Discovery Channel has been host to an array of heavy-hitting docuseries that tackle unique worlds and industries.
LikeDeadliest CatchandGold Rushbefore it comesThe Last Woodsmen.
But getting these giants from the forest to market is deadly.
Image via Discovery Channel
Leading the pack is Cyprus Creek Logging’sJared Douglas.
Once you’re a logger, you always want to be a logger."
Jared Douglas Explains What Logging Is
“Keeping people safe is a paramount problem.”
COLLIDER: The world of logging is coming to the screen onThe Last Woodsmen.
Jared, how excited are you for the world to see this show?
JARED DOUGLAS:I’m pretty excited.
It’s definitely nice to get to tell the logger’s side of the story.
So, really excited for the world to see what we got to offer.
How would you describeThe Last Woodsmen?
DOUGLAS: I would describe it just kind of aa an inside peek of how people live.
The crew that I have, their hearts are as big as the trees they cut down.
You know, we always say we’re all here because we’re not all there.
We all live and work in a camp together.
So, I’m just really excited.
I think that my crew will be able to tell their stories.
And I’m proud of what we do, so I’m proud to show the world.
What’s it like bringing your universe to the screen and having the cameras follow you on these adventures?
DOUGLAS: Well, we’re not very technical.
We use power saws and axes and old antiquated logging equipment from the ’60s and the ’70s.
You know, a lot of innovation has come our way.
Keeping people safe is a paramount problem.
It’s just making sure everybody goes home to their families.
Everybody hates lumberjacks until they got to buy a two-by-four.
Now watching the show, I really think the cinematography is stunning.
DOUGLAS: Oh, every day.
I do have an office.
I don’t spend much time in it.
I always say my pickup truck is my office, driving from site to site.
We have the most beautiful views in the world.
Nobody can come close to our views at work.
Sometimes, I just stop, and I take a look out onto the Pacific.
Next sight is Japan over beautiful islands.
You guys are going to see a lot of beautiful spots where we work and play.
We’re true woodsmen.
How did you get into this world, and what keeps you logging?
DOUGLAS: I started when I was young.
Probably wasn’t very good at school.
And I thought, “How else am I going to make a good wage?”
So I end up going logging.
What keeps me logging is just the men.
I can’t explain the camaraderie and the brotherhood that we have.
It’s just, I guess, same aspeople that would go to war with each other.
Everybody’s got their head on a swivel, and they’re watching for dangers.
You’re watching out for your fellow logger.
We’re just very in touch with danger, but we’re also very in touch with lifestyles.
You go back to a camp.
You spend more time with them than you do with your own family.
And what would you say is the biggest misconception about your industry?
DOUGLAS: The biggest thing I want to portray in our industry is how we do logging responsibly.
I don’t think that it’s portrayed the right way.
I always feel that our industry is under fire.
We’re always criticized, and I want people to see our side of the story.
That’s the biggest misconception of logging.
These guys do a dangerous job to bring a green renewable industry.
I’m definitely excited for the world to see this.
Can you speak on the dangers one may face?
I’ve known lots of people that we’ve lost doing this job.
Soyou lose people in incidences or accidents.
And it hits home.
It’s, it’s hard, you know?
That’s a tough reality to swallow.
We live it every day.
And it’s the greenest, most renewable industry in the world.
We get to see an assortment of different jobs within your crew.
We are going to learn how each person gets to do their individual task.
Hand falling is the most dangerous.
The hand faller is attractive because the money’s the best.
So, that’s the fighter pilot job of the logging industry.
And trust me, they’re prima donnas like pilots as well.
The five-episode series is a reminder that the ocean is a scary, scary place.
We get to see your really unique living situation of a float camp.
What’s the hardest part about being so far removed from civilization to do this high-stakes profession?
DOUGLAS: Definitely, we’ve come leaps and bounds thanks toElon Muskthrowing it out there.
But Starlink has helped our people be able to communicate with home.
We used to have a very antiquated satellite internet.
They’re missing their kids’ soccer games or hockey games or football games.
They work a certain shift.
So it’s tough.
We lose a few people here and there.
We’ll lose a crew to family issues.
They’ll have to go home and work in town.
But normally, I always say they always come back.
It’s something in your blood.
Once you’re a logger, you always want to be a logger.
It was really cool to see the float camp and see how each person gets their own room.
DOUGLAS: Yeah, for sure.
It almost becomes like jail, and guys get institutionalized to camp.
I always make fun of my wife when I get home.
Like I have never done laundry.
I’ve never cooked for myself.
The cooks and the bull cooks that work in camp, they take extremely good care of these guys.
They work hard, but they get treated when they get back to camp.
Camp’s always got to be clean.
It’s always got to be warm to get in from the wet, cold.
They have to have a room to dry all their clothes.
They have to have a good solid meal.
It’s just a way of life, and it’s unique to a lot of places.
These guys don’t have to come in and cook.
So that’s all looked after for them.
You get, you get accustomed to that lifestyle.
Some of the timber you’re scouting could be worth up to $70,000 a piece.
What’s it like when you locate one of those beauties?
DOUGLAS:When we locate those trees, they’re majestic.
We love to see them.
A lot of them are rotten.
They’re at the end of their life cycle.
So that’s kind of another misconception.
The tops will be dying off them.
You’re kind of harvesting them.
You know that they’re going to be made into housing, beautiful countertops, or mantles.
So somebody is going to get a piece of that tree for the rest of their lives.
It’s a pride thing, you know?
You know, loggers are the best.
Are the number one environmentalists.
We have lots of parks.
I know lots of loggers.
There’s one campsite in the area that we work in.
The loggers were sent in to follow it, and they refused to.
It was too nice.
They refused to fall it, and they built a campsite there.
It’s one of the best campsites around.
And that’s kind of the real story of loggers, you know?
We don’t want to cut down anything that’s majestic or anything like that.
We look for things that are dying.
And we get to reuse that wood in products that people use around the world.
It’s actually a great industry.
You mentioned it on the show about the discussion of sustainability and planting trees.
Three trees for everyone you take down.
Why is this an important message that the audience needs to hear while watching?
We need an economy.
It’s a natural resource.
And the tree planters, they work really hard too.
So we’ll have another industry that’s regenerating the forest.
Tree planters and silviculture.
It’s a whole thing.It’s our own little ecosystem in an ecosystem that we work and play.
We call it our working forest, and it’s very important to put back what we’ve taken.
The wildlife seems to like the regenerating forest.
It’s somewhere they can eat.
That’s where we see a lot of the life start to happen again is after logging.
Your show is joining some big hitters on Discovery.
Why are you excited to join this family?
It’s pretty exciting for me.
It’s really exciting for my crew.
It’s really exciting for the families of my crew.
I don’t know how it’s going to go.
I really hope that lots of people tune in, and we get a chance to carry this on.
I’m excited for the world to see the industry that we cherish.
I enjoyed watching, and I can’t wait to see how the season goes along.
Congratulations on the show.
DOUGLAS: Thank you very much.
Thank you so much for chatting.
DOUGLAS: You betcha.
Have a good day.
The Last Woodsmenis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
