SALEM, Ore. — Enterprise, Ore.-based BTO Forestry Solutions is one of three logging operations in the state named as Operator of the Year for their regions.

BTO, owned and operated by Mike Wiedeman, is among the operations that will be recognized in Salem in January at a meeting of the Oregon Board of Forestry.

BTO, which won the award for Eastern Oregon, is joined by R.D. Reeves Construction based in Columbia County’s Rainier for Northwest Oregon and D&H Logging of Coos Bay for Southwest Oregon.

“I’m quite honored to get (the award),” Wiedeman said Nov. 21. “I’ve been in this business since 1966, so it’s nice to be recognized.”

He added: “We’re being recognized for consistent safe forest practices and achieving those goals the state sets out. In 40-plus years, we’ve never been cited for any environmental problems. I think that says volumes about the kind of operation we run.”

Wiedeman has eight full-time employees, though his crew can increase to as many as 20, depending on the operations he’s running.

This week, he’s been working above the Lookinglass Fish Hatchery above Elgin. He recently finished work on the Howard Creek drainage, the project for which BTO was honored.

The award recognizes forest operators who, while harvesting timber or doing other forestry work, protect natural resources at a level that consistently meets or goes above and beyond requirements of the Oregon Forest Practices Act. That law requires people to manage forests responsibly and protect streams and water quality, protect and enhance habitat and reduce landslide risks. The law also requires landowners to replant forests after harvesting. 

It was enacted in 1971 as a national model for forest management laws. The law focuses on ensuring responsible forest operations and protecting natural resources in forestland. The act has been updated many times based on new scientific information and values to create a balanced approach to natural resource management.

Wiedeman earned Operator of the Year for tackling a timber harvest on steep slopes leading down to a fish-bearing stream in canyonlands in Wallowa County. He’s been harvesting off Howard Creek near the Grande Ronde River.

“Mike had to carefully place his yarder in order to get enough lift to suspend logs over distances of close to a mile in some places,” said Tracy Brostrom, ODF’s Wallowa Unit forester. “This protected the soil and reduced the risk of erosion by avoiding gouging.” 

A yarder is piece of logging equipment that uses a system of cables to pull or fly logs from the stump to a collection point.

Brostrom said Wiedeman also used his four decades of logging experience to overcome other challenges, such as the lack of stumps that could anchor his rigging lines (called tailholds).

“Instead, he secured them with large bulldozers,” Brostrom said.

He also said Wiedeman manages to deal with any extra expenses caused by the 1971 act, including restrictions on when loggers can operate, such as spring breakup. However, that has long been a part of the business, he said.

“It’s Mike’s consistency. He’s been doing this all his life,” he said. “He does such a good job; he’s reliable.”

Merit Awards were also given to eight other companies, including Arrowhead Logging, LLC of Prineville; Green Diamond Resource Co. in Klamath Falls; Card Logging Co. in Eugene; Chilton Logging near Hood River; Mount St. Helens Reforestation in Clackamas County; Weyerhaeuser’s Springfield Tree Farmer the McKenzie River; and Brothers Excavation and Construction.

“There were so many great nominees to pick from this year, it made the work of the selection committees very hard,” said Josh Barnard, ODF Forest Resources Division chief.

Barnard said nominees showed they could meet the challenge of working under new rules that came into effect this year.

The updated Oregon Forest Practices Act rules provide more protection for forest resources, such as wider stream buffers and limitations on equipment use around tributaries of fish-bearing streams. 

“We saw a lot of innovative technology and techniques being used to protect water quality. On challenging harvesting sites, the Operators of the Year showed extraordinary care and diligence to protect resources and meet landowner objectives. We’re proud to recognize those efforts.”

To view a video about BTO Forestry Solutions and Mike Wiedeman, go to https://tinyurl.com/BTOvideo.

Videos about each of the three Operators of the Year and the eight Merit Award winners can be viewed on the ODF website at https://tinyurl.com/BTOlogging.