The CLP program
offers certification in five categories that reflect the different job types
involved in Maine logging. All program
participants must complete the core curriculum which focuses on conventional
(skidder and chainsaw) operations. They are then evaluated based on the
certification they are pursuing.
CLP
Conventional - For skidder and chainsaw
operators
CLP
Mechanical - For mechanical harvesting equipment
operators
CLP
Contractor/Supervisor - For logging contractors
and/or people who supervise the work of others
CLP
Associate - For people who don't cut wood for a
living, but have a professional interest in the logging
industry
CLP
Apprentice - For students of Maine's post-secondary
wood harvesting programs.
Following
successful completion of the initial training, participants are visited at their
work site by a CLP evaluator. Using an evaluation form that is tailored to each
candidate's CLP category, evaluators interview the participant, observe his/her
work practices, and score him/her in a variety of areas, from job site safety to
knowledge of environmental regulations. Candidates must achieve a score of 80%
on each section of the evaluation form to achieve cetification.
To maintain certification, CLPs must attend at
least 8 hours of program-sponsored or approved training one year after the
initial instruction, and every two years thereafter. Because of
their additional responsibility for the skill and safety of
others, Contractor/Supervisor CLPs must complete an additional day of supervisor
safety training within their first year of
certification.
Currently, CLP sponsors day-long
re-certification classes in the following:
* Game of Logging levels I-VI (Conventional CLP
candidates must complete Game of Logging levels
I-IV before any other training will count toward
re-certification.)
* Filing and Reduced
Downtime
* Reducing Residual Stand Damage for Mechanical
Operators
* Log Bucking and Utilization
* GPS for
Loggers
The CLP program
also encourages its members to pursue professional development on their own
through attendance of outside workshops. If you attend a non-CLP sponsored
workshop and would like it to be considered for re-certification credit, submit
a request to the CLP program administrator. The cost of these programs will
not count toward the cost of re-certification. You will still have to pay
the CLP re-certification fee (see below).
CLP currently accepts the following non-CLP
sponsored workshops for re-certification credit:
* Estimating
Standing Timber - Northeastern Loggers Association
* Best Management Practices - Sustainable
Forestry Initiative
*
Aesthetics - Sustainable Forestry Initiative
* Cut To Length - Forest Resources
Association
* Trucking -
Forest Resources Association
* Logger Rescue - Dana Hinkley
For a calendar of forest products industry training programs in Maine,
go to the Maine Forest
Service's website.
To ensure that CLPs maintain the
professional standards required by our program, CLP candidates for
re-certification must also pass a field evaluation. During the
evaluation for re-certification, CLP candidates must demonstrate their knowledge
and skill in areas ranging from safety to environmental regulations. Like the
evaluation for certification, the re-certification inspection is tailored to the
candidate's certification category.
