GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Students within the Glenville State University Department of Land Resources’ timber harvesting course recently had the opportunity to take part in the West Virginia Division of Forestry’s (WVDOF) Timber Felling and Chainsaw Safety Workshop.

The workshop was organized by WVDOF Service Forester Jesse King and led by Foresters Johnny King and Jack Spencer, all of whom are Glenville State graduates. During the workshop, students learned the importance of personal protective equipment, timber harvesting laws and regulations, how to obtain a timber harvesting license in the State of West Virginia, and OSHA regulations.

Following the lecture on laws and regulations, the students began refining the skills that they had already learned in their timber harvesting course, as well as learning new skills. The hands-on training included practicing notches, boring into a tree, spring pole removal, tree topping, and more. Johnny King demonstrated a safe tree felling, followed by a stump analysis to discuss proper felling technique.

“This training teaches students what it takes to be safe in our forestry industry,” said Jesse King. “The students could go on to be a saw hand or work for agencies/companies in which it will be their responsibility to supervise employees and keep them safe. We hope that the students will take the techniques from this training and the skills learned in their timber harvesting course at Glenville State to go on to be the future of our field.”

“This class has helped me become a lot more comfortable with chainsaw operation and timber harvesting. Before this class, I never would’ve thought I’d pick up a chainsaw, and now I’ve learned a very valuable skill that I can implement in future job,” said Samantha Dawson, one of the students in the class.

For more information about the programs of the Department of Land Resources at Glenville State University, contact the Department of Land Resources at Land.Resources@glenville.edu or (304) 462-6370.