“DEVELOPING THE THINKING SAWYER” – RECERT SAW CLASS ON THE ELDORADO NF
The U.S. Forest Service requires that volunteers, who use chainsaws to clear trails of downed trees on Forest Service lands, become chainsaw certified or recertified every 3 years. It was that recertification requirement that prompted the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) to hold a class at the Elkins Flat OHV Area on the Eldorado National Forest June 6, 2025.
Guided by PWORA’s Master Agreement with USFS Pacific Southwest Region 5 and tenets of the new U.S. Forest Service National Saw Policy, “Developing The Thinking Sawyer”, the class, was graciously hosted by the Eldorado National Forest, which included students from the USFS agency and trail volunteers from several OHV organizations in Northern California.
Sawyers from Eldorado Crew E-365, having multiple years of chainsaw Fireline and project work experience, assisted with the field instructing, along with Bill Aaron, retired U.S. Forest Service sawyer with 40 years of chainsaw experience during wildfire suppression, as well as hazard tree removal at FS admin sites. He currently remains as a Forest Service C level evaluator and instructor. On occasion, Bill operates under the banner of his own company, Bill Aaron Consulting LLC to help train chainsaw safety and operation for many FS volunteer groups.
INFO ON THE FOREST SERVICE “THINKING SAWYER” NATIONAL SAW
PROGRAM
https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/out-and-about/national-saw-program-updates
In 2023, the Washington Office of Recreation, Heritage, and Volunteer Resources program announced three important updates to the National Saw Program: amended national saw policy, national sawyer qualification tracking database and a new sawyer training curriculum. These improvements support implementation of the saw program at the national, regional, forest and district levels to benefit agency staff, partners and volunteers who use chainsaws and crosscut saws on National Forest System lands.
Don Amador, PWORA Training and Safety Education lead, states, “I agree with a number of trail volunteers that I talked with (who had been certified under the old saw program) that the new complexity-based certification system makes a lot of sense. I also appreciated the program’s sharp focus on safety with a primary goal of getting you and your crew back home for dinner at the end of the day.”
PWORA continues to believe the need for a trained volunteer workforce will grow as federal agencies roll out new programs such as the Forest Service’s National Trail Strategy or face challenges such as recreation budget cutbacks or staffing shortages.
# # #
Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation
management profession for over 33 years.
Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western
States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past
President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery
Alliance and serves as the Safety Training Coordinator. Don is a Co-Founder and
Current Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino. Don served as a North Zone Fire Cache AD
Driver for the 2022 to 2024 fire seasons. Don writes from his home in
Cottonwood, CA. Don can be reached via
email at: damador@cwo.com
