Once a Tree Hugger, Always a Tree Hugger...

Written by
Alissa
World Champion LumberJill
​Founder & Owner of the Axe Women Loggers of Maine

​

​Logging Sports. The definition of logging sports is: "A sport that incorporates old-time as well as modern day logging activities and techniques in a competitive setting. Events can include log chopping, log sawing, tree climbing, axe throwing, log rolling and more."
Logging sports requires the use of trees in most of our events. Over the years we have had more than a few people make unkind comments to us (and about us) because of this. Some of them seem to think that we are just running through the woods with our chainsaws, cutting down every tree in sight for the fun of it! 
I assure you... we are not! 
I would go so far as to even consider myself one of the biggest "tree huggers" around! 

I grew up playing in the woods. I could spend all day, every day exploring the woods surrounding my parents’ house when I was little. I remember one time, my dad giving me a hatchet... I brought it out behind their house when I was maybe 8 years old or so. There was a small, leaning yellow birch over the stream I always played in. I started chopping it... got half way through the base of it... then, felt so bad that I was killing it that I immediately stopped, grabbed a handful of wet moss, packed it into the notch I had made, then tied some strands of tall grass around it to try to save it. Well... 30 years later... that tree is still there... still leaning over that stream. 
We are huge believers in sustainable forestry! What exactly is sustainable forestry?  According to the Rainforest Alliance: For many, the term “sustainable forestry” may seem like an oxymoron. How can logging ever be sustainable when, by definition, it requires that trees be cut down? The complete answer is complex, but if we had to reduce it to one word, it would be “balance.” The hallmark of sustainable forestry, from a purely ecological perspective, is the extent to which forestry practices mimics natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration. Sustainable forestry balances the needs of the environment, wildlife, and forest communities—supporting decent incomes while conserving our forests for future generations. There are many practical steps that a community or business can take to protect the health and longevity of a forest while still profiting from the production and sale of timber and other forest products, such as nuts, fruits, oils, and plants.

Most of the chopping and sawing logs we use in our shows come from log yards... they had already been cut for one reason or another. Maybe a forester was making more room for other trees to succeed... maybe they had blown down in a storm... 

When we aren't traveling to compete or put on shows, Mike and I both work in the woods quite often. We have taken on a few habitat restoration projects... we cut some firewood (mostly from already dead, dying, or diseased trees) and we really love the trail clearing jobs we've been chosen for. 
We own a few acres of land in the Maine woods... with our cute little house plopped right in the middle of all the trees! We have actually planted more trees than we have cut here. I am such a tree hugger and animal lover that I have refused to cut down a few dead spruces that "possibly" have squirrel nests in them. So, there they stand... precariously, over our roof... Mike always points them out to me before each storm. And I always beg to take them down "sometime... but not quite yet..." 
The next time you get the chance to watch one of our shows please take a minute to think about where our logs might have come from... and where they might end up. We "recycle" all of our logs. Most of our chopping logs end up being sawing logs. Most of the disks (or cookies) from the sawing logs are signed and given away as souvenirs. Any wood that gets left behind turns into firewood for someone else. 
We truly love trees, forests & nature! And hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!