C & A Logistics

About Us

Associated California Loggers is, as you might suspect, an association of loggers in California. We started in 1973, when forestry regulation in California was "coming of age". Small, family owned businesses of loggers and log truckers are the backbone of this industry and this association and we wanted our interests to be represented. It turned out to be like cleaning the Augean Stables - both the magnitude and the substance of the tasks are quite similar. Nevertheless, we still deal with the rules process and try to affect it where we can. At the least, we hope to keep our members informed of the myriad changes in these and many other regulations. We provide classes and seminars to constantly improve the established record of safety, efficiency and professionalism. Our ProLogger program is a series of three intensive one day courses in these areas. Group insurance programs help us to be both safe and cost effective. At our meetings, we discuss our problems, our solutions, (good and bad), commiserate about the tough jobs and savor the good ones. Sharing this common bond may be the most satisfying facet of ACL membership.

If you re unfamiliar with what we do, a brief explanation: We re the people who harvest California s renewable forests. We produce and transport the material for the forest products business, a significant part of California s economy. Sawmills, paper mills, plywood plants and fuel generating facilities depend on us to go into the forests, harvest trees, and deliver a high quality material for their operations. We share many of the problems of other small manufacturing facilities, but with one major difference: They usually move material through their factory, we move our factory through the material. As a result, we face whatever constraints of weather and terrain nature deals to us each day.

On federal lands, logging is conducted under an exhaustive contract with intense supervision. On private land, the California Forest Practice Act, (generally considered to be the most detailed set of logging rules in the world), is administered by Registered Professional Foresters and by the Department of Forestry. To deal with these constraints and perform under such scrutiny, we hire the best crews we can, use the best available technology, and rely on an art developed over generations of proud tradition.

The job is dangerous, challenging, often frustrating, and ultimately satisfying. It is also frequently misunderstood or misrepresented. We don t just wander into the forest and whack down whatever trees look good to us. The trees we cut are prescribed by the foresters who design the logging project. We are not unmindful of the complexities of the forest ecosystem. Logging does not necessarily create the `vast moonscapes often featured in media reports. A great deal of logging is not even noticeable.

Ours is a major role in forest management and we re committed to the good management of this sustainable resource. It s our business.