Minnesota Logger Education Program

The more we know about our forests, the better we can take care of them. Every day, forest professionals make decisions based on experience and backed by science. That’s because continuing education has become such an important part of our industry. The Minnesota Logger Education Program (MLEP) was established as a response to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Minnesota Sustainable Forest Resources Act to assist loggers in better meeting the challenging demands of their profession.

MLEP is a multi-organizational effort to:

  • Promote excellence in logger education and professional development within Minnesota’s timber harvesting industry.
  • Provide Minnesota’s logging industry with a way to respond to the state legislature’s call for sustainable forest resource management.
  • Administer and facilitate training programs that give loggers opportunities to learn about and utilize sustainable forestry principles, responsible business management and workplace safety.
  • Enhance logger awareness of laws and guidelines that affect Minnesota’s logging industry.
  • Provide recognition for loggers who complete MLEP membership requirements.
  • Since its inception, MLEP has sponsored delivery of more than 450 workshops in the areas of sustainable forest resource management, workplace safety and business management.
  • Participation in MLEP is voluntary and shows the industry’s overall dedication to sustainable forestry. The program currently has more than 440 trained logging businesses, which account for over 90 percent of the state’s wood harvest.
  • Due to knowledge about the importance of protecting our soils, Minnesota’s loggers have invested more than $45 million in new equipment and accessories designed to be light on the land.
  • MLEP’s Minnesota Master Logger Certification Program is an independent, third-party audit of a logging business’s harvest, safety and business practices. Certification provides formal recognition that these logging businesses have met high standards, and also allows timber they harvest from family forestland to be marketed as certified wood. To date, nearly 50 logging companies have achieved the status of “Minnesota Certified Master Logger.”