Green Horizons

Several Tree Farmers in the Macon area had the opportunity to advance their tree felling skills. A course taught by Joe Glenn with the Game of Logging program was held and sponsored in part by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The three-day course covered safety, maintenance and felling techniques to drop trees where you want them.

Glenn has been teaching these courses for more than 10 years, primarily to loggers. Many of his participants have been running a chain saw for years and come away with a wealth of new knowledge to help them be safer and more efficient with a saw. Glenn impressed the group early when he felled a tree in the opposite direction of its lean. His only tools were his saw, axe, several wedges and the knowledge needed to put them all together.

Dan Hays, a Tree Farmer in Moberly, tackled a tree in the woods that was not leaning in the direction he wanted it to go. He said “by himself he never would have tried it.” Glenn explained the hazards to look for, how to determine the amount of lean they could handle, the cutting method needed, and where to place and drive the wedges to get the tree where they wanted it. Hays was again impressed when it all came together and worked. As were the rest of us.

One of the primary purposes of the class is to make us safer in the woods. Glenn often comments that “there is not a tree in the woods that is more valuable than your life” and “your most important tool is your brain.” With this course, even the most experienced tree cutter will gain some valuable tools to help them in the woods.

I have hosted these classes in the Macon area for the past 10 years with Glenn teaching them, and every time I sit in on a class, I learn something new. After seeing how Glenn can fell a tree, I have become convinced that every landowner and logger can benefit from the course. If you get the chance to see him in action, take it!