Blowdown - Trees felled by wind or other natural cause.

Calks - the loggers classic high-topped, steel-spiked boots which give steady footing while walking logs.

Carriage - Motorized or non-motorized unit that rides on the mainline which holds chokers and lifts logs off the ground.

Chaser - Person that unhooks logs on the landing.

Chokersetter - Person that wraps chokers (cables) around logs for machine (yarder) to pull to landing.

Clear Cut - harvesting method of cutting all trees down in a given area, which is biologically and economically sound and is generally practiced in Douglas Fir tree zones .

Conk - A fungus that grows on wood and is indicative of rot or disease in the tree.

Crummy - A loggers bus or crew vehicle.

DBH - abbreviation used by foresters which means a tree's diameter at breast height-4.5' above ground level.

Dog Hair - A thick growth of small, suppressed trees.

Faller - person who cuts trees down on the logging site.

Grapple - A heavy set of metal tongs, usually attached to the rear of tractors, which fasten around logs to bring them into a landing.

Hardwood - general term which refers to those species of trees that lose their leaves in winter.

Hooktender - The boss of the rigging crew - known as the "hooker" - generally runs a hi-lead logging show.

Landing - The place where the logs are dragged for loading.

Molly - A strand of wire rope that is weaved into a small circle. The loose end acts as a "cotter-pin" to hold pins in blocks. Nosebag - loggers lunch bucket.

Old Growth - generally conceded to be trees 200 years or older, however, scientists feel old growth is a stage in the dynamic life of a forest rather than a chronological age. A forest will eventually become old growth if left undisturbed.

One Board Foot (bd.ft.) = a board 1" thick by 12" square.

Pecker Poles - Small, skinny trees.

Rigging Crew - Loggers that set up and maintain cable yarding systems.

Rotation - the period of years needed to reproduce and grow to maturity a specific crop of trees. In Washington on the west side of the mountains, the rotations can begin as low as 40 years of age and go to over a 100 years for fine sawtimber. The eastside rotations generally start at about 80 years because of slower growth with drier conditions.

Road Change - Moving to an area adjacent to that which has been cleared of logs in tower logging; done by changing the tailhold.

Slash - debris left after a logging operation.

Side - A logging operation, specifically the place where logging is actually occuring.

Springboard - A board with a metal tip, which loggers use as steps to climb a tree - using notches cut in the tree stump. They use the boards as a platform to cut the tree above the swell of the butt.

Stumpage - The price paid to the owner for a tree or trees as they stand on the stump.

Strawline - Small, light cable used for rigging tower lines.

Sustainable Yield - the practice of harvesting each year the equivalent of what you are growing. Therefore, you could log forever - say on a 100 year rotation on 100 acres - one acre each year forever.

Tailhold - A sturdy stump or tree used to support tower guy lines or yarding lines.

Turn - A load of logs which is dragged to a landing by a tower (yarder) or tractor.

Yarder - A logging tower, with winches and cables which , which drags or lifts logs to the landing.