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The 79th annual Redwood Region Logging Conference at Redwood Acres is in full swing.

There’s all sorts of stuff going on everywhere you look; we’re talking next level badassery in the logging world.

From shovel loggers and carriers to attachments like harvester-processor heads, vendors have brought their biggest and best equipment to show off to potential buyers. Some of the equipment has advanced technology features and ranges to upwards of a half million dollars. The company Waratah offers a virtual reality logging simulator with its attachments, to train new operators. It’s at the conference and they’ll even let you try it out. 

But the fancy equipment is really about productivity and safety. 

“When the product gets to the landing, we want the product to start producing right away,” said Waratah sales manager Dan Harte. “So if they’re new, we can train them on the simulator so they won’t hurt anything or anybody. They get familiar with it before we deliver it to the woods.” 

Then there’s lots of history and photos of forestry and logging scattered about. Gallery Bookshop from Mendocino brought an array of books to fit the occasion. The shop’s representative, Katy Tahja shares the book “High Climbers and Timber Fallers — From old growth logging to second growth management,” by Gerald Beranek. It’s an elaborate hardcover book with dozens of pictures chronologizing his life’s work in the forest .

And since we’re going back old school, there’s also antique logging equipment. Pete Smyth brought an antique ring saw, two two-man saws, and the notorious bow saw which is now illegal to use in all 50 states (according to Smyth).  

Plus there’s a mesmerizing display of up-and-running old gas engines that date back to the early 1900s.

And the excitement continues, thousands of local students also got to experience the conference and then packed into the grandstands to watch a live demonstration from the Cal-Fire helicopter crew. Then the always crowd-pleasing chainsaw carvers gracefully created mind-blowing works of art from slabs of wood.

However, all of this is just scratching the surface. There’s much more action in store, and it runs through Saturday.