Southern New England Master Logger Certification

Certifying Stewards of the Southern New England Forest

Master Logger Certification (MLC) is an independent, third-party, performance-based assessment of logging companies. Master Loggers must meet or exceed 124 performance standards in the areas of water quality protection, support for forest ecosystems, maintaining soil productivity, logging safety, and business practices. The standards require the logger to take responsibility for all aspects of their performance, and to pro-actively manage their jobs.

MLC provides recognition of loggers at the top of their profession. No classes are required – MLC recognizes what loggers already know and do.

The first cohort of Southern New England Master Loggers was certified on June 30, 2005. Click here for information on our Southern New England Certified Master Loggers.

MASTER LOGGER CERTIFICATION:
• Recognizes companies that have invested in education, staff training, and safety programs

• Moves education and training standards beyond “seat” time to actual performance standards verified in the forest

• Defines wood harvesting as the primary step toward chain of custody land certification and mill product

• Demands quality assurance for the business practices, harvesting practices, and final products of a logging company

• Verifies superior management practices

MASTER LOGGER COMPANIES:
• Work with landowners & foresters committed to:
- Clean water
- Healthy forest ecosystems
- Multiple use policies
- Sustainable wood supply
- A thriving economy & career opportunities in forest communities
- Sustainable wood demand
• Initiate and comply with all safety regulations and professional preventive strategies

• Apply science-based research practices to on-site harvesting

• Demonstrate continuous improvement through education, training, and leadership opportunities

• Demonstrate cost efficiency and long-term planning for economic viability

THE MASTER LOGGER CODE of ETHICS ...

The Master Logger Code of Ethics defines the roles & responsibilities of MLC companies. By signing the code of ethics, an MLC company pledges to meet or exceed 124 performance standards relating to eight areas of responsibility:

- Harvest Planning & Documentation
- Protecting Water Quality
- Maintaining Soil Productivity
- Supporting Forest Ecosystems
- Protecting Cultural Values
- Ensuring Workplace Safety
- Demonstrating Continuous Improvement
- Implementing Business Practices that
Ensure Long-term Viability

Contact The Forest & Wood Products Institute if you would like more information regarding the MLC performance standards or the ways in which your company can become MLC certified.

The Forest & Wood Products Institute
Mount Wachusett Community College
444 Green St., Gardner, MA 01440
(T) 978-630-9360 (F) 978-630-9554

Southern New England Certified Master Loggers

C. C. Kennick Logging
Christopher Kennick
Florence, MA

Carlotto Lumber
Mike Carlotto
Pittsfield, MA

Double “L” Logging
Lee Baxter
Harmony, RI

Girard Custom Cut Hardwood
William Girard
Lanesboro, MA

Griffin Logging and Landclearing
Charles W. Griffin
Ashby, MA

John H. Conkey & Sons Logging, Inc.
John H. Sr., John H. Jr., & Kenneth Conkey
Belchertown, MA

Jones Logging
Chris Jones
Ashland, MA

L. M. Stevens Forestry, LLC
Larry Stevens
West Cornwall, CT

Old Mariah’s Logging
Paul Burke
Dayville, CT

Tetreault & Son Forest Management
Brian M. Tetreault
Brimfield, MA

White Oak Forest Products
Robert Novick
Belchertown, MA

C. C. Kennick Logging

Christopher Kennick
48 Lexington Ave.
Florence, MA 01062-2712
413-584-1511
cklogging@juno.com

Christopher Kennick has been a logger in Massachusetts for over 30 years. He works with one employee in the woods of western Massachusetts, doing a combination of contract work for mills and purchasing of his own lots direct from landowners. Chris began cutting firewood with a farm tractor and a four foot trailer but now operates a Valmet forwarder and a Timco processor, though he will occasionally use a cable skidder and do hand-felling. He is known for his careful work and attention to detail. Maintaining the business relationships he has built over the years is very important to him, especially his markets with local sawmills. Chris has been on the board of the Northeastern Logger’s Association and served as a Massachusetts Wood Producers Association board member for 11 years. He is currently a member of the Southern New England Logger Education Committee.

