Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport . It may include skidding , on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars . In forestry , the term logging is sometimes used narrowly to describe the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest , usually a sawmill or a lumber yard . In common usage, however, the term may cover a range of forestry or silviculture activities.
46-593: St. Croix State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota , USA. The park follows the shore of the St. Croix River for 21 miles (34 km) and contains the last 7 miles (11 km) of the Kettle River . At 33,895 acres (13,717 ha) it is the largest Minnesota state park . It was developed as a Recreational Demonstration Area in the 1930s, and is one of the finest surviving properties of this type in
92-464: A fire tower in 1937. As additional properties were added, St. Croix Recreational Demonstration Area grew to 30,000 acres (120 km), only slightly smaller than the country's largest RDA at Custer State Park in South Dakota. As planned following federal development, St. Croix Recreational Demonstration Area was transferred to the state to become St. Croix State Park in 1943. The fire tower
138-526: A land lease from the U.S. government , while Mackinac National Park was handed down to become the first of the Michigan state parks . As with national parks, facilities at state parks are often leased to concessionaires to operate. Breaks Interstate Park is operated under an interstate compact by Virginia state parks , although it is also one of the Kentucky state parks , straddling both sides of
184-615: A New Deal program that provided jobs, paid farmers for poor cropland, and created outdoor recreation opportunities near urban areas (the site is midway between Minneapolis–St. Paul and Duluth ). An initial 18,000 acres (7,300 ha) of land were transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior , as the National Park Service would direct the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and
230-589: A few exceptions such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, and Wood-Tikchik State Park in Alaska, the largest state park in the United States . In addition to preserving natural landscapes and providing recreational opportunities, many state parks also serve as important educational resources . They often offer guided tours, interpretive programs, and exhibits that help visitors learn about
276-699: A restaurant) for lodging at some parks. These typically use "Resort" in the name, such as "_____ Resort State Park" in West Virginia state parks and "_____ State Resort Park" in neighboring Kentucky state parks , which has 17 such resort parks, the most of any state. Other states use the Resort name inconsistently (like DeGray Lake Resort State Park , the only one out of three resorts in Arkansas state parks ), or have only one such park ( South Carolina state parks ' Hickory Knob State Resort Park ), or do not use
322-585: A safety principle. In British Columbia, Canada, the BC Forest Safety Council was created in September 2004 as a not-for-profit society dedicated to promoting safety in the forest sector. It works with employers, workers, contractors, and government agencies to implement fundamental changes necessary to make it safer to earn a living in forestry. The risks experienced in logging operations can be somewhat reduced, where conditions permit, by
368-452: A set of wheels over ten feet tall, initially pulled by oxen. As the logging industry expanded, the 1880s saw the introduction of mechanized equipment like railroads and steam-powered machinery, marking the beginning of the railroad logging era. Logs were moved more efficiently by railroads built into remote forest areas, often supported by additional methods like high-wheel loaders , tractors and log flumes . The largest high-wheel loader,
414-415: A variety of sediments, which compose over 30 different types of soil within the park. Some soils are very sandy while others are made of red or yellow clay. The St. Croix River's exposure of a characteristic yellow clay deposit gave the historic Yellowbanks section of the park its name. The bedrock of the area is mostly buried under 75 to 100 feet (23 to 30 m) of these glacial till deposits. However
460-401: Is designated a State Wild and Scenic River. State park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under
506-504: Is often far from professional emergency treatment. Traditionally, the cry of "Timber!" developed as a warning alerting fellow workers in an area that a tree is being felled, so they should be alert to avoid being struck. The term " widowmaker " for timber, typically a limb or branch that is no longer attached to a tree, but is still in the canopy either wedged in a crotch, tangled in other limbs, or miraculously balanced on another limb demonstrates another emphasis on situational awareness as
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#1732800901087552-415: Is provided by two group centers, five cabins, and two guest houses. Of the trails in the park, 127 miles (204 km) are open for hiking, 75 miles (121 km) for horseback riding, 21 miles (34 km) for mountain biking, 80 miles (130 km) for snowmobiles, and 11 miles (18 km) for cross-country skiing. The Willard Munger State Trail passes through the length of the park. Visitors can climb
