By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg

Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov

For 48 years and counting, Roger Pluedeman has been a logger.

Photo Credit: Roger Pluedeman

And much more.

After starting his career in Rhinelander in 1977, Pluedeman moved to the Eagle River area in 1979 and established Pluedeman Logging. He has owned and operated that business ever since.

The basic roles of a logger have become second nature to Pluedeman: Forge contracts with landowners, make detailed plans, cut down trees and turn them into logs and remove the logs for transport to their destination.

But Pluedeman also excels at the people side of logging: Developing and growing long-term relationships, both with landowners and with the land itself.

“He’s not a ‘look what I did’ guy. He’s known as a guy who gets the work done and helps where he can,” said Henry Schienebeck of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, who has known Pluedeman for decades.

“Roger’s work includes a lot of long-term relationships, and that goes to show that whomever he’s working with, he’s treating them fairly.”

His work involves plenty of state, county and municipal contracts – and a heap of storm clean-up work seems to pop up “every half-a-dozen years or so,” he said.

For many years, Pluedeman has also served as president of the board of directors of the Forest Industry, Safety and Training Alliance (FISTA). His wife, Carol, is involved with forestry education, as Roger and Carol both worked with Northland Pines School District in Eagle River to harvest two school plots and help turn them into an outdoor teaching facility.

A large part of Roger’s workload comes from the many long-term relationships he has built with private landowners who are part of the Managed Forest Law (MFL) program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

“I find from a lot of private [MFL] landowners that they jump in for the tax break … and when they learn they have to set up and execute a management plan, they get hold of a forester and, eventually, someone like me,” Pluedeman said.

“I like to look at [each management plan], maybe with the forester, and talk to the landowner about what they want to do – before money becomes involved,” Pluedeman said. “I give them my two cents’ worth, based on my years of experience. They might have a different idea.”

“Sometimes, people want to do the craziest things, like overharvest. I like to remind them that it’s best to think about the long term,” Pluedeman said. “I always encourage them to do what’s best for the forest, but ultimately you have to do what’s best for the landowner.”

Photo Credit: Roger Pluedeman

Often, the prognosis that Pluedeman provides is determined by the tree species – and the viability of the trees – found on each individual plot. He sometimes must educate landowners that all stands are not the same.

“On one guy’s lot, I could pay him for nice hardwood logs. With the guy next door, I couldn’t,” Pluedeman said. “These days, if it’s red pine, it’s worth looking at, if it’s basswood or the less valuable species, it might not be worth looking at – for me or for the landowner.”

When Pluedeman can schedule a tree harvest, a forester steps in to help the landowner with the paperwork involved.

“With the DNR and MFL people, the landowner needs to communicate to get the cutting permits, and I rely on the foresters to help with the cutting permits and prep work like that,” he said. “They’ve got the experience and the know-how.

“There can be simple stuff that landowners might let fall between the cracks so they don’t finish the job like they should,” Pluedeman said. “Most people are very conscientious about following their plan, but you have to work with them about filing permits and other paperwork.”

Pluedeman likes to emphasize to landowners that long-term planning is a key component to their success.

“Timber management is long-term planning. It’s not a one-year crop,” he said. “There are some pretty remarkable landowners out there who have done amazing things with their property, people who have had it in their family for generations.”

But the real bottom line behind Pluedeman’s success has been cultivating landowners’ trust.

“Working with private landowners under contracts has a lot to do with trust,” Pluedeman said. “They must trust your decisions and that you’ll do the work and get them the best outcome possible, and I must follow through on that. It’s worked out well.”