Heli Loggers

[DouginUtah]

I'll probably regret asking this (since it will show what I know about logging) but here goes....  :D

Why is it necessary to climb and top the trees?

Why not leave the tops on and cut them off when on the ground. Wouldn't the branches reduce the chance of damage when the bole hits the ground?


P.S. I watched the show.

[sawguy21]

My boss wanted to use the grapple exclusively to save on manpower but often they could not get a full turn on a single pick because of the way the logs lay. Since then at least one multi pick grapple has been developed but I have no idea how it works. Choking is more flexible but is labor intensive and DanG dangerous.
Doug, the main reason is safety. The tops are removed to keep them from whipping back and snapping off as the tree falls. An added bonus is less waste weight coming into the landing.

[Jeff]

Doug, they were not felling the trees for the most part, but leaving the bole stand, almost cut through.

By removing the top, and much of the top weight of the tree, I suspect you reduce damage if you were felling them. First, you will have much greater control of where they go without the tops, and second, the tops on the ground can act as a cushion. I know the old redwood fellers would actually build "landing pads" for the giants to fall on to reduce damage by felling cushion trees and piling brush in the area the tree would impact.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah some of the big red cedar would fly apart even before hitting the ground because of the spiral twist to the grain. Sometimes they just dynamited them, they were going to fly apart anyway, might as well stand back instead of beside it. ;D  So just think of the pour bugger near one of those things if left to fall whole. It would be gang busters for a while. :D

[Tillaway]

There was a presentation at the Oregon Logging Conference several years back from VIH regarding the single tree snap it off the stump harvest.  The speaker there after showing some really cool films about the process basically said "I know, there is no way you afford to this in the US".  That was before he took the first question.

I had a helicopter thinning a few years ago using a K-Max.  It was sized perfect for the wood.  They single picked the biggest logs with the grapple and the brush crew would set chokers for the rest.  The brush crew also would build turns for the grapple later by choking two logs together and marking the log to grab with the grapple with paint.  The pilot picked up the painted log and an extra would hang from the choker.

[Frickman]

I watched the show, and thought it was fairly good. I could do without all the drama though, real or made up. Around here in our hardwoods if we only took the biggest and best it would be called high grading. Maybe it's different in British Columbia.

[Paul_H]

Nope,it's called high grading here too.

[SwampDonkey]

I never saw heli logging done as a cherry picking  were we worked. A block was all harvested and any waste was billed as well. Maybe the formula has changed and the waste is cheaper to leave then the cost of the fine. I'm not quite sure any more how the formula was applied back then.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/dqc/w&r.htm

[SwampDonkey]

Found this from the waste manual:

For cutblocks with harvesting, a waste rate is calculated for the cutblock using the weighted average stumpage rate charged for the sawlogs from invoices issued for a twelve-month period in respect of timber harvested under the applicable timbermark. The twelve-month period ends the month after the month that primary logging was completed for the cutblock. Remaining areas of standing timber within the cutblock, that are left unharvested at the expiry, surrender, termination or cancellation of the cutting authority, would be waste billed.

The grade profile for the waste is taken from the cruise compilation for the cutting authority. Multiply the percentage for each grade, by species, times the total volume of that species to determine the volume for each species/grade combination.

Waste rate = Total Sawlogs Stumpage Billed / Total Volume Billed

Standing Stem Harvesting

Standing stem harvesting is a new logging method which utilizes a helicopter to selectively log components of a forest stand. Trees selected for harvesting are based on the licensees’ pre-determined requirements (e.g., species, diameter, value).
Once a tree has been selected, the tree is topped off at the height dependent on the tree diameter and the lifting capacity of the type of helicopter used in the operation. At the stump level, the tree is not cut through and enough holding wood is retained to enable the tree to remain standing.
After the tree has been topped and jigged, the helicopter moves into position, and utilizing a grapple attached to the end of a long cable line, lifts the log straight into the air and gently lowers it to the ground nearby.

Since the harvested trees are dispersed individually over a wide area and are inaccessible, it is not cost effective to utilize a plot system for surveying the harvested site. Instead, look-up tables contained in this Appendix are used to derive the waste volumes for each of the tree commonly harvested tree species (Yellow Cedar, Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir) associated with standing stem harvesting.

To use the look-up tables, licensees are required to determine the average top diameter taken for each species. The intercept of average dbh and the average top diameter indicates the waste volume for one stem, which multiplied by the number of stems, yields the total waste volume for the tree species.

So as I said, that heli-logging method was not used when I worked out there.

More on Standing Stem Harvesting by Canadian Air-Crane

Standing Stem Harvesting Under Development with WCB and FERIC, from Logging and Sawmilling Journal - June 2000

Logging and Sawmilling Journal Article on Standing Stem Harvesting

Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd presentation on Standing Stem Harvesting

[SwampDonkey]

Of note from the Journal article

"While Cleaver (of Weyerhaeuser-formerly MacMillan Bloedel)  is reluctant to talk about logging costs, the costs are high, but the value of the undamaged trees is also high. Depending on the operation, it could involve helicopter costs of anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 an hour. While this may sound high, they are able to move 20 stems an hour, and some of those trees are worth as much as $1,000." To put this in a time frame, it was in 2000 that this article was written.

