April 21, 1978 Page 9
SALVAGE LOGGING
M ick ey B ru n o e’s O utfit
It’s a one-man task to drive and load the log truck with a self-loader which is what Mickey Brunoe
uses in his salvage logging operation. Brunoe is the only one of the tribal loggers who has a self-loader.
One of the two salv a g e
logging operations on the reser
vation, Mickey Brunoe’s outfit
has been in operation for almost
nine years, now.
He and his fiv e em p loyees
have been working in the Miller
Flat area for the past few weeks
and are currently hauling about
four loads a day to the mill.
Salvage logging differs from
green loggin g in that sa lv a g e
operations harvest a more scat
tered supply of logs and gener
a lly take few er trees in any
single area.
This kind of logging opera
tion help s p rotect the tim ber
stands by weeding out diseased
and dam aged trees, a s w ell as
harvesting downed trees which
would otherwise be lost or create
a fire hazard la ter on in the
season.
Of note is that Brunoe is the
only one of the tribal loggers
with a self-load er. It m akes
sense because his supply of logs
is spread out and he d oesn’t
have to move a great amount of
machinery each time he moves
to a new location.
A close-up of the self-loader in operation with Brunoe at the
controls.
PHOTOS BY
SANDY RANGILA
Joe Mclnturff, a tree falter for Brunoe, limbs and bucks this
dying pine. Marked by the forest service, a large number of trees this
year are being killed by the pine beetle, and salvage loggers help
weed out such diseased trees.
Lyle Katchia, skidder opera^r^ choke setter, and k n o t h .im p e r
prepared a deck of logs at th landing site for quick loading.
Loadia« “P f« r his
haul of the day, Brunoe bustled from the cab of the truck to the
hydraulically operated self-loader. There Is a minimum of equipment to shuffle around so he van load
easily in scattered locations, something the salvage logger must contend with.