598-441: Is significant occupational injury risk involved in logging. Logging can take many formats. Clearcutting (or "block cutting") is not necessarily considered a type of logging but a harvesting or silviculture method. Cutting trees with the highest value and leaving those with lower value, often diseased or malformed trees, is referred to as high grading . It is sometimes called selective logging, and confused with selection cutting ,
644-547: Is the process of felling, delimbing, bucking, and sorting ( pulpwood , sawlog, etc.) at the stump area, leaving limbs and tops in the forest. Mechanical harvesters fell the tree, delimb, and buck it, and place the resulting logs in bunks to be brought to the landing by a skidder or forwarder . This method is routinely available for trees up to 900 mm (35 in) in diameter. Logging methods have changed over time, driven by advancements in transporting timber from remote areas to markets. These shifts fall into three main eras:
690-563: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration . Logging Logging is the beginning of a supply chain that provides raw material for many products societies worldwide use for housing , construction , energy , and consumer paper products. Logging systems are also used to manage forests , reduce the risk of wildfires , and restore ecosystem functions, though their efficiency for these purposes has been challenged. Logging frequently has negative impacts. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal , including
736-494: The Works Progress Administration (WPA). A CCC camp was constructed at Yellowbanks, populated first by Company #2762 and later #2706. Crews built the main park road, following the old Flemming Railroad route, and another 25 miles (40 km) of road. Trails and scenic overlooks were established while farm buildings were demolished. From Camp Yellowbanks the crews used sandstone and lumber from within
782-879: The "Bunyan Buggie," was built in 1960 for service in California, featuring wheels 24 feet (7.3 m) high. After World War II, mechanized logging equipment, including chainsaws, diesel trucks, and Caterpillar tractors , transformed the logging industry, making railroad-based logging obsolete. With the advent of these tools, transporting logs became more efficient as new roads were constructed to access remote forests. However, in protected areas like United States National Forests and designated wilderness zones, road building has been restricted to minimize environmental impacts such as erosion in riparian zones . Today, heavy machinery such as yarders and skyline systems are used to gather logs from steep terrain, while helicopters are used for heli-logging to minimize environmental impact. Less common forms of logging, like horse logging and
828-591: The 134 steps to the cab of the fire tower; interpretive signs describe the layers of the forest habitat and features of the surrounding countryside. St. Croix State Park borders Chengwatana State Forest to the southwest and Saint Croix State Forest to the northeast. Governor Knowles State Forest lies across the river in Wisconsin. The entire river corridor is part of the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway . The Kettle River
874-518: The Flemming Railroad, to transport logs cut farther inland to the St. Croix River. The line ended at Yellowbanks where the logs were rolled down the steep bluffs and floated to sawmills downriver. St. John's Landing, at the northeast end of the park, is named for Ed St. John, who opened a popular boarding house there for lumbermen. The area was logged out by 1915 and farmers were attracted to
920-554: The Kettle contains some rapids. Both rivers support game fish like northern pike , bass, sauger , and muskellunge . Hay Creek and some of the park's other streams contain trout. Hay Creek widens into Lake Clayton, which has a swimming beach and picnic area. A paved trail leads from Lake Clayton to the drive-in campground, which has three loops with a total of 211 sites. Elsewhere there are eight group campsites and remote campsites for backpackers and canoers. More modern accommodation
966-897: The administration of the government of each U.S. state , some of the Mexican states , and in Brazil . The term is also used in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales . The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa, and Belgium, is provincial park . Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies. State parks are thus similar to national parks , but under state rather than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below state level may maintain parks, e.g., regional parks or county parks . In general, state parks are smaller than national parks, with
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#17328009010871012-738: The country's state parks. The NASPD further counts over 43,000 miles (69,000 km) of trail, 217,367 campsites, and 8,277 cabins and lodges across U.S. state parks. The largest state park system in the United States is Alaska State Parks , with over 100 sites encompassing 3.3 million acres. Many states include designations beyond "state park" in their state parks systems. Other designations might be state recreation areas , state beaches, and state nature reserves . Some state park systems include long-distance trails and historic sites . To encourage tourism in rural areas, several states have simple lodges, inns, hotels, or motels (usually with
