What do they use swamp logs for? Swamp Cottonwood As such, a carpenter might use the lumber for applications where appearance is not so important, such as making crates, boxes and interior paneling in furniture. It is also a popular choice for processed wood products, and as such might be found in soft plywood. Click to see full answer.
What are Swamp Loggers and where do they work?
The term "swamp loggers" was popularized by a reality TV series of that name. Swamp Loggers featured the loggers of the Bobby Goodson Logging Company and aired on the Discovery Channel from 2009 to 2012. In actuality, logging crews travel to wherever trees need to be harvested. and work in many types of forest environments.
What is swamp timber used for?
Nothing could be further from the truth in terms of timber, as a variety of useful trees grow in the wet, fertile conditions of the swamps of the United States. Whether you are shopping in the lumberyard or harvesting your own wood, timber drawn from swamps can be applied to just about any carpentry or woodcrafts project.
What is swamp ash wood used for?
Swamp Ash. Swamp ash, also known as green ash, is a common wood found throughout the eastern and central United States and in adjacent parts of Canada. It is a strong, hard wood with excellent bending qualities. The strength alone causes swamp ash to be used for tool handles and sometimes baseball bats.
How are underwater logs salvaged from the bottom of lakes?
Attaching buoys is one of the main processes by which underwater logs are salvaged from the bottom of lakes and rivers. First, a scuba-diver must locate the sunken logs in the water, searching from about three feet from the bottom of the lake or river. After that, a buoy is placed around the log about three feet from its back.
Why are swamp logs so valuable?
Some of these trees were a part of virgin forestlands, where they stood for hundreds or even thousands of years, growing to enormous girth and density. Very few of these old growth trees remain legally accessible for harvest today, which makes the sinker logs that much more desirable.
Why are old submerged logs valuable?
Because the underwater logging process is essentially retrieving drowned logs and sunken trees that were already lost in previous logging expeditions, the logs are considered “rediscovered wood.” Because underwater logging is retrieving “rediscovered wood,” this has a positive impact on the forestry industry, as it ...
Why do they put logs in the water?
Storage of logs in water has the additional advantages of minimizing fire risks, washing away dirt which could dull saws, and preventing splitting of logs which might otherwise dry prior to milling.
How much do swamp loggers make?
A salary survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median annual salary of $38,840 in 2017. This means half of the loggers made more than the median and half made less. The top earning 10 percent of loggers earned more than $59,870 while the 10 percent paid the least received under $24,540.
How much is a sunken log worth?
The log could be worth up to a couple of thousand dollars, Emerson figured, once it was cut and milled, then dried in a solar-powered kiln. Herrington said he sold a cypress table for $7,500 and is asking $10,000 for a massive fish he carved from a cypress log.
What is swamp wood?
Swamp Ash. Swamp ash, also known as green ash, is a common wood found throughout the eastern and central United States and in adjacent parts of Canada. It is a strong, hard wood with excellent bending qualities. The strength alone causes swamp ash to be used for tool handles and sometimes baseball bats.
What are log ponds used for?
Log ponds are used by lumber companies to clean and move logs at mill sites. Water in a log pond differs from other bodies of water: it is stagnant because no outflow occurs, and it accumulates organic matter from a continuous supply of log debris.
Why are cypress trees so valuable?
Cypress Wood Is Valuable The trees create an oily resin that makes the milled lumber water-resistant, decay-resistant, and also repels most insects. These traits, along with other quality characteristics, make cypress lumber some of the most versatile, as well as valuable lumber to come from the coastal US.
Are logs still moved by river?
Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America.
How much does Troy Landry make per gator season?
During Season 12, there are 19 people on the cast, and the amount of money they make from it can vary widely. Troy Landry probably makes the most out of everyone else on the show. He's said to have a net worth of $2 million and makes $30,000 per month from the show. His son Jacob makes $40 per Swamp People episode.
How do alligator hunters get paid?
The hunters often profit from their meat and their hides. Those appearing on Swamp People are all registered and licensed to catch alligators.
How much do you get for an alligator?
The current prices for alligators are $20 per foot for a 9-foot or longer gator, $17 for 8 feet, $13-$15 for 7 feet and $13-$14 for 6 feet, according to local hunters and processors.