There are some costs/m³ presented in the PDF presentation. Note that this system was first developed for yellow cypress, a very valuable species, as explained in the articles. Then the system was developed further for other tree species.


I remember a cost of $8000 up on the Charlottes, so that is in line with my recollections. Not sure where the $50,000 per tree came from, but I do recall $20,000 per tree (1996 figures) for sitka because these were 8 feet at dbh and 220-250 feet tall. I don't see any trees that big in any of the photos I see here, the cedar don't have near the height of a spruce.

[Raider Bill]

It's inconcieavable to me one tree worth 50K.

But then eveytime I go to the lumber yard it seems all dim lumber is from that very same tree price wise!

[SwampDonkey]

I see logs graded as D (high grade with no knots, large bolts,tight rings, white wood, not conventional dimension lumber) in the sawlog report (averaged for Sept-Nov 2008) was $430.67m³ for cypress and $333.21 for cedar, and $385.71 for spruce. That's the top stuff.

Grade B (Peeler logs) Doug Fir was $203.58/m³

For dimension lumber Grade U (low grade-Utility) it was $46.32 for cedar, 41.03 for cypress, and $43.99 for spruce. For Grade K (mid grade) it was $185.26 for cedar.

The Grade D was 10 % of the volume of those species, Grade U was 36 %,  and Grade K was 10 % of the volume reported.

A m³ is 1 cubic meter = 423.776001 board feet (got that off Google)

So the top cypress are a little better than $1000/MBF.

[SwampDonkey]

Just trying to put those numbers into context here. Hypothetically speaking, you could potentially get 2 - 16' Grade D cypress logs from a 30 inch @ DBH tree and 100 foot tall, coming in at 1000 bf, then maybe an F with 130 bf (@$293.91/m³)  and a couple U's coming in at 85 bf. Tally that up.

1000 bf Grade D = $1000

130 bf Grade F = $90

85 bf Grade U = $8

Total $1098 for a 30 inch DBH cypress tree, sounds like what Weyerhaeuser was saying. You don't get a lot of cypress over 30 inches any more, might be a pocket here and there. They use Scribner's volume equation in BC. That $8 top is probably left.

Anyone know how much volume in a 8 ft DBH and 220 foot sitka (that's with 20 feet off the top missing for argument sake), so merchantable height. Then multiply by $910/MBF so we can get current value (fall 2008), which isn't going to be exactly true because the last log isn't going to be high grade D.

[Jeff]

They mentioned in the show about one of the uses for the $50,000 tree was for instruments.

[SwampDonkey]

They probably were Sitka spruce then Jeff, and that would be specialty market not given in the sawlog bulletin. And again cypress export would fetch a lot more than the domestic market price. But again, as Weyerhaeuser said they are probably mostly $1000 trees because those high value specialty trees would be like me searching for bird's eye. You could land into a pocket of it, then few and far between so you have a lot of $1000 trees before you get to the $50,000 one. I doubt the loggers are getting that money, that's only a $50,000 tree after it went through the value added steps to give it it's high value. ;)  I can't think that the BC government would let anyone take just the cherries. There is a lot of hype in those TV shows, just wait until they do a show on searching for figured woods on a standing tree. I can see it now and don't want to think about it. :

[Jeff]

They said Red Cedar and the way it was eluded to that the B.C. Government was the one that picked the Cherries.

[SwampDonkey]

Interesting, wish I could see the show so I could separate facts from TV fiction.  ;)


From the BC Forestry Innovation Investment website I found this:

"Red cedar is also a good choice for musical instruments due to its superb acoustic resonance properties."

Never heard of western red cedar being used for instruments before. A fellow might learn something once in awhile. ;)

[urbanlumberinc]

This stuff is not your run of the mill timber, it's old growth.  As we all know, there's not a whole lot left.  These logs are not going to the local sawmill to get cut up into fence pickets or decking, this is niche market stuff.  I'll venture a guess the majority of the wood ends up in Japan or Germany. 

[SwampDonkey]

[The following is from: Coast and Marine Planning Branch (MSRM), HELI-LOG DROP ZONES (July 2002)]

I found some numbers from an economic study that suggested a heli drop zone supports an average of 25,000 m³ of volume. Stumpage is $2-4 a m³. They estimate cost of $35,000 per ha for a land drop value and up to $50,000 per ha for a water drop. A heli drop zone permit is $250 annually, license of occupation fee is minimum $500/yr and calculated based on 7.5% of license value, lease with dry land sort is $500/yr minimum based on 8% of lease value.

"The prescriptive formula for a tree-to-truck heli-log appraisal (cost) estimate is:

$/m3 = 68.610 +3.73(D) +0.0337 (Hembal %)

where:

D = one-way average horizontal flight distance in km from the setting to
the drop zone

Hemal % = % of hemlock and balsam species in the cutting authority

This prescriptive formula, for a tree-to-truck cost estimate does not allow for a "de-bundling"
of the costs of the component phases or activities including the drop zone component of the
heli-log operation. On the basis of a 1.5 kilometer flight distance and a Hemlock Balsam
species composition of 50%, the tree-to-truck estimate would be $75.89/m³. The yarding
phase (aerial flight) represents the most significant component of this aggregate cost
estimate.

