Minnesota Master Logger Certification (MMLC), as administered through MLEP, is a performance-based program for loggers that recognizes training, experience, and the application of specific practices.  Logger certification has been recognized as a way to independently verify the harvest, safety and business practices of participant loggers against specific standards.  Logger certification provides the customer and the general public an assurance that the person or company performing the job has the education, training, skills and knowledge to do the job correctly and that appropriate timber harvest practices are being implemented. 

MMLC has been endorsed by Time Inc. as meeting the requirements of their Certified Sustainable Forestry program.  This is no small achievement – only two other logger certification programs in the nation, Wisconsin and Maine, have received this recognition from Time Inc.

Many Minnesota loggers already meet the standards and criteria by certification, but they do not have a way to authenticate that their customers.  You might think of it as providing a “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval of a logging business.  In addition, loggers who become certified are able to provide certified wood to the market place.  This means loggers and mills in Minnesota will be in a strong position to provide certified wood from family forestlands to customers like Time Inc that require certified wood in the products they purchase.

A working group which represented the broad forestry community was established in early 2005 to develop the program, policies and set-up the certifying board.  The program is comprised of eight areas of responsibility including “Protection of Water Quality and Soils”, “Adherence to Site Specific Harvest and Management Plans” and “Compliance with Regulations Applicable to Logging Operations”.  Each responsibility area includes measurable performance standards and practices.

A logger participating in the program undergoes an audit of his or her business practices and harvest sites.  Independent auditors who have been training on the MMLC standard conduct field audits of the sites the applicant has harvested within the last 12 months.  The logging business and harvest practices are evaluated against 138 practices in six major areas of responsibility.  Based on their findings, the auditors provide the certifying board a recommendation for or against certification.  An eight member certifying board, which represents a broad range of forestry interests – including family forestland owners, the environmental community and others review the audits and recommendations and make the final determination on certification.  To be certified, a logging business must pass all six areas of the MMLC standard on all audited sites.

If a logger business achieves certification, the certification status is good for three years.  During that time, all of the logger’s sites are subject to random review and audit.

In just the short time since the program was established in December of 2005, we have certified 25 logging businesses as “Minnesota Certified Master Loggers” and another 11 logging business are at various stages of the application process.