Why were cypress trees harvested?
Advertisement. Cypress trees were harvested for use in boat hulls and boat decking because of their length and density. Longleaf pines were in such demand for their long, straight trunks that they often were designated “king’s trees” during the colonial era and reserved for making ship masts, Barr said.
Is sinker wood dangerous?
Despite the commercial value of sinker wood, few people in South Carolina expend the cost and effort to recover it, said William B. Barr, who owns a marine and terrestrial archaeology company in Leesville. “It’s exceedingly dangerous work — not the easy money it might look like on TV,” Barr said.
Why are sinker logs important?
From the standpoint of steelhead, for example, the sinker log provides an important role in habitat contribution in a river system. Just like terrestrial forests, aquatic habitat can be enhanced with structural diversity. A log wedged into a river bottom provides shelter from the currents.
How are sinker logs collected?
Sinker logs are commonly collected by small-time operations, involving a small group of people using machinery to collect one log at a time from a river or reservoir. Divers hook cables to a submerged log, which is brought to the surface with air floats or winches. The logs are then stacked on a barge or towed ashore.
What are the two types of underwater logs?
There are two types of underwater logs to harvest: the escaped logs from previous operations and the dead trees still rooted to the bottom. Sinker logs are collected, whereas underwater trees still need to be cut down. Each scenario requires different harvest techniques and machinery.
Why do people pull logs from watersheds?
This is a likely reason underwater logging companies may take their business to places beyond U.S. borders. There are levels of agencies a sub aquatic harvester will work with, from local city or county departments to state and federal agencies. These agencies are responsible for upholding environmental laws and guiding the harvester through the process.
Where are sinker logs sold?
Sinker logs can be sold directly to the consumer, or wholesale to commercial retail. Retail prices for the lumber vary widely depending on the quality grade of wood, wood cut, species used, and transport costs. Many of the sinker logs sold in the U.S. are sourced from the southern states, such as Louisiana or Florida.
What was the name of the road that lumberjacks were sent walking down?
These were called skid roads, and expedited the log transport system. If a lumberjack was fired from his job, he was sent walking down the skid road, which is where the term “skid row” originated, a name that prompts an image of unemployment and squalor to this day.
What color is a log?
When logs lay in muddy substrate for extended periods of time, the wood fiber absorbs the minerals and tannins found in the water and soil, which give the wood its unique hues of grey and olive green. If the logs were embedded in sandy soil, then the lumber may exhibit hues of red or deeper gold.
Logging Worker Job Description
Loggers, also known as lumberjacks, are skilled workers who harvest the trees that provide the raw materials manufacturers need to make paper, lumber, furniture and a host of other products. Loggers are categorized according to the specific tasks each performs.
The Lumberjack Work Environment
As of 2016, approximately 55,300 people worked as logger_s in the United States. Logging companies employed 52 percent. Self-employed loggers accounted for another 25 percent. Sawmills and lumber preservation firms hired about 9 percent. About 3 percent worked in crop production and 2 percent _ had support jobs in agriculture and forestry.
Training to Become a Logger
Typically, loggers have a high school diploma and train on the job. However, some postsecondary training can improve your chances of being hired if you want to become a lumberjack.. There are training programs in logging equipment operation and forest technology at some community colleges and vocational technical schools.
Lumberjack Salary Information
The average salary for loggers in March, 2018 was $39,690 according to Payscale.com. A salary survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median annual salary of $38,840 in 2017. This means half of the loggers made more than the median and half made less.
Logging Worker Job Outlook
The BLS projects a decrease in jobs for loggers of 13 percen_t from 2016 to 2026. Job opportunities should be good in spite of this decline. Many loggers will retire or exit the occupation to seek work in other industries. The decrease is due to improve technology and logging operations.
How to salvage logs from a lake?
Attaching buoys is one of the main processes by which underwater logs are salvaged from the bottom of lakes and rivers. First, a scuba-diver must locate the sunken logs in the water, searching from about three feet from the bottom of the lake or river. After that, a buoy is placed around the log about three feet from its back. From there, a boat uses a gaff hook to catch the buoys and pulls the log close enough to the boat where the crew is able to tie the logs close to the side of the boat. This process repeats itself until the boat is filled to its capacity, after which the expedition is completed and crew must return to base before harvesting any additional logs.