Carlotto Lumber

Mike Carlotto
63 Joseph Dr.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
413-445-7168

Mike Carlotto has been logging since 1972 and in business for himself since 1982. He works alone, operating a cable skidder, log truck, chipper, and stationary sawmill. His work is gained mostly through foresters, half on private property and half on state forests. He produces veneer, sawlogs, cordwood, and some pulp.

Double “L” Logging

Lee Baxter
PO Box 69
Harmony, RI 02829
401-949-4948

Lee began logging in 1987 and began his own business in 1989. He operates a Valmet 646 forwarder doing contract logging for sawmills in eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. Lee is a member of the Southern New England Logger Education Committee and has earned Professional Logger Certification through that program.

Girard Custom Cut Hardwood

William Girard
28 Bridge St.
Lanesboro, MA 01237
413-442-7585
girardhardwood@hotmail.com

Bill has been working in the woods for 34 years, the last 24 as a full-time logger. Bill runs an integrated operation, performing residential tree work and land clearing in the summers and during mud season.  He also operates a portable sawmill.  He is currently training to become a certified Game of Logging Instructor.  He purchases bid jobs through consulting foresters and through direct negotiation with landowners.  Bill focuses on quality work and utilization.  He owns a cable skidder, log truck, whole tree chipper, and bobcat for sorting, clean-up and stump grinding.  His softwood and low-grade logs go through his mill where he produces native lumber and does custom sawing for barns, houses, and local cabinetmakers.

Griffin Logging and Landclearing

Charles W. Griffin
881 Turnpike Rd.
Ashby, MA 01431
978-386-7353

Chuck Griffin has been in and out of logging since 1981. He started by selling firewood, and then, when he purchased his first skidder in 1985 he began producing sawlogs, too. He sold his skidder in 1986 and took a short break from logging, but purchased a new skidder in 1992 and has been working full-time in the woods since then. He works alone with two cable skidders and a New Holland skid steer used to sort logs on the landing. His work is primarily on private woodlots. Chuck works in a rapidly suburbanizing area in central Massachusetts which means that his work is usually highly visible and must be clean and neat.

John H. Conkey & Sons Logging, Inc.

John H. Sr., John H. Jr., & Kenneth Conkey
621 Daniel Shays Highway
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-7120

Conkey and Sons Logging was incorporated in 1986 and consists of John Sr. and his sons John Jr., and Kenneth. The Conkey family has a long history of working in the woods, but John Sr., did not follow in their footsteps until 1988, after 27 years as an auto mechanic. John Jr. began logging in 1984 with a Cat 518 cable skidder, but they have continually improved their operation, adding a log truck in 1988, a forwarder in 1990, a feller-buncher in 1995, and became fully mechanized in 2000 with the purchase of a Timbco 425 processor. They purchase state and private bid lots throughout central and western Massachusetts. Conkey and Sons are one of the most respected logging crews in Massachusetts among foresters and landowners. In 1995 John Sr. was awarded the Massachusetts Wood Producers Association Outstanding Logger Award, and in 2004 MWPA honored John with their Member Award for Service to the Forest Industry. In 2005 the MWPA and the Forest and Wood Products Institute nominated Conkey and Sons for the Forest Resource Association’s Regional Outstanding Logger Award in March 1996. John Sr. has served as President of the Mass. Wood Producer’s Association and was appointed by the governor to serve on the State Forestry Committee.

We like logging jobs that have a mix of hardwood & softwood. We do all types of harvests from thinnings to clearcuts, working closely with landowners and foresters to meet their objectives. Most of our jobs are within a 60-mile radius, using the most up
to date high-tech cut to length equipment possible. We have done a number of Fish & Wildlife harvests and special-care Quabbin jobs.

