November 2026 SHARP Logger Newsletter

November 2026 SHARP Logger Newsletter (pdf)

November 2026 SHARP Logger Newsletter (video)

Online Registration for In-Person Classes

The SHARP Logger Program now offers online registration for in-person classes. When classes are listed on the training schedule webpage (www.SharpLogger.vt.edu/TraditionalTraining.html), the link will still take you to another page with more information about that class. Now, there will be a “Register Now” button on the right side of that page. This will allow you to sign up yourself, someone else, or multiple people. You will be able to (anonymously) fill out your demographic information (age, gender, race), eliminating the need for the half-sheet surveys at class. After you register, you will have the option to download a calendar event (outlook or google) and you will receive a confirmation email.

Online registration requires an email address. If you are registering someone else or a group, you can enter your own email address for each registration. We know online registration won’t be convenient for everyone. You will still be able to call, text, or email to register for classes. [(540) 231-6494 or SharpLogger@vt.edu]

While we can almost always accept walk-ins, signing up ahead of time helps us to plan, find the right size room, and have enough supplies. Being able to provide an estimated headcount is respectful to the expert speakers who volunteer their time. Registering also means we can contact you if class needs to be canceled or rescheduled. We hope that offering online registration will make signing up more convenient for everyone.

Virginia Loggers Association & Virginia Forestry Association Memberships

The Virginia Loggers Association is a non-profit trade organization “committed to elevating, protecting, and advancing Virginia’s Forest Products Industry. Through education, advocacy, and industry leadership, VLA works to ensure that timber harvesting professionals have the support, representation, and resources they need to thrive.” Their mission is to advocate for loggers.

The Virginia Forestry Association is a non-profit that includes foresters, forest landowners, loggers, mills, and others. VFA works to “ to maintain a political and economic climate favorable for forest ownership and forest industry in the state and to enhance the public's perception of forestry through effective outreach and communications.”

In addition to advocacy, both organizations hold annual conferences, send regular news emails, and educate their members about public policy and outreach. The SHARP Logger Program recognizes membership in each organization with 1 CE credit. It is the logger’s responsibility to send proof of membership to the SHARP Logger Program. (Note that FMIC no longer includes VLA Membership or pays VLA dues for their clients).

Pre-harvest Planning

Having a written pre-harvest plan might not always be necessary, but it has many advantages. A written plan can help you avoid BMP problems that can be time consuming and costly to fix at the end of a job.

You can write your own pre-harvest plan, you might be given one by a consulting or industry forester, or you can request one from the Virginia Department of Forestry. VDOF technicians and water quality personnel will give verbal advice and write pre-harvest plans (as staff availability allows) free of charge.

The SHARP Logger Program recognizes that time spent walking the tract, looking at possible locations for decks and stream crossings, and laying out haul roads and skid trails, etc. with one of VDOF’s water quality experts is valuable, hands-on, education. Therefor, we will award 1 CE credit for spending at least 1 hour with a Water Quality Specialist or Engineer, resulting in a written pre-harvest plan. The plan can be written by WQ personnel or approved by them if written by someone else. They will then give you a completed form that you can send to SHARP Logger for credit. They can send in the form themselves, but it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure you submit anything for which you want to receive SHARP credits. Each logger can take advantage of the VDOF Pre-Harvest Planning Education Credit up to two times per two-year renewal cycle. 

A Safety Short

By Pat Donnelly, WVU

“I am sorry,” How many times have we heard that after an accident? It is probably one of the most repeated lines across all industrial accidents when the person is still able to talk. I personally have heard it at least a dozen times. Why is it said? For the most part it is the result of not following a procedure or safety rule. Skirting the edges and making shortcuts may seem expedient at first but those procedures are in place for a reason. Just as OSHA standards are in place because something has happened to an employee that caused that standard to be put into action in the first place. When safety meetings are done, the information put forward is not lip service just filling up time; they give real information that can keep people safe. Keep your people informed and trained and maybe you will not have an employee look up to you and say, “I’m sorry!”