What did loggers do in the 1950s?
In the 1950s, the United States recognized that, during colonial times, loggers used to float felled trees over the Great Lakes and Maine rivers for transportation to mills. Logs that weigh over 62.4 pounds per cubic foot, however, would sink, and the loggers did not take the time to recover them.
Why are logging logs considered rediscovered wood?
Because the underwater logging process is essentially retrieving drowned logs and sunken trees that were already lost in previous logging expeditions, the logs are considered “rediscovered wood.” Because underwater logging is retrieving “rediscovered wood,” this has a positive impact on the forestry industry, as it reduces the need to log in land forests. In addition, when logging on land logging companies have to create new roads to get to higher quality wood. Road building is eliminated with underwater logging because the transportation paths across the rivers already exist.
How do ships affect the environment?
Ships are polluting both in the marine environment and in the atmosphere, and although it is difficult to estimate the magnitude of the problem, there is no uncertainty that increased usage of such ships will increase pollution. As the underwater logging industry becomes more popular and profitable, this increased usage will occur. The process of underwater logging itself will also have a negative impact on the environment, as the logs themselves add weight to the ships, forcing said ships to work harder and use more time and energy to transport their cargo. In terms of transportation, cargo ships transport the logs across the water. They use an immense amount of ballast water, which can have negative effects on the environment. When the ships reach the mills they empty the water, “Ballast water discharge typically contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria”. Dumping the ballast can change the aquatic ecosystems and even make the water undrinkable.
How does underwater logging affect the environment?
The process of underwater logging itself will also have a negative impact on the environment, as the logs themselves add weight to the ships, forcing said ships to work harder and use more time and energy to transport their cargo. In terms of transportation, cargo ships transport the logs across the water.
What is the process of harvesting trees that are submerged under water?
Process of harvesting trees that are submerged under water. Underwater logging is the process of logging trees from underwater forests. When artificial reservoirs and dams are built, large areas of forest are often inundated; although the trees die, the wood is often preserved. The trees can then be felled using special underwater machinery ...
Why is road building eliminated with underwater logging?
Road building is eliminated with underwater logging because the transportation paths across the rivers already exist.
When did swamp loggers come out?
Original release. 15 June 2009. ( 2009-06-15) –. 10 January 2012. ( 2012-01-10) Swamp Loggers is an American reality television series which was originally broadcast on the Discovery Channel, from 2009 to 2012, that follows the crew of Goodson's All Terrain Logging as they log the swamps of North Carolina.
What channel is swamp loggers on?
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Swamp Loggers is an American reality television series which was originally broadcast on the Discovery Channel, from 2009 to 2012, that follows the crew of Goodson's All Terrain Logging as they log the swamps of North Carolina.
Why did loggers make rafts out of pine?
Hardwoods sink much faster than softwoods, so loggers made rafts out of pine to transport them . But often these rafts would break up going over a waterfall or get caught in a lake storm and the logs would be lost. Even back in the 1800s, hardwood was very valuable.
How deep did wood sink in the 1800s?
Even back in the 1800s, hardwood was very valuable. Most of the wood that sank as deep as 20 feet was recovered by loggers with piking poles. They would stab into the water, screw the end of the pole into a log and pull it to the surface. “ (Logs) all weigh more than water,” says Chris Pilot, co-owner of TRI.
How long does wood stay healthy in water?
Nagyvary says that when wood is submerged, bacteria eat away at “hemicellulose” and starchy matter in the wood, creating wood ideal for instrument makers. “It’s pretty obvious that you can put a log deep in the water, or in sea water, and it stays healthy for many, many years — easily 100 years,” Nagyvary says.
What wood did the divers find?
They had discovered logs of red oak, yellow birch, white pine and maple that were lost between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s while the wood was en route to lumber mills.
Do red oaks sink faster?
Hardwoods such as red oak have a more open cellular structure than softwoods, so they absorb more water and sink much faster. Log salvagers consider themselves lucky if they find any hardwood underwater, but a good place to start looking is near old mill sites.
