The Chief’s Award is meant to celebrate the accomplishments of Forest Service individuals and teams throughout the United States and their contributions to the agency mission and communities they serve.
The Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers (PATHH) program represents a unique public / private sector partnership that ensured the assistance was effectively disbursed to the targeted harvesters (loggers) and haulers (truckers). Recognizing and including the private sector within the “team” is uncommon but conveys the value of collaboration toward a common objective.
The American Loggers Council, along with a select group of timber industry organizations, worked collaboratively with the USDA (FSA and USFS) to develop and review the PATHH program, including American Loggers Council members from Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Maine, who provided strategic input.
The Chief’s Award recognizes more than the American Loggers Council work with the Farm Service Agency and U.S. Forest Service to provide necessary assistance to preserve the timber industry infrastructure. More importantly, it recognizes the timber industry’s critical role and value in meeting the forest management objectives of public and private land managers. The logging and transportation infrastructure is vital to the forest management mission of maintaining healthy forests.
