Minnesota Logger Education

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Setting the Standard in Logging Professionalism The Minnesota Logger Education Program (MLEP) was initiated in 1995 to provide direct responsive professional assistance to Minnesota's logging community through progressive support and implementation of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Now in its seventh year of operation, MLEP has successfully assisted loggers in meeting the ever-challenging demands of their profession and continues to provide leadership in modeling excellence in logger education program design, development, organization, and administration.Since its inception, MLEP has sponsored delivery of over 372 workshops within the primary core curriculum areas of sustainable forest resource management, workplace safety, and business management. MLEP was responsible for implementation of Minnesota's Best Management Practices during its first three years of operation and for implementation of the state's new Forest Management Guidelines. Participation within the training and education programs exemplifies MLEP's overall support and success with a total combined attendance of 9,317; including logging business owners and employees, and public and private sector natural resource managers. MLEP has proven itself a progressive organization with a total current membership of 425 logging business owner members who are responsible for an estimated 80 percent of Minnesota’s annual timber harvest. Beyond its primary logger education focus, MLEP was also responsible for development of Minnesota's Public Concern Registration Process and participates as a partner within the SFI State Implementation Committee (SIC) in its ongoing efforts related to public outreach, landowner education, and the provision of information to SFI member companies. Finally, MLEP has played an important role in assisting research efforts and the collection of information related to effective program planning and funding strategies throughout the United States. Loggers Leading Their Professional Destiny During 1995, the Minnesota Timber Producers Association (MTPA) assembled a task force comprised of logging business owners who, over a period of several months, developed a vision as to how they would like to see their logger education program structured. The task force met numerous times to reach consensus regarding MLEP program requirements, core curricula focus areas, funding mechanisms, and organizational strategies. A program outline was developed and it was decided that a private non-profit educational corporation (501c-3) would be developed to facilitate implementation and administration of program activities. The MTPA task force was also charged with the responsibility of establishing legal recognition of the organization, as well as establishing its primary objectives, participant requirements, development of a Board of Directors, and selection of an Executive Director to coordinate movement of the program’s directives.

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