We estimate inputs (costs) for the heli-log drop zone component to be in the range of $10/m³
and $12/m³ for water and land drop respectively – this in the range of 13 – 15% of the
aggregate tree-to-truck estimate."

North Coast, around the Charlottes and Prince Rupert areas, has a cap of 35% (350,000 cubic metres of timber a year, source Federation of Labour) of volume for export.

[The following Source: Federation of Labour]

"4.7 million cubic metres of logs were exported in 2005, 6 % of the total harvest."

"On Vancouver Island,  nearly 15 percent of the logs
harvested is exported"

"the biggest market for all these logs in 2005 appears to
be the United States (58 percent).....Asian
countries were next in line with 33 percent of the exports headed
across the Pacific."

"MacMillan Bloedel, was sold to US-based Weyerhauser
in 1999, which immediately began accelerating the export of logs
from private lands to its home base in the United States......during a corporate
restructuring in 2005 driven by the US head office, the firm was
sold again, this time to Brascan, a huge investment firm based in
Ontario. 

Prior to the sale, the Liberal government agreed to remove a major
section of the private lands from the Tree Farm License. This
effectively removed the trees from provincial regulation for
Allowable Annual Cut and for export controls.

Brascan moved quickly to divide off the company. Creating two
firms, the first known as Island Timberlands has control over the
cutting of trees and has no operating plants on Vancouver Island.
The company acquired 225,000 acres of private lands (recently
removed from provincial control) and Crown Lands with an annual
cut rate of 3.6 million cubic metres.....

The future of this company is heavily orientated to log exports."

"In its 2006 first quarter report, TimberWest declares that it
generated over $50 million in revenue by exporting 422,000 cubic
metres of logs to Asia and the United States. That works out to
$119 per cubic metre. In comparison, TimberWest generated $35
million by selling 467,000 cubic metres to the domestic market.
That works out to only $76 per cubic metre."

[Frickman]

I watched the show again last night. It was ok, I like seeing the equipment and how they do things. I could do without the bleeped out swearing though. Don't these guys know they are reflecting poorly on the industry?

I know now for certain that alot of the drama is fabricated, as some of the numbers didn't add up. There were seven trees out of four hundred that needed topped when the boss showed up on his white horse, or rather in his white helicopter, to save the day. They had three guys and several hours to do the job. They were finishing up when the helicopter was flying over them and they were getting hit with rotor wash. Couldn't the helicopter start somewhere else? They didn't say what their turn time was, but let's say it was two minutes. Two minutes times four hundred trees is eight hundred minutes, a little over thirteen hours. Even if they were making one minute turns that's still over six hours. That's plenty of time for three guys to take care of seven trees.

I expect this same type of scenario every week. Overall it's not a bad show though. Not great, but not bad.

[SwampDonkey]

Frickman, it also depends on who your talking to in this business. You want it straight or ?

Glad to see some feedback on the show, don't let me hold anyone back. ;)

[Jeff]

I've worked in the woods and in mills all my life. If you had less bleeping, like it or not, I would guarantee that the dialog was not authentic.

[SwampDonkey]

I agree, even on a thinning crew there are a few false teeth flying, not from being swat in the mouth, but from a guy being tired and fatiqued from working a hard strip and needing to vent. Starts spouting off and the teeth fly out. I seen that one day, and in under a minute that guy was laughing at himself for loosing his teeth. Had a smoke, and in 15 minutes whacking bushes again. :D :D

[Frickman]

Jeff,

I've worked in the woods and mills all my life too. We had one mill in my side yard. Both grandpas had mills, farmed, and logged. If any of their employees cursed the way those guys do he would be fired on the spot. I know I've done it myself. Fired a guy because of his mouth, after several warnings. Right in front of everyone else. If guy smashes his thumb and says "Dagnabbit, I smashed my darn thumb" I'll let it slide. If he swears like those heliloggers, he's out of there. Even if the guy only works in the woods and never deals with customers, I won't have them. My employees represent me and my company both at work and in the community. I can't have a clown like some of those guys tarnishing my image. There are alot of other loggers in my area who think the same way. No drinking, drugs, or swearing, you must be clean cut, or at least presentable, and have some sort of stable family life. You can be single, married, divorced, whatever, I don't care. But you can't be fighting with your girlfriend every night, cheating on your wife, or chase wild women and fight at every saloon in town every weekend. I won't stand for it.

Yes Jeff, it ,makes it more authentic to how some outfits operate. But there are alot of other people out there who aren't swearing up a storm. Plus, when has TV ever tried to be one hundred percent authentic?

[Jeff]

Frickman, I agree with you, but to be honest, what you see on there is how it is around here. whether we agree with it or not. When you have always worked in it, its kinda like hearing punctuation.