Chainsaw Certification Training 2015

[Angela]

In order to cut fallen trees on USFS managed land a volunteer must be USFS chainsaw certified. Once certified the sawyer must be recertified every 3 years. Since class size was limited to approximately 10 sawyers in the past, we only had available to us about 6 or 7 of those slots (the remaining slots were reserved for other user groups - horse, atv, etc). The process to reach the certification point can take a while. Here is the basic process:

• The USFS has to arrange for a trainer and the date well in advance since the trainers cover a wide territory.
• The volunteer chainsawyers who are going for certification must attend a 3 - 4 hour classroom training session (sawyers being recertified do not have to attend the classroom training although many of them do).
• All the volunteer chainsawyers must attend a hands-on field training exercise where they spend time doing actual chainsaw work under the guidance of the trainer.
• All the volunteer chainsawyers must also undergo first aid/CPR training. Some people routinely receive this training through work and for others arrangements are made to get this training which involves another 4+ hours of their time.
• Once they complete all their training (this will generally entail three different dates and up to 16 hours of training) they are issued their USFS Chainsaw Certification Card which is good for 3 years.

How are the volunteers selected?

• Many have been serving as USFS certified sawyers for SORBAcsra for well over a decade and have proven themselves to be reliable volunteers who consistently step up above and beyond.
• For new volunteers seeking certification, the first question is whether they been regular volunteers at our work parties over the years.
• Have they expressed interest in becoming a USFS certified sawyer?
• Can they devote the time to the training that is needed to become certified and will they be available when needed for chainsaw work on our trails?

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