Jones Logging

Chris Jones
42 Cedar Hill Rd.
Ashland, MA 01721
508-881-1464

Chris Jones began by cutting firewood in the early 1980’s. He purchased his first skidder and began logging regularly in 1983. In his spare time he serves on the Ashland Fire Department and is a commercial fisherman. Chris has carved a niche for himself working among the suburbs of eastern Massachusetts, where the aesthetic quality of the job is paramount. He picks up most of his work through direct contact with landowners but will occasionally purchase bid lots from state or private foresters. He owns a skidder with a dual-function grapple, a whole tree chipper, and a Timberjack 608 track feller-buncher. Chris is always trying to improve himself and will read any forestry text he can put his hands on. He is a member of the Ashland Open Space Committee and the Chair of the Town Forestry Committee.

L.M.Stevens Forestry LLC.

Larry Stevens
176 Cream Hill Rd.
W. Cornwall, CT 06796
860-672-6065
stevensforestry@snet.net

Larry has been a logger for 36 years. He was born and raised on a dairy farm and it was there that he got his start at cutting wood. He says that he got tired of milking cows so he started cutting wood. Larry has continually upgraded his equipment and operations over the years. He currently operates a 540 G cable skidder and a 230 Timberjack forwarder. He is a licensed CT forester so he is able to provide the landowner with a full range of services. His work is excellent. Our verifiers had a very difficult time finding anything to complain about on his jobs. He is a real believer in the need to provide our young people with education about forestry. Towards that end he regularly brings students from the local vocational school out to his jobs so they can learn it firsthand.

Old Mariah’s Logging

Paul Burke
107 Bear Hill Rd.
Dayville, CT 06241
860-774-1477

Paul Burke began logging in 1982. In the 1990’s he made a career change to become a carpenter, but after only 4 years at that he returned to the woods to the work he really loves. Paul does contract logging for sawmills in northeastern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts, working by himself with a Timberjack 350A grapple skidder and an 8-wheel forwarder. Paul is passionate about his work and takes great care to meet the needs of his clients and of the environment. His enthusiasm for the program helped bring Master Logger to Southern New England. He has seen the logging industry constantly settle for less and he sees this program as a way to bring the members of the industry together and change the negative perceptions about the industry.

Tetreault & Son Forest Management

Brian M. Tetreault
PO Box 348
Brimfield, MA 01010-0348
413-245-9615

Tetreault & Son Forest Management has been in business since 1991.  Brian began logging at the age of 14.  Including Brian and Roger the company employs 14 people, which includes a fully staffed business office.  The majority of their work is on direct sales from private landowners.  They harvest hardwood and softwood pulp, sawlogs, and firewood using a Timbco Harvester/Forwarder and a Timberjack 8-wheel Forwarder.  They also own a Skidder that is used only for clean up and BMP’s.  Tetreault & Son uses the mechanical harvester along with a cutter on the ground, which allows them to make better cutting decisions in all situations.  These combined techniques leave a residual stand with minimal damage.  They take great care to protect streams and wetlands and have worked cooperatively with Mass. National Heritage to protect endangered species habitat. 

     In addition to the harvesting Tetreault & Son also processes and sells cut & split firewood (which includes bundled campfire wood), which is a byproduct of the harvesting operations. 

White Oak Forest Products

Robert Novick
11 Old Farm Rd.
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-9213

Bob Novick began working in the woods twenty years ago to harvest his own firewood and liked it so much he went into the business full-time. He harvests mostly firewood, with some sawlogs and small-diameter scrag logs. He does a combination of contract work for mills, custom work for landowners, and will occasionally obtain a bid lot from consulting foresters. He will choose lots in Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin Counties with a preference for lots from 20 to 100 mbft sawlogs and a mix of firewood. He will harvest and sell up to 500 cords of firewood yearly. Smaller unique lots are also considered. His small equipment with a light footprint allows for little soil disturbance and a remaining residual stand in excellent condition. Much of his work comes from word of mouth referrals from satisfied customers. Bob operates a 1986 Hesston Farm Tractor with a Farmi winch and will occasionally use a skidder. He also owns a Case crawler and cordwood splitters, a firewood conveyor and a one-ton dump truck. Bob is a past President, Vice-President, and board member of the Mass. Wood Producers Association.

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