LOCAL EVENT BENEFITS FIRE FAMILIES- PRESS RELEASE
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| May 2007 |
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| September 13, 2011 |
Jim Leverett founded Logs to
Lumber (L2L) in anticipation of and in response to the great need that would
arise as a result of the fires. His
organization is a grassroots, non-profit dedicated to “assist affected citizens
in the rebuilding effort by harvesting & utilizing the viable timber
resources of the Lost Pines.” Their
motto: “Our Resources Rebuilding Our Community”. According to the Logs to
Lumber website, “The mission of Logs to Lumber is to ‘find a way to convert
dead or dying trees scorched by the Bastrop County Complex Fire into something
that can be used to repair the damage done by that fire’. Logs to Lumber relies solely upon the
donations from caring citizens and volunteers to achieve this mission...donations
of timber, time, know-how, heavy equipment, and money help to achieve this
necessary mission for the benefit of our devastated community. The goal: Organize Logistics, Harvest the
Timber, Provide Lumber to the People.”
Upon meeting Leverett, we learned
that in the months following the fire, he had been working out the logistics of
timber donations, volunteer crews, donated equipment, and had worked out
arrangements with sawmills willing to trade out the burned timber for milled
lumber. The lumber generated will then be utilized in rebuilding efforts for affected
families. In a short time, Mr. Leverett had accomplished a lot of groundwork
towards his mission, and we knew that we had found the win-win solution that
was aligned with our goals concerning the arduous timber clean-up and
rebuilding of our home.
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| February 24, 2012 |
Leverett’s formation of an
impromptu logging operation was quite an ambitious undertaking, and with it, he
stressed the need for community supported efforts to achieve the L2L goals. Leverett has succeeded in bringing milled lumber back to
Bastrop, yet unfortunately he continues to hurdle obstacles related to
acquiring heavy equipment donations in order to manage the timber weight and
maneuver through the sandy soil of the forest.
With the massive need and quantity of acreage that Mr. Leverett has
access to, we recognized the importance of helping to him ramp up the harvesting
efforts. Believing in his mission, we felt that the L2L organization was not
getting the attention it warranted. With a limited amount of time to accomplish
the timber harvesting goal, we knew it was imperative to spread the word and
inform others of the Logs to Lumber’s important work within the community.
A brainstorm of ideas had us
searching for a creative solution to harvest the burned timber, and as a
result, we came up with what we describe as a “divinely inspired idea…a fun,
exciting and community supported effort to benefit Logs to Lumber”. Born from
this inspiration, we are developing and planning to host “The First Ever - Lost
Pines Log Pull - 4x4 Off-Road Burned Forest Challenge©”. The concept of the event: have 4x4 off-road
vehicles or tractors, capable of navigating the terrain with ample horsepower,
retrieve pre-cut logs from the forest and deliver them to the loading zone. At
the loading zones, the logs will then be loaded on trailers bound for the mill.
The spirit of the event fits with the Bastrop “help your neighbor” small town
attitude that we have come to know and love.
The challenge is a two day
competition to be held Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-27. During the “working hours” of 8:00 am to 6:00
pm, both days, competitors will be given the opportunity to work as little or
as much as they can to retrieve and deliver logs to loading zones. The challenge is a point-based competition,
where participants will earn points for logs they deliver. All logs will be cut in 21-foot lengths and
inches in diameter will determine the points awarded to vehicle teams. For
example, should a participating vehicle deliver an 8” log, they would earn 8
points; similarly, a 30 inch log = 30 points.
There are no limitations on the quantity or means by which participants
can retrieve logs in a pass of the circular course. We encourage participants
to gather teammates and to employ ingenuity and strategy to accomplish the
challenge mission. At the close of the two
day competition, the current winning prize for the vehicle with the most points
earned is $1,200.
We are currently making arrangements
for the challenge and prepping the course for log delivery efficiency. According to our Official Rules, “For the mission
to be successful, efficiency for a steady flow of deliveries is key….wide
pre-established lanes will be created for accessibility to logging area and
exits to loading zones. Trees will be
‘felled & bucked’ and logs ready to ‘grab-n-go’.”
From this event, we hope to
achieve a couple of primary goals.
Firstly, deliver as many logs as possible to the mill, and secondly,
bring attention to the Logs to Lumber mission and its important purpose for
healing our community.