Cahoon Named Logger of the Year

SEELEY LAKE – Bull Creek Forestry's reputation of good forest stewardship, and respect for both the land and the people they work with is known in the area. Now Montana Wood Products Association recognized Owner Leelyn Cahoon as the "Logger of the Year." Leelyn was also named "Western Region Outstanding Logger" by the Forest Resources Association's Western Region and Stihl Incorporated. While Leelyn was surprised and honored by the recognition, he quickly pointed to his employees as the reason for the award.

Leelyn grew up in a logging family. In eighth grade he started learning how to log from his father Martin. He said his dad always stressed a clean operation and keeping things "tidy." Once in high school, Leelyn remembers finishing sports practice and then running skidder for his uncle John Cahoon in the evenings.

Leelyn logged with John until John moved to South Dakota. Swan Valley logger Neil Meyer hired him for three years. Meyer received Montana Logger of the Year from Montana Wood Products in 1993.

"Neil taught me to work hard and treat your employees with utmost respect," said Leelyn. "I really respect him and really liked working for him."

Leelyn stayed with logging since he loves being in the woods. He owned a lumber trucking company for several years and then starting the family-owned and operated business Bull Creek Forestry, Inc. in 2007. His goal is to produce top quality products and have happy customers after the job is finished.

"I really like to treat the land with the utmost respect. I enjoy getting into my machine and do a nice job, take care of the land, take care of the trees, leave the good trees for seed," said Leelyn. "When I go to someone's property I always want to treat their land like my own."

Leelyn's sons Joel and Levi run the forwarder and processor. Leelyn taught his youngest son Tyler how to drive truck. Tyler now operates his own trucking operation and still hauls for the family company. Jerry Greenwood and Tyson Keith also haul for Bull Creek Forestry and Justin Layman operates the excavator. Leelyn's wife Teresa manages the books and is the "grease" behind the operation.

"The kids do a really good job of making sure there is quality wood going to the mills," said Teresa. "They are all good operators that know what they are doing."

Leelyn added, "It is really fun to have your family involved because they care and they have a lot of heart in it. You know they are giving it 100 percent and they just have that extra drive. My wife is behind the scenes. She does a ton for us and keeps us going."

Bull Creek Forestry runs a Tiger Cat forwarder; Tiger Cat processor; Cat processor; Grader; 517 Cat; D37 Cat; 518 Skidder; Excavator with a masticator and a lowboy to haul. No project is too small. If the equipment isn't needed, they will do the projects with chain saws.

Bull Creek Forestry moves an average of 350 loads of pulp and 500-600 loads of logs per year. Leelyn said his goal is to move two million board feet per year but that fluctuates, especially during years like this where he spent a lot of time working on wildfires.

"Leelyn does a great job on the ground working with various landowners to achieve their stewardship objectives-whether federal, state, private, Nature Conservancy or Blackfoot Community Conservation lands," wrote Gordy Sanders, Resource Manager of Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc., in Leelyn's nomination letter. "Acquiring his own timber sales, he has merchandized and delivered quality logs to virtually every mill in Montana."

While most of Leelyn's training has been on the job, he said he has also learned a lot through the Montana Loggers Association (MLA) accreditation program and Peter Kolb, Montana State University Extension Forestry Specialist. As a member of MLA, the Cahoons attend 40 hours of training every spring to learn more about logging around stream management zones and wetlands and get new ideas and techniques.

Leelyn has participated in numerous educational events, sharing his perspective and expertise in harvesting, Montana's forestry best management practices and the Streamside Management Zone Act. On one such event, a group of International Forest Managers from around the world visited his logging operation.

"Obviously, this was one of the most challenging group of folks to clearly communicate with," wrote Sanders in the nomination letter. "They were trying hard to understand and speak English and he was trying hard to understand Spanish, Swahili, French and Chinese."

Leelyn was recognized at the Western Region Awards ceremony in Whitefish, Mont. Sept. 20. Of five nominees, he was chosen for the Montana Logger of the Year.

"Leelyn focuses on what's important, doing what is right for the forest, and it shows in the forest after he finishes a job," said Paul McKenzie, MWPA President. "He exemplifies the best of Montana's logging community."

Leelyn was also named the Western Region Outstanding Logger. This award is designed to recognize outstanding independent logging contractor performance, raise the visibility of professional logging contractors, encourage other loggers to adopt the performance of the award winners and improve forester-logger-landowner relations by publicly recognizing outstanding logging performance as an essential element of every planned timber harvest.

Nominated logging companies are judged on whether safety is a major part of the individual's business practices and programs, how much the individual or company is involved in community and industry activities, as well as the company's professionalism, business management and forest management practices.

Leelyn received a plaque, 461 Stihl chain saw, monetary award and is nominated for the National Outstanding Logger Awards that will be presented in New Orleans in the spring.

"It's a big deal because it is a reflection on my employees and my sub-contractors," said Leelyn who added the MWPA award affirms that Bull Creek ships the mills good wood and the mills appreciate it.

When Teresa was asked what it means to the family she said, "It makes me really proud because our kids are the business. They do such a good job for us and we are so proud of them."

"I think it is such a tribute to the integrity of Leelyn and the standards that he holds and the way he runs his logging business," said Levi's wife Brianne. "The level of professionalism that they all show is really cool. I know Leelyn would say that he doesn't deserve an award like that, but I feel he is the guy that should get the award. He is so humble, so down to earth; he just wants to do a good job and doesn't need any recognition for it."

"I love Seeley, working in the woods and I'm so lucky to have my kids working with me," said Leelyn. "As long as we have work here, we are going to keep grinding it out."