 185 HP Cummins Tier III engine, a Franklin 6-speed powershift transmission, Franklin heavy duty planetary axles with locking differentials front and rear, Franklin winch, and 24.5x32 tires as standard equipment.