TimberWest Magazine

09/25/2025

09/24/2025

In the past, minor downtime on a yarder was often accepted as part of logging. However, rising machinery costs and lower real-dollar log values have made every lost hour more expensive than ever.

Because the yarder often sits at the center of an operation, its failure can halt not just cable work, but trucking, loading, and overall productivity.

Here's some practical solutions to keep things moving and reduce downtime:

🪵Acknowledge that downtime is no longer a minor inconvenience; it’s a significant cost.

🪵Proactively review your machine setup, critical skills, and potential weak points.

🪵Build contingency plans: spare ropes, back-up equipment or rental access; ensure crew flexibility and redundancy.

🪵A little planning can give your team the lifeline it needs to stay productive when something does go wrong.

Read more on ways to prevent and reduce downtime in TimberWest Magazine https://forestnet.com/yarder-maintenance/

09/22/2025

Bighorn Logging buys timber – mainly state timber sales – and also contracts to harvest timber. Clients include Oregon State University.

The company works in greater northwest Oregon, from Astoria in the north stretching south to Corvallis. The region boasts steep terrain and is dominated by Douglas fir with some hemlock, cedar, and alder.

A typical job for the company is 60-90 acres, producing about 3.5 million board feet. The company normally piles the logging slash to be burned later.

The company operates from 12-14 crews; about six are cable logging sides and the others are ground-based logging operations, in some cases with tethered machines, or road-building crews. With only a handful of trucks, Bighorn also relies on 10-15 contract truckers. An exception is work for Weyerhaeuser, which does its own hauling.

The company supplies logs to mills in the region for Simpson Lumber, Boise-Cascade, Hampton Lumber, Weyerhaeuser, Western Forest Products, Zip-O-Log Mills, Bell Lumber & Pole, and to a log yard for Stella Jones. Pulp is supplied to Pac Fibre in Longview, Washington.

“Mill quotas right now are tight,” said Dethlefs. “There’s a lot of wood plugging the mills.”

Read more in the latest issue of TimberWest Magazine🌲 https://forestnet.com/bighorn-logging-offers-full-service-forestry-operations/

09/17/2025

Southport Lumber continues to evolve, making use of every speck of fiber from a log. 🌲

Founded in 1998 by Jason Smith and Jim Lyons, the company has grown from a modest 15 acre site with used equipment into a vertically integrated forest products operation employing over 230 team members. Today, the heart of Southport is a high efficiency small log sawmill on a 65+ acre site along the Coos Bay shipping channel. It is served by rail, barge, and truck, and produces 4.5 to 5 million board feet of Douglas fir lumber every week.

When a regional particleboard manufacturer shut down in 2022, Southport faced a challenge: what to do with sawdust and shavings that no longer had an outlet. Instead of viewing it as a setback, the team saw opportunity. Through a major capital investment, they developed a new pellet mill, dryer island, and pellet storage facility designed to produce 35,000 to 40,000 tons annually, turning residual fiber into sustainable bioenergy for international markets.

📸 Pictured: A natural gas fired drum dryer, which dries raw material to the right level before being pressed into pellets. This process is part of Southport’s zero waste philosophy, ensuring every pound of fiber is captured for value.

With a mix of lumber production, chip recovery, and now pellet manufacturing, Southport is capturing value at every step while opening doors to global renewable energy markets. As COO Bruce Avery puts it, “Every pound of residual fiber now contributes to the bottom line.”

From its early days built on a shoestring budget with used equipment to its forward looking investments in technology and bioenergy, Southport Lumber’s story is one of innovation, resilience, and vision for the future.

Read more in the latest issue of TimberWest Magazine: https://forestnet.com/oregon-company-starts-up-new-wood-pellet-operations/

09/12/2025

PONSSE FALL FINANCING SPECIAL🌲Harvest BIG deals this fall with great rates on all new and used Ponsse machines:

2.99% – 3 Year Term
3.99% – 4 Year Term
4.99% – 5 Year Term

On the West Coast take advantage of these savings through your local Ponsse dealer:

Bailey's Outdoor Power Equipment (CA & NV)
PacWest Machinery (OR, WA & ID)

Ponsse Oyj

Offer ends October 31, 2025. Rates based on lender approval. Not all buyers qualify.

09/11/2025

Innovation in action. 💡

Randy Jensen from Oregon Products highlights the SpeedMax™ XL Anti-Vibe Harvester Bar…33% wider and much stiffer for reduced vibration, straighter, cleaner cuts, and maximum durability in the toughest conditions.

Watch the full video on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wVmbP5ZqKQ

09/11/2025

Tower yarders are the backbone of many steep-slope logging operations. However, even the toughest machines are vulnerable to hidden risks if maintenance practices don’t evolve with the times.

Below are four often-overlooked considerations in tower yarder maintenance, along with practical solutions to help operations stay productive, safe, and prepared.

🪵Loss of Rigging, Rope Management Legacy Skills
🪵Communication Gaps Between Shifts or Crews
🪵Mismatch: Maintenance Model and Operation Scale
🪵Opportunity Cost of Down Time

Read more about each of these issues in the new issue of TimberWest Magazine👉️ https://forestnet.com/yarder-maintenance/

09/09/2025

Harve Dethlefs, the owner of Bighorn Logging Corp., has learned that safety pays in more ways than one.

The company’s safety initiatives earned it the 2024 Safety Professional of the Year Award from Associated Oregon Loggers earlier this year.🏆️

Dethlefs started Bighorn Logging in 1981 as a contract cutting company with just two employees. The business has grown steadily since then, and the company has continued to make investments and upgrades in machinery and technology.

Read more on Bighorn Logging in the new issue of TimberWest Magazine🪵 https://forestnet.com/bighorn-logging-offers-full-service-forestry-operations/

📸: Mark Standley Jr., vice president and partner, and Harve Dethlefs, owner of Bighorn Logging Corp

09/05/2025

Wherever you are, the Ponsse team is here for you 🌲🌎

On the West Coast, forestry professionals can connect with Ponsse through trusted dealers like Bailey's Outdoor Power Equipment (serving California and Nevada) and PacWest Machinery (serving Oregon, Washington, and Idaho).

Ponsse Oyj
Ponsse North America

09/04/2025

Our ad sales manager, Edna Tainsh, is representing us this week at the Great Lakes Logging Expo. Stop by and say hello if you’re attending!

09/03/2025

Southport Lumber continues to evolve and continues to make use of every speck of fiber from a log. In its latest evolution, the company – faced with a setback – embarked on a new initiative and capital investment to tap an unreached market.

Southport Lumber was founded in 1998 by Jason Smith and Jim Lyons, who still own the company and are actively involved in it. The company employs about 230 people – referred to as “team members” – in operations spanning timber procurement, logging, manufacturing, transportation, logistics, and administration.

The heart of the company is a high-efficiency, small log sawmill strategically located on a 65-plus acre site along the main shipping channel of Coos Bay.

Read more in the brand new issue of TimberWest Magazine🌲 https://forestnet.com/oregon-company-starts-up-new-wood-pellet-operations/

09/02/2025

Who’s been watching the Timber Titans series?

It’s a great opportunity for people outside of the industry to get a real look at what logging is like and the challenges crews face working in often difficult environments.

The people and contracting crews are what makes it but always we're proud to see Madill machines featured!

Stream it on the following services (location dependent)
- Crave
- CTV
- Apple TV
- Prime Video
- YouTube TV
- DIRECTV.