1058-478: The designation at all (such as the lodges of Georgia state parks ). The term "lodge" may also refer to a hiking lodge , essentially a large cabin for hikers rather than a large facility with private rooms and a restaurant. Other lodging may include yurts and tipis . Not all parks owned by a state are necessarily part of its state-park system, such as Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. Some Texas state parks are
1104-469: The following three are considered industrial methods: Trees are felled and then delimbed and topped at the stump. The log is then transported to the landing, where it is bucked and loaded on a truck. This leaves the slash (and the nutrients it contains) in the cut area, where it must be further treated if wild land fires are of concern. Trees and plants are felled and transported to the roadside with top and limbs intact. There have been advancements to
1150-703: The highest fatality rate of 23.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers and a non-fatal incident rate of 8.5 per 100 FTE workers. The most common type of injuries or illnesses at work include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which include an extensive list of "inflammatory and degenerative conditions affecting the muscles , tendons , ligaments , joints , peripheral nerves , and supporting blood vessels ." Loggers work with heavy, moving weights, and use tools such as chainsaws and heavy equipment on uneven and sometimes steep or unstable terrain . Loggers also deal with severe environmental conditions, such as inclement weather and severe heat or cold. An injured logger
1196-463: The latter storm, many of the historical structures were damaged. However, there were no injuries as the park was closed due to the 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown . Evidence of Native American occupation in the park and the St. Croix River Valley has been found dating back 5,000 years. The region was inhabited by the Dakota people by the late 17th century, when French traders began exploring
1242-493: The local flora , fauna , geology , and cultural history of the area. These programs are designed not only to enhance the visitor experience but also to promote conservation awareness and encourage responsible enjoyment of natural resources. There are 6,792 state park units in the United States, according to the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD). There are some 813 million annual visits to
1288-483: The logging industry employed 86,000 workers and accounted for 93 deaths. This resulted in a fatality rate of 108.1 deaths per 100,000 workers that year. This rate is over 30 times higher than the overall fatality rate. Forestry/logging-related injuries (fatal and non-fatal) are often difficult to track through formal reporting mechanisms. Thus, some programs have begun to monitor injuries through publicly available reports such as news media. The logging industry experiences
1334-519: The manual logging era before the 1880s, the railroad logging era from the 1880s to World War II , and the modern mechanized era that began after the war. In the early days, felled logs were transported using simple methods such as rivers to float tree trunks downstream to sawmills or paper mills. This practice, known as log driving or timber rafting , was the cheapest and most common. Some logs, due to high resin content, would sink and were known as deadheads. Logs were also moved with high-wheel loaders,
1380-570: The nation. 164 structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration survive, the largest collection of New Deal projects in Minnesota. As a historic district they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and proclaimed a National Historic Landmark in 1997. The St. Croix River Valley was carved by meltwater during the last glacial period circa 10,000 BC. The water deposited
1426-483: The newly cleared land. However the sandy soil was poor and not productive enough to make a living. Most settlers moved away and much of the land was tax-forfeited. Pine County had the most tax delinquent property in Minnesota and suffered abject environmental degradation from cultivation and wildfires like the Great Hinckley Fire . In 1934 the area was selected for a Recreational Demonstration Area ,
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1472-433: The park include white-tailed deer , coyotes , raccoons , gray and red foxes , beavers , bobcats , black bears , and timber wolves . Birds include the ruffed grouse , warbler , flycatcher , eagles , owls , and osprey . They roam along the St. Croix River. A tornado hit part of the park on July 4, 1977. Straight-line winds toppled trees over hundreds of acres on July 11, 2008 and again on July 1, 2011. In
1518-532: The park to develop five separate areas for visitors. First was park headquarters, second Riverview Campground and a lodge which is now the interpretive center. The other three were group centers constructed by WPA crews: Norway Point for boys, St. John's Landing for girls, and Head of the Rapids for handicapped children. Some crews planted pine, spruce, and hardwood trees to begin reforestation while others conducted wildlife and fire protection work. A CCC crew built
1564-431: The practice of managing stands by harvesting a proportion of trees. Logging usually refers to above-ground forestry logging. Submerged forests exist on land that has been flooded by damming to create reservoirs . Harvesting trees from forests submerged by flooding or dam creation is called underwater logging , a form of timber recovery. Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a method of harvesting that removes essentially all
1610-413: The process which now allows a logger or harvester to cut the tree down, top, and delimb a tree in the same process. This ability is due to the advancement in the style felling head that can be used. The trees are then delimbed, topped, and bucked at the landing. This method requires that slash be treated at the landing. In areas with access to cogeneration facilities, the slash can be chipped and used for
1656-483: The production of electricity or heat. Full-tree harvesting also refers to utilization of the entire tree including branches and tops. This technique removes both nutrients and soil cover from the site and so can be harmful to the long-term health of the area if no further action is taken, however, depending on the species, many of the limbs are often broken off in handling so the result may not be as different from tree-length logging as it might seem. Cut-to-length logging
1702-642: The region. However the Dakota were soon displaced by the Ojibwe . Fur traders became more numerous, and a trading post was established within what is now St. Croix State Park. Following an 1837 treaty with the Ojibwe the region was opened up to logging , although harvesting in the park did not begin until later in the 19th century. From 1894 to 1898 the Empire Lumber Company operated a rail line,
1748-649: The standing trees in a selected area. Depending on management objectives, a clearcut may or may not have reserve trees left to attain goals other than regeneration, including wildlife habitat management, mitigation of potential erosion or water quality concerns. Silviculture objectives for clearcutting, (for example, healthy regeneration of new trees on the site) and a focus on forestry distinguish it from deforestation . Other methods include shelterwood cutting , group selective , single selective , seed-tree cutting , patch cut , and retention cutting . The above operations can be carried out by different methods, of which
1794-474: The state line. Other multi-state parks are legally two separate parks with the same name and more informal cooperation between them. The title of oldest state park in the United States is claimed by Niagara Falls State Park in New York , established in 1885. Several public parks previously or currently maintained at the state level pre-date it. Indian Springs State Park has been operated continuously by
1840-454: The state of Georgia as a public park since 1825, although it did not gain the title "State Park" until 1931. In 1864 Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded by the federal government to California until Yosemite National Park was proclaimed in 1890. In 1878 Wisconsin set aside a vast swath of its northern forests as "The State Park" but, needing money, sold most of it to lumber companies within 20 years. Mackinac National Park
1886-630: The underlying basalt and sandstone is exposed in one area along the Kettle River known as the Highbanks, where a final ancient flood of meltwater scoured away the sediments. In addition to the two rivers, at least ten other streams flow through the park, creating a watershed of hundreds of square miles. St. Croix State Park is located on the eastern edge of the Mille Lacs Uplands. Initially dominated by red and white pines ,
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1932-533: The use of corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. It may involve the so-called " timber mafia ". Excess logging can lead to irreparable harm to ecosystems, such as deforestation and biodiversity loss . Infrastructure for logging can also lead to other environmental degradation . These negative environmental impacts can lead to environmental conflict . Additionally, there
1978-623: The use of oxen, still exist but are mostly superseded. Logging is a dangerous occupation. In the United States, it has consistently been one of the most hazardous industries and was recognized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. In 2008,
2024-403: The vegetation has been altered by logging and farming. The present secondary forest is a mix of pines, black spruce , sugar maple , and basswood . More open areas form meadows, oak savanna , and jack pine barrens . Numerous lakes, marshes, and streams support wetland and riparian zone plants. Wetlands with no outlet and high acidity support tamarack bogs . Large mammals found in
2070-473: Was established in 1875 as the second U.S. national park before being converted to a state park in 1895. The first state park with the designation of "state park" was Itasca State Park in Minnesota , established in 1891. Many state park systems date to the 1930s, when around 800 state parks (and several national ones) across the country were developed with assistance from federal job-creation programs like
2116-536: Was staffed during fire season until 1981, when aerial surveys became the preferred spotting method. St. John's Landing Group Center is now a camp for the Minnesota Conservation Corps . The St. Croix and Kettle Rivers are navigable by canoe or kayak. Camping in the Fall is breathtaking. You can see all the Fall foliage. October is a great time to go. The St. Croix is entirely flat water while
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