SALEM — Enterprise-based BTO Forestry Solutions is one of three logging operations in the state named as Operator of the year for their regions, according to a press release.

BTO, owned and operated by Mike Wiedeman, is one of the three selected earlier this fall. The three will be recognized in Salem in January at a meeting of the Oregon Board of Forestry.

BTO, which represents Eastern Oregon, is joined by R.D. Reeves Construction based in Rainier in Columbia County for Northwest Oregon and D&H Logging of Coos Bay for Southwest Oregon.

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 to reduce landslide risks. The law also requires landowners to replant forests after harvesting. 

It was enacted 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.

Videos about each of the three Operators of the Year and eight Merit Award winners can be viewed on the ODF website at https://tinyurl.com/BTOlogging.

Wiedeman earned Operator of the Year for tackling a timber harvest on steep slopes leading down to a fish-bearing stream in canyonlands in Wallowa County. He’s been harvesting off Howard Creek near the Grande Ronde River.

“Mike had to carefully place his yarder in order to get enough lift to suspend logs over distances of close to a mile in some places,” said Tracy Brostrom, ODF’s Wallowa Unit forester. “This protected the soil and reduced the risk of erosion by avoiding gouging.” 

A yarder is piece of logging equipment that uses a system of cables to pull or fly logs from the stump to a collection point.

Brostrom said Wiedeman also used his four decades of logging experience to overcome other challenges, such as the lack of stumps that could anchor his rigging lines (called tailholds).

“Instead, he secured them with large bulldozers,” Brostrom said.

He also said Wiedeman manages to deal with any extra expenses caused by the 1971 act, such as restrictions on when loggers can operate, such as spring breakup. However, that has long been a part of the business, he said.

“It’s Mike’s consistency. He’s been doing this all his life,” he said. “He does such a good job; he’s reliable.”

View a video of WIedeman’s company’s work at https://tinyurl.com/BTOvideo.

Merit Awards were also given to eight other companies, including Arrowhead Logging, LLC of Prineville; Green Diamond Resource Co. in Klamath Falls; Card Logging Co. based in Eugene; Chilton Logging near Hood River; Mount St. Helens Reforestation in Clackamas County; Weyerhaeuser’s Springfield Tree Farmer the McKenzie River; and Brothers Excavation and Construction.

“There were so many great nominees to pick from this year, it made the work of the selection committees very hard,” said Josh Barnard, ODF Forest Resources Division chief.

Barnard said nominees showed they could meet the challenge of working under new rules that came into effect this year.

The updated Oregon Forest Practices Act rules provide more protection for forest resources, such as wider stream buffers and limitations on equipment use around tributaries of fish-bearing streams. 

“We saw a lot of innovative technology and techniques being used to protect water quality. On challenging harvesting sites, the Operators of the Year showed extraordinary care and diligence to protect resources and meet landowner objectives. We’re proud to recognize